This document summarizes the key events and themes from the 2017 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Some of the major highlights included: - BBDO had great success, winning the most Lions in the network's history including Network of the Year. - Many campaigns centered on using advertising to promote social change and inclusion, such as the Fearless Girl statue. - There was increased focus on measuring the effectiveness and business impact of creative campaigns. - Highly awarded campaigns combined creativity with addressing important social issues like gun violence prevention. - While attendance remained high, some major industry players have questioned the ongoing value and focus of the Cannes Lions festival.

1. GET ADVERTISING
SMART
What the World Needs
is More Advertising:
Cannes 2017

2. G E T A D V E R T I S I N G S M A R T
Cannes 2017
This year marked the 64
th
Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. As the industry continues to
morph to encompass new mediums and new models, the attendees of the event have
expanded to include ad-tech firms, consultancies, internet companies, and entertainment
execs, reminding us that the advertising ecosystem has evolved beyond just 30-second
TV spots.
Overall, this year Cannes received 41,170 entries across the 24 Lions categories, down
4.5% compared to last year
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. Despite submissions coming from around the world, many
had a common thread in showcasing the breadth of creative work that has the power to
shift culture. Following the trend of last year’s festival, many of the most discussed
campaigns centered on how brands could effectively tap into social sentiments and use
advertising as a tool for change. Some of the most talked about work this year included
Fearless Girl for State Street Global Advisers, The Refugee on behalf of Amnesty
International and Meet Graham, for Australia’s Transport Accident Commission.
BBDO WINS
BBDO won a total of 144 Lions at this year’s festival, the most in the network’s history.
BDDO Worldwide was named Network of the Year for a record sixth time, with Clemenger
BBDO Melbourne winning Agency of the Year, the second year in a row that a BBDO
agency has received the award. Omnicom CEO and President John Wren commented on
the success, saying that the Cannes Lions “are among the most prestigious and
competitive awards in our industry and the fact that Omnicom took top honours across a
range of categories, spanning advertising, media, digital, mobile, and PR, is a testament to
our relentless focus on innovation, creativity and talent."
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CREATIVITY FOR CHANGE
The role of creativity in society was a central theme of the festival program with a speaker
list reflecting how embracing social good is a responsibility of the commercial sector.
Aside from the usual agency figures, speakers came from a variety of backgrounds,
including civil rights activist Reverend Jesse Jackson who discussed the need for brands
to be more inclusive; Nobel peace prize winner and president of the Republic of Colombia
Juan Manuel Santos, who discussed lessons learned from the Colombian civil war and how
to tackle the world’s toughest brief: peacemaking; and Oscar-winning actress Dame Helen
Mirren who discussed redefining diversity.
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1
AdNews
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AdAge 3
The Guardian

3. G E T A D V E R T I S I N G S M A R T
Cannes 2017
As a reaction to turbulent current events, many brands have established political stances
or social initiatives as a way to connect on a deeper level with consumers. The festival
spotlighted campaigns which engaged technology to connect and empower individuals as
well as brands which used their voice to bring together the widening chasm between
sections of society. Yet, it was stressed that these techniques should not simply be
engaged as an empty marketing ploy. During a live session from the Cannes stage,
BBDO's CEO Andrew Robertson underscored that authenticity is crucial to making a
change to the traditional mass marketing model:
“The issue isn’t just making a connection between your brand
and what matters to the audience, it’s making a credible
connection between your brand and what matters.”4
FOCUS ON EFFECTIVENESS
While entries on a whole were down this year, there was a massive spike in entries for the
Creative Effectiveness category, which is the only award which connects creative work
and business results. The category saw a 59% rise year-on-year, which demonstrates that
clients and agencies are showing more interest in the direct business impact of the work.
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The festival has always put a spotlight on creative effectiveness but this year many cases
also tied philanthropic campaigns to financial benefits. BBDO chief creative officer David
Lubars discussed how strong creative work not only lifts culture but can also be very
constructive for business:
“Doing good is not only a nice thing to do and to feel good
about, but it’s also an economic multiplier. ‘Good’ actually
equals profits.”
This finding chimed with the festival’s overall message in using creativity as a positive
force for social benefit but also commercial business.
With that in mind, here we look at highly-awarded campaigns which addressed a
challenging social issue through creativity:
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Cannes Lions Session: What the World Really Needs Is More Advertising – BBDO, 2017
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AdNews

