On the third day of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the winners in the Creative B2B, Creative Data, Direct, Media, PR, and Social & Influencer Lions categories were announced. Highlighting the day was Kazakhstan’s historic first-ever Gold Lion win in the Social & Influencer Lions.
“It’s inspiring to see the breadth of winners emerging and particularly first-time winners. We saw Iceland win their first Lion last night and tonight, Kazakhstan is taking home their first-ever Lion, having won Gold in the Social & Influencer Lions. Congratulations to all of our Lion winners, as well as those shortlisted, who are driving progress for people, businesses, and society across the world,” Simon Cook, CEO LION said.
In the Creative B2B Lions, celebrating innovative work in the B2B space, 371 entries were received, resulting in 13 Lions being awarded: six Gold, four Silver, two Bronze, and the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix went to ‘Meet Marina Prieto’ for JCDecaux by David, Madrid.
This campaign showcased the effectiveness of the outdoor advertising brand’s media spaces to C-Suite marketers in Spain by flooding the Spanish subway with images from the Instagram profile of a centenarian woman. The campaign increased Marina’s following by over 39,000% and doubled media investment for the advertiser.
Creative B2B Jury President, Andisa Ntsubane, praised the campaign: “The story of Marina Prieto is the ultimate celebration of humanity. It’s a story of intrigue, hope, inspiration, and possibilities. A powerful, insightful, and resourceful way of engaging audiences while proving a business case. A simple and smart B2B idea that proves that you don’t always have to use AI or new-generation technologies to break through.”
In the Creative Data Lions, which celebrate the intersection of ideas and information, 366 entries were received, leading to 12 Lions being awarded: three Gold, three Silver, five Bronze, and the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix was awarded to ‘Room For Everyone’ for Mastercard by McCann Poland, Warsaw.
This campaign used data to identify optimal locations for Ukrainian businesses to open near complementary Polish firms, helping to counter growing xenophobia towards Ukrainian refugees.
REELated:
Creative Data Jury President, Rose Herceg, lauded the campaign: “Our Grand Prix winner ‘Room for Everyone’ is the best argument for creativity as the key lever for determining success. This work delivers socially, economically, geographically, and culturally. It helps create a booming small business economy, reminds us that there is more that unites us than divides us, takes data and uses it with such incredible finesse, and achieves all of this in one campaign.”
The Direct Lions, which recognize targeted and response-driven creativity, received 2025 entries, resulting in 62 Lions being awarded: 10 Gold, 20 Silver, 31 Bronze, and the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix went to ‘The Everyday Tactician’ for Xbox Games Pass by McCann London, UK, a campaign that seamlessly integrated digital expertise with real-world football management.
Direct Lions Jury President, Pancho Cassis, remarked: “As soon as we saw this idea, we knew there was something special. An idea that ticks all the boxes of a perfect direct campaign but also opens the door to new thinking and will inspire creatives and brands to think in different ways. It’s an idea that teaches us the value of patience – turning a great thought into an unbeatable integrated direct campaign.”
In the Media Lions, which showcase work that enhances and amplifies through innovative channel strategy, 1888 entries were received, and 60 Lions were awarded: 10 Gold, 19 Silver, 30 Bronze, and the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix was presented to ‘Handshake Hunt’ for Mercado Libre by Gut, São Paulo, Brazil, a campaign that cleverly utilized TV and digital integration to drive consumer engagement during Black Friday.
Media Jury President, Prerna Mehrotra, commented: “At a time when attention is fragmented, this idea has proven that a strong insight can lead technology to reinvent the TV-watching experience in a clever way that not only drives participation but also wins business.”
The PR Lions, which honor strategic and creative communication, awarded 50 Lions from 1528 entries: eight Gold, 16 Silver, 25 Bronze, and the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix went to ‘The Misheard Version’ for Specsavers by Golin, London, UK, a campaign featuring Rick Astley re-recording his hit song to promote hearing tests.
PR Jury President, Kat Thomas, expressed delight: “Since the PR Lions first launched, there has been the same speculation every year – will a PR agency pick up the Grand Prix? 2024 is the year that history will be made. ‘The Misheard Version’ over-delivered against every evaluation benchmark we set, from standout earned-first creativity to cultural relevance and meaningful commercial impact.”
In the Social & Influencer Lions, 1769 entries resulted in 56 Lions being awarded: 9 Gold, 18 Silver, 28 Bronze, and the Grand Prix. The Grand Prix went to ‘Michael Cerave’ for Cerave by Ogilvy PR, New York, a campaign that created a viral faux-hoax about the company’s founder being actor Michael Cera.
Social & Influencer Jury President, commented: “Our Social & Influencer Grand Prix winner is a wildly ambitious, lovably absurd, multi-channel, ultra-modern campaign that beautifully blurs the line between social, influencer, culture, and advertising. It’s hard to classify, but one thing is clear: it belongs firmly in this category because without the brilliant use of social and influencer, this idea doesn’t work.”
The Media Network of the Year was also announced, with the following rankings:
- OMD Worldwide
- PHD Worldwide
- Mediaplus
Winners of the Lions will be announced at the Award Shows taking place each evening throughout the Festival, from 17 to 21 June 2024. Click here for more Reel 360 News from Cannes.
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