With the return of the Cannes Lions Awards at Cannes Lions Live right around the corner, we’ve been looking back and celebrating Lion-winning moments of creativity that have pushed society, creativity, and business forward over the years – from 1954 to the present day.
Over the next few weeks, members of this year’s Jury will be sharing the moments they remember as having pushed the world forward – whether publicly, or privately.
Get inspired, and take a walk down memory lane with the Moments That Moved Us, from the Cannes Lions 2021 Jury.
DIRECT LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
Chief Creative Officer, APAC, Ogilvy
"One thing I learnt early in my career was relentless tenacity. 95% of everything I've ever come up with has been killed for whatever reason. You just gotta shake it off... There's always a different or better solution out there. And the 5% that you do end up making is pretty damn satisfying."
PRINT & PUBLISHING LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Communications NA, Leo Burnett & Publicis Communications
Of all the senses, smell has the strongest relationship to memory. When SC Johnson was looking to relaunch its Glade brand with all-new scents, we knew we had to create something truly memorable. So, we set out to create an experience that would be visceral, sensational, unforgettable: The Museum of Feelings. We worked with creative technologists, architects, photographers, artists, package designers, master perfumers to build this 5,300-square-foot, first-of-its-kind pop-up. Set in Manhattan, the exterior used a custom algorithm to reflect the mood of the city. Inside, fragrance-inspired exhibits translated people’s feelings into LED lights. MoodLens, a digital extension, became the world’s first ‘living selfie.’ The Museum of Feelings communicated with people on an emotional level, combined craft with data and technology in a surprising way, and, most importantly, made the Glade brand cool, relevant and interesting among consumers. People waited in the cold for 4+ hours to experience it. Fast Company and The New York Times wrote about it. Beauty editors asked if they could shoot their fall product line-ups there. And it won SC Johnson’s very first Gold Lion at Cannes. This work was definitely a “moment” for me.
ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR SPORT JURY PRESIDENT
Chief Client Officer, International, Octagon
If you let me play sports” by Nike is that moment for me. Probably the first piece of work that sticks in my head that brought to life the power of sport in society. That moment was relived as part of the inaugural jury for the Entertainment Lions for Sport in 2019 – for the first time being able to set a standard and award work in the world of sport. Sport has the ability to break down barriers, bring people together and change behaviours. For the first time, we were able to recognise the work in the world of Sport that was using this medium to drive social positive change.
MEDIA LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
Worldwide CEO, PHD
One of my fondest moments of Cannes Lions happened in 2012. It was only the second time I had been to Cannes and anticipation was high as Omnicom had been shortlisted for a large number of awards.
However, even though we thought our work was strong, we did not imagine that we (MG OMD/ Part of OMG UK ) would win the Grand Prix Media Lion for our Google Voice Search campaign. I was asked (along with a colleague) to attend the ceremony at the Palais, and whilst it might not be as glamorous as the Oscars, it certainly felt a privilege to be amongst the nominees and winners in the audience. When we left the Palais we had microphones pushed into our faces asking why we had won and what made the campaign different. Explaining to many reporters from many different countries about Geo location targeting and why it was the most complex outdoor campaign that ever ran in the UK proved a bit tricky but we got there! Whilst I’ve been fortunate to win a number of media awards over the years winning a Grand Prix at Cannes and collecting the award on behalf of the team at MG OMD and Google was definitely a moment I will never forget.
ENTERTAINMENT LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
CEO, Observatory
First (but second in importance) are the series of moments that validated the “risk” we took by building an agency around the idea of Entertainment as a driver of brand and business results.
BUT, the moment that really MOVED me was years later in 2018 when I first saw the Entertainment Lions Grand Prix winner, “5B” by Johnson & Johnson, about the world’s first AIDS-specific hospital ward. A stunning film made even more poignant by the current pandemic and inspiring dedication of the world’s healthcare workers. Wow. Moved is an epic understatement.
CREATIVE ECOMMERCE LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
Global Chief Creative Officer, R\GA
As a Creative Director for Legacy’s truth I realized the power of what creativity could do. Sure, we did award-winning creative work and we believed it was effective, but it was years later before we knew the full impact. One study found that truth was directly responsible for keeping 450,000 teens from starting to smoke during its first four years, and a second study found that the campaign resulted in savings of between 2-5 billion in health care costs in its first two years. It was the most successful cessation campaign of all time and named one of the top ad campaigns of the 21st Century. And to this day, I’m still motivated knowing what the potential of my work can be.
FILM LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
Chief Creative Officer, adam&eveDDB
A moment for me, albeit a little one, was when I overhead my six year old singing “Dumb ways to Die” to himself during lockdown, a song he was shown by a friend. It made me think of the Croisette in 2014 when it was winning everything it touched and it was all that our contemporaries talked about. That was the year before my little boy was born. So that moment made me think that with true creativity, whilst hitting the people around you is important, its ability to endure and work endlessly is what makes it magic.