4. G E T A D V E R T I S I N G S M A R T
Cannes 2017
MEET GRAHAM, AUSTRALIA’S TRANSPORT ACCIDENT
COMMISSION, CLEMENGER BBDO MELBOURNE
“Meet Graham” was easily the single-most awarded campaign of
the Festival with 29 Lions including two Grand Prix in Health &
Wellness and Cyber and eight Golds.
6
The campaign was a
collaborative effort between an engineer, an artist and a physician
that brought to life in rich detail the incredible features the human
body would need to survive a traffic crash. The fully interactive
sculpture displayed human vulnerability in a fresh way that
grabbed headlines around the world.
EVAN, SANDY HOOK PROMISE, BBDO NEW YORK
A powerful campaign for Sandy Hook Promise was one
of the big winners at the festival taking home 10 Lions,
including Gold in Entertainment and Film. The viral clip
tricked millions of viewers into believing they were
watching a charming teenage love story unfold, when in
fact a second storyline had a much darker tale to tell, as
the dramatic video aims to prevent gun violence before
it starts by teaching more people to “know the signs.”
HUNGERITHM, SNICKERS, CLEMENGER BBDO MELBOURNE
Cleaning up across categories with 21 Lions, including Gold for
Media, Cyber, Direct & Mobile, the campaign relies on a hunger
algorithm that monitors the mood of the Internet and then
alters Snickers’ prices accordingly. The angrier people get, the
cheaper Snickers get, with prices updating over 140 times a
day and dropping to as low as 82% off the normal shelf price.
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The Hungerithm is designed to bring Snickers world-famous
“You’re Not You When You’re Hungry” campaign into the
digital age by tying it to real-time reactions to real world events.
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Campaign
7
Bandt.com

5. G E T A D V E R T I S I N G S M A R T
Cannes 2017
ONE YEAR ON…
This wasn’t the first year that doing good was a major theme at Cannes – during the
festival last year, in an industry first, The Common Ground initiative was launched by UN
secretary-general Ban Ki-moon to unite the industry’s largest companies in a common
goal to promote the UN’s global sustainability agenda. Since then, Omnicom has been
supporting global and local education programs to deliver on the important promise of
"inclusive and quality education for all." This year, the company announced that it is
formalising its pledge to the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals by embarking on two
new, three-year global partnerships with leading NGOs: Theirworld and Girl Effect. "We
are committed to using the creativity, innovation and power of our people and agencies
across the globe to help the UN achieve the Sustainable Development Goals," said John
Wren, President and CEO, Omnicom Group.
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CANNES 2018
Though there was high attendance and lively discussions at the festival, much debate
surrounds the utility of the event. At the festival this year Publicis Media Group publically
stated that they will not be attending or entering Cannes, or any other awards shows, in
2018 and instead will shift its spend toward a new AI-powered professional assistant
platform which they deem more crucial to the success of the company. Sir Martin Sorrell,
CEO of WPP, also expressed concern over the value of the event and shared that his
company was having second thoughts about participating.
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There has been increasing industry speculation that Cannes Lions’ focus has diffused to
become too broad and is no longer about good creativity. This has reignited broader
dialogues around the relationship between creativity, data and technology in the
advertising business. After criticism from some of the industry’s biggest players, Cannes
Lions organisers announced the creation of an advisory committee to "help shape the
future of the festival". We await the results.
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PR Newswire
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The Drum

6. G E T A D V E R T I S I N G S M A R T
Cannes 2017
If you are interested in learning more about the subject of this article, please contact
Kelsey Gardner, Senior Strategic Planner, GardnerK@BBDOKNOWS.com
ABOUT BBDO KNOWS
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