It’s very clear now that Canada is having a record-breaking year in Cannes—and there are still two more days to come. After winning 17 Lions on Monday, 11 on Tuesday, and 17 more on Wednesday, Canada has already surpassed its previous high-water mark of 41.
Wednesday’s strong performance came across six different competitions. And it wasn’t just about the number, but the calibre of the awards haul, which included one Grand Prix, and five Gold Lions.
Media Lions
As has been the case for a while now, Rethink is undeniably helping drive the bus for Canada. The agency has already won a number of Lions this week, including a Gold for “Ketchup Fraud” in Outdoor, and another Gold Wednesday night in Media, this time for Decathlon’s “Ability Signs.”
The agency also won another Bronze in Media for IKEA’s “IKEA Window Shopping.”
The Grand Prix was given to Ogilvy London with David Madrid for Dove’s “#TurnYourBack,” which called for people to turn their back on the TikTok filter Bold Glamour for promoting unhealthy and unrealistic beauty standards.
First, this was about a brand delivering a really important message about the dangers of social media, said jury president Christian Juhl, global CEO, GroupM.
“I think it’s impossible not to see that message and feel like it’s something important to be recognized,” he said. “And second, the work was really well executed… it had great targeting, it was multiscreen, it went through categories of media, It almost ticked off on every single one. And we were really impressed with that.”
Creative Data Lions
The lone Canadian winner was Dentsu and Skip the Dishes, with a Bronze for “Inflation Cookbook.”
“The best work in this category has mastered the power of transforming numbers into tools of inspiration,” said jury president Samantha Hernández Díaz, chief strategy officer, Gut Mexico City.
The Grand Prix was given to Gut Argentina and Stella Artois for “The Artois Probability.” Based on the fact that the roots of the brewery go back more than 600 years, and spread throughout Europe in the years that followed, Gut set out to figure out how likely it was that the beer being consumed in Renaissance paintings was, in fact, Stella Artois.
Direct Lions
Aside from FCB’s Grand Prix, Dentsu also won Bronze for Skip the Dishes’ “Inflation Cookbook,” while Rethink picked up another Bronze for “Ketchup Fraud” for Heinz Ketchup.
PR Lions
Aside from the Gold for “Runner 321,” Rethink and Penguin Books Random House won Bronze for “The Unburnable Book” and The Kitchen and Kraft Heinz also got Bronze for “Find the Ketchup Boat Guy.”
The Grand Prix went to the cheeky “Self Love Bouquet” by Gut Los Angeles for Doordash. Targeting women, and single women in particular, the Valentine’s Day campaign included special deliveries of 11 roses and one rose-shaped vibrator.
Creative B2B Lions
This was the only category where Canada was shut out Wednesday night, with the Grand Prix going to AlmapBBDO Sao Paulo and B3 Stock Exchange for “Eart4.”
