BBDO and the Canadian Paralympic Committee’s 3D-printable Lego pieces—including prosthetic legs and wheelchairs—won a Gold Lion in Cannes Tuesday night. It was the lone Canadian Gold, accompanied by three Silver and eight Bronze wins.
The CPC launched the “Para Expansion Pack” just ahead of the Tokyo Paralympics last August, to make a statement about the importance of inclusion and representation.
“For us, inclusion has always been fundamental,” said the CPC’s executive director of communication and brand, Martin Richard, at the time. “The Expansion Pack helps broaden the awareness of that inclusivity and celebrate Paralympic athletes.”
“It’s about giving these competitors their due, not just as athletes but as icons of popular culture,” said BBDO’s chief creative officer, Max Geraldo. “In its own small way, the Para Expansion Pack helps them take their place as stars.”
Lions were handed out in six different awards competitions on Tuesday night, with Canada’s best performance coming in the Design Lions.
Design Lions (1 Gold, 1 Silver, 4 Bronze for Canada)
While BBDO won the only Canadian Gold of the night in Design, Rethink won a Silver Design Lion for its work with the National Magazine Awards, as well as a Bronze for Fondation Émergence’s “Colours of Pride” (the campaign also won a Bronze in Print & Publishing on Monday).
After winning a Gold in Health & Wellness yesterday, Zulu Alpha Kilo picked up a Bronze for Pfaff Harley-Davidson’s “Tough Turban.”
Bronze Lions also went to FCB Toronto for the Ontario Lottery Corporation’s “Dream Drop,” and Sid Lee for the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s “Circular Design for Fashion,” a guidebook to help designers with three principles of circular design: Eliminate waste, circulate products, and regenerate nature.
The Design Grand Prix went to Portugal’s FCB Lisbon and Penguin Books for “Portuguese (Re)Constitution.” The work celebrated the end of the fascist dictatorship in Portugal by transforming the fascist constitution into a book celebrating art and freedom.
A total of 38 Design Lions were awarded from 1,060 submissions.
Digital Craft (2 Silver for Canada)
“The Black Elevation Map” by Performance Art Toronto for Black & Abroad won a Silver in Digital Craft. The work was a follow-up to 2019’s massively awarded “Go Back to Africa.” Jam3 also won a Silver for Adidas’ “Ozworld,” which the brand described as “the world’s first personality based AI generated avatar creation platform.”
The Digital Craft jury awarded 21 Lions from a total of 665 submissions. The Grand Prix was given to Virtue Worldwide New York and Polycam with UNESCO for “Backup Ukraine,” which saw the creation of digital 3D models of important Ukrainian landmark and monuments threatened by Russian invaders.
Film Craft (1 Bronze for Canada)
The lone Canadian Lion in Film Craft was a Bronze given to Bensimon Byrne and White Ribbon for “Day After Day”—a powerful portrayal of domestic abuse in lockdown.
The Grand Prix was given to Serviceplan Germany for “The Wish,” for German supermarket brand Penny. A total of 54 Film Craft Lions were awarded from 1,711 entries.
Industry Craft (1 Bronze for Canada)
Just one Canadian entry landed a Lion in Industry Craft: Rethink for Fondation Émergence’s “Colours of Pride.”
The Grand Prix was awarded to AMV BBDO London and Mars Petcare for “Hope Reef,” an out-of-home message of hope and saving the oceans made out of newly grown coral. There were 25 Lions awarded in the competition from 1,134 submissions.
Entertainment Lions
In the three Entertainment track competitions, Canada was shut out of the Entertainment Lions, but won single Lions in both the Music and Sport competitions. The Grand Prix in the Entertainment Lions was given to McCann Stockholm and the Swedish Food Federation for “Eat a Swede”—an 18-minute satirical film that aims to generate new discussion about sustainability by suggesting we consider, umm… cannibalism.
The Entertainment Lions jury gave out 25 awards in total from 655 submissions.
Entertainment Lions for Music (1 Bronze for Canada)
Gut Toronto and Tim Hortons won a Bronze for “Timbiebs.” And while the pop superstar doesn’t sing or contribute anything musically, the campaign won in the Artist as a Brand or Cause Ambassador category.
Just 17 Music Lions were awarded, with the Grand Prix given to the Residente music video “This is Not America.” A total of 41 Lions were awarded from a total of 390 submissions.
Entertainment Lions for Sport (1 Bronze for Canada)
Rethink won a Bronze for “Add the M” for YWCA, which pointedly suggested that if we add an W to women’s sports leagues like the WNBA, we ought to add an M to men’s leagues, too.
There were 22 Entertainment Lions awarded in total, with the Grand Prix going to R/GA London for Nike’s “NikeSync.”
