With a strong showing in Film, Canada added eight more Lions to its tally on the final day of Cannes 2021, although none of the Canadian contenders for a Titanium Lion made the winners list.
Film
Canada won two Silver and five Bronze Lions in the Film Lions. The long-running and oft-awarded Vs. platform for The SickKids Foundation won a Silver for this year’s “Moms Vs. Hard Days” spot, while 2019’s “SickKids Vs. This is Why” won two Bronze Lions. (Work going back to 2019 was eligible this year, after the Lions were cancelled because of the pandemic in 2020.)
Ogilvy’s “Courage is Beautiful” concluded a stellar week with a Silver and a Bronze Lion in the Film competition. Created with Ogilvy’s London office for Dove, the campaign had already won two Grands Prix in Print & Publishing and Industry Craft earlier in the week.
“Courage is Beautiful” film entry
No Fixed Address and the Canadian Centre for Child Protection won a Bronze Lion for their very pointed “Happy Birthday, Twitter” video, calling for Twitter to do more to stop the spread of child sexual abuse material on its platform.
And Broken Heart Love Affair won its first-ever Lion for its first big brand advertising effort. Created just a few months after launching the agency last spring, “Unapologetically Human” for Kruger Products won a Bronze Lion.
The Film jury awarded three Film Grand Prix Lions:
BETC Paris and Lacoste won for “Crocodile Inside,” while Wieden+Kennedy Portland and Nike won for “Nike: You Can’t Stop Us,” and AMV BBDO London’s “#Wombstories” for Essity’s Bodyform/Libresse brands, a betting favourite coming into the competition, also won a Grand Prix.
See all the Film Grand Prix and Gold winners here.
Sustainable Development Goals
The Sustainable Development Goals Lions are for programs that solve problems and “harness creativity and seek to positively impact the world.”
FCB and Google’s “Project Understood” for the Canadian Down Syndrome Society was the lone Canadian winner in the category, winning a Silver Lion.
The Grand Prix was given to Sweden’s Doconomy and Farm Stockholm for “The 2030 Calculator” (see it below).
Titanium Lions
When it was released earlier this month, the Titanium Lions shortlist featured three Canadian campaigns. As the most prestigious competition in Cannes—reserved for work and ideas considered transformative or game-changing for the industry—it’s not a cliché to say that just making the shortlist is a huge accomplishment. However, none of those Canadian entries were among the seven campaigns to receive a Titanium Lion.
The Titanium Grand Prix was also given to AMV BBDO’s “#Wombstories.”
See all the Titanium Lion winners here.
Glass Lions
Finally, Glass Lions were awarded in a category for work that “implicitly or explicitly addresses issues of gender inequality or prejudice.” There were just seven Glass Lions awarded, none from Canada.
The Grand Prix went to VMLY&R for Starbucks’ “I am,” which saw a Starbucks store turned into a notary office to make it easier for transgender people to legally change their names—normally a difficult process for transgender people in Brazil (see it below).
Doconomy and Farm Stockholm — “The 2030 Calculator”
VMLY&R for Starbucks — “I am”
