All-time favourites from Cannes Lions

All-time favourites from Cannes Lions

A pilgrimage to Cannes is high on every creative person’s wish list. But the trip has assumed ritualistic proportions for some who’ve been making the journey almost every year. BE spoke to half-a-dozen of these regulars to find out their all-time favourites from Cannes Lions.

Emmanuel Upputuru
National Creative Director, Publicis India

This is a very tough job, I have hazaar all-time favourites. But if you insist, I’d say the ‘shadow’ film for Aerolineas Argentinas, the ‘Magic happens’ film for Disney, and the Levi’s ‘watch pocket’ ad. I think the Disney ad, much like the Ikea ‘lamp’ ad, is spectacular because on paper it looks like a very simple script.

But recreating something like that and making it look realistic is incredibly hard. The ad gives me the goose bumps every time. Having been on juries over the last one-and-a-half years, I see that juries are under pressure to award work that either has a social message or is stunning in execution and effects.

Whereas these three ads are very nice, simple human stories focused on simple product propositions. The year Aerolineas Argentinas made it to Cannes, PlayStation’s ‘mountain’ film won the Grand Prix; I was very disappointed.


Rensil D’Silva
Executive Creative Director, Meridian Communications

The Aerolineas Argentinas film is the most stunning and moving piece of advertising I’ve seen at Cannes, I remember the phenomenal applause it drew during the screening. What a fantastic way of showing the power of believing in your dreams. The other is the ‘magic of giving’ film for the Peruvian Cancer Foundation.

Both ads are great pieces of magic realism, with an emotional core that transcends race and geography. Through the narration, both films create a childish sense awe and wonder, a kind of return to innocence. The fact that they stay with you long after you’ve seen them is a testament to the power of storytelling. We in India somehow seem scared of writing scripts like these.


Satbir Singh
Chief Creative Officer, Euro RSCG

There are several ads that come to mind. But I’d say the two Sony Bravia film, ‘balls’ and ‘paint’, and the series of ads for Orange which talked about how you shouldn’t let a cell phone conversation ruin movie watching were really cool. Bravia because the ads were single-minded in their intent, and had great visuals and exceedingly good music.

Also, ‘paint’ really took the campaign thought of ‘balls’ forward. Orange because it was brave for the client to take a topic which is such a raw spot for moviegoers, and handle it with such deprecating humour. But what I love best is Design Barcode, which won the Titanium Lion two years ago. The barcode is something we’ve all seen, but they turned it around beautifully. It teaches us that there is scope for creativity in everyday things staring at our faces.


Abhijit Avasthi
Executive Creative Director, O&M India

I’d put in the ‘Wassup’ campaign, the Thai Life Insurance film (‘father and son’ ) and the ‘magician’ film for the Peruvian Cancer Foundation. And the whole Honda ‘power of dreams’ campaign. All of them are very atypical of the category and nothing remotely close has been done before. Which insurance company would have the guts to talk about death and sell it like Thai Life did?

It just might be my favourite film of all time. ‘Wassup’, I dare any planner in the world to write a brief to it. Honda is more about the power of advertising than power of dreams, how it can make a fuddy-duddy brand look really cool. And many people have done films about kids losing hair because of cancer, but the Peruvian Cancer Foundation put a different spin on it.


Ravi Deshpande
Chief Creative Officer, Contract Advertising

My favourites are ‘Don’t’ for The Independent, ‘Wassup’ for Budweiser, and last year, when I was judging, the amazing spot ‘wind’ for Epuron. The Independent film had such a powerful quality: a newspaper making a statement about freedom by speaking about how life is full of ‘don’ts’. Even after a decade, I remember the visuals and imagery. It couldn’t be for anything else other than a paper. ‘Wassup’ was again an absolutely lateral thought.

Good times with friends and Bud is so memorable, and gets everyone in splits; engagement and entertainment at its maximum. In the middle of all this, the product fits in so well. The ‘wind’, I found it almost poetry; like watching Goddard’s cinema. It’s so unlike an ad that you get completely hooked in to what’s going on. What an amazing way of interpreting wind, personifying it and telling a story... it nearly won a Grand Prix.

Credit Link: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/Features/Brand_Equity_/All-time_favourites_from_Cannes_Lions/rssarticleshow/msid-2973960,curpg-1.cms