ENTERTAINMENT LIONS FOR MUSIC JURY PRESIDENT
President and Chief Strategy Officer, Sodo Mood Lab
The moment for me in my life that pushed me forward like nothing else was when the Fugees’ first record didn’t do well commercially. That moment fueled me to dig deeper, get more focused, and more creative than ever before. Without that moment, The Score might not have been the record and cultural movement it was able to become.
See the MomentGLASS: THE LION FOR CHANGE JURY PRESIDENT
Chief Marketing Officer, Netflix
At the time of the making of this campaign, we hadn’t yet had the kind of racial reckoning we’re seeing now. It was still an undercover conversation for the “woke-few.” But this truth-barring account from 2 of the most visible Black men in our culture, who by all accounts should be shielded from the daily racism many Black people feel in the country, was an awakening for many that racism was not a thing of the past. As soon as Laura Ingram critiqued LeBron for his views on race, politics, and commanded that he should “shut up and dribble”, a revolution was born. That is the power of our creative storytelling. It’s the ability to see around the corner on an underlying culture-shifting issue which is about the break the surface... and giving it the nudge to become a central voice. That’s the intangible magic we’re all seeking.
OUTDOOR LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
Chairman, Chief Creative Officer & Partner, AlmapBBDO
I have not one but three moments, because I believe they all reinforce advertising's power to make a difference in people's lives – by engaging them, moving them, informing them, and entertaining them. HP Inc’s ‘Magic Words’ for using technology to impact and make a difference to people’s lives; Budweiser’s ‘Wassup’ for how it affected culture and leapt over boundaries; and Getty Images’ ‘Endless Stories’ for transforming a commodity into entertaining content that impacted life and society. All such powerful stories.
FILM CRAFT LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
President, Prettybird
Starting Prettybird with Paul Hunter! We started from scratch so we could build a creative community that embraced all voices and provide a platform for creators that weren’t getting exposed to the world of advertising. In 2016 our vision and determination was recognised when we were awarded our first Grand Prix for Beyonce's 'Formation'.
HEALTH & WELLNESS LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
Co-Global Chief Creative Officer, 21GRAMS
I still remember the first time I entered the Palais as a junior creative and experienced the most wonderful work. Rows and rows of amazing ideas, elevated by beautiful craft; art direction, design, illustration, photography and copywriting. An emotion stirred within me, that ignited into a flame that is still burning today - so much so that 16 years later, when I was running Havas Lynx's creative department, we won the Cannes Lions Healthcare Agency of the Year.
SOCIAL & INFLUENCER LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
Global Chief Creative Officer, VMLY&R
This work was definitely a “moment” for me. It was the Cannes Lions Grand Prix in Social & Influencer in 2019 and created for our client Wendy’s — which might mean I’m a bit biased. But it truly opened up an entirely new channel and did it in such an organic and fresh way. This idea enabled Wendy’s to engage a community of gamers and become part of their entertainment without interrupting. PJ Pereira, 2019 Jury Chair for Social & Influencer, suggested this type of seamless brand engagement had all the makings of a new trend. In the time since, we’ve seen how that “trend” has taken hold — and how gaming has become a whole new media channel for not only Wendy’s, but for all types of clients.
RADIO & AUDIO LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
Global President Dentsu Mcgarrybowen/
Chairmom Dentsu Jayme Syfu, Dentsu Mcgarrybowen
We brought a dead whale's statement to life by pushing brands to make sustainability their priority. But consumption of plastic today has dramatically increased due to health safety with protection packaging, take-outs, deliveries.
Now we need to take serious action to achieve zero plastic waste by 2030.
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT GOALS LIONS JURY PRESIDENT
VP Global Creative Board & President/CEO Europe, Grey Worldwide
My favourite moment in history: The moon landing. What did it do for JFK, for USA and for the world? Imagine if a brand would have done it.
For me, that idea, brilliantly executed, set the standard for the ideas I want to be a part of. Ideas like ‘Nature Represented’ which I was proud to be a part of and even prouder to have received seven Lions for.
CREATIVE BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION LIONS PRESIDENT
Global Chief Experience Officer & Managing Partner, EMEA, AKQA
Nike’s 2010 World Cup campaign “Write the Future” inspired young footballers around the world. But how could we offer those aspiring athletes a chance to write their own future? Together with Nike we launched a search for the world’s undiscovered football talent, called “The Chance”. Despite doubts that any kids could have fallen through the cracks of the scouting system, through social media and a series of in-person trials we identified eight promising young footballers who attended the Nike Academy. All eight signed professional contracts upon graduation, and three went on to play in subsequent World Cups for their countries, the wildest dreams of our brainstorming sessions come true.