Cannes Lions 2019: 29 Grand Prix winners that stood out across all categories

Cannes Lions 2019 awarded 29 Grand Prix to 26 pieces of work across 27 categories of 30,953 entries received. There were two Grand Prix awarded in Entertainment Lions for Music category while a Grand Prix for Good was given to a non-profit and charitable Gold Lion winner across categories (except Health & Wellness and Pharma) ineligible to win a Grand Prix.

Among the 26 pieces of Grand Prix winning work, Burger King’s ‘The Whopper Detour’ by FCB New York won three Grand Prix. ‘The Truth Is Worth It’ for New York Times won a Grand Prix to Droga5 in Film and another to Final Cut, New York in Film Craft.

Here are the Grand Prix winners of 2019 Cannes Lions:

1. Health & Wellness Lions

The Grand Prix was won by McCann, Tel Aviv for Ikea’s ‘ThisAbles’, whereby the furniture retailer created add-ons for existing products to make them more accessible for people with disabilities.

Commenting on the Grand Prix winner, Jury President, Shaheed Peera, Executive Creative Director of Publicis LifeBrands, Publicis Resolute and Real Science, Global, said: “The world can be a cruel and heartless place at times. The Grand Prix demonstrated how brands can help normalise the everyday for the most marginalised in society.”

ThisAbles:

2. Pharma Lions

McCann Health, Shanghai picked up the Grand Prix for ‘Breath of Life’ a diagnostic tool for COPD for pharmaceutical company GSK Glaxosmithkline.

Robin Shapiro, TBWA\WorldHealth, Global, and Jury President of the category, commented: “COPD is one of the top three causes of death in China and it’s terribly underdiagnosed and undertreated. Breath of Life combines Chinese blow art, creative data visualization, and mobile technology into one irresistibly engaging diagnostic tool. This is highly personalized health engagement with scalable human impact and is the essence of life changing creativity which is what Cannes Lions Health is all about.”

Breath of Life:

3. Design Lions

Google Creative Lab, New York, won the Grand Prix for Google’s ‘Creatability’, which explores how creative tools – drawing, music, and more – can be made more accessible using web and AI technology.

Creatability:

4. Outdoor Lions

Wieden+Kennedy Portland picked up the Grand Prix for 'Nike Dream Crazy | Colin Kaepernick' for Nike, and extension to the ‘Just Do It’ campaign featuring high-profile athlete Kaepernick.

Jury President, John Patroulis - Worldwide Chief Creative Officer, Grey, Global, said: This particular category comes to life in so many different ways. A lot of the entries are using lots of new innovation and are creating new things. But we kept coming back to this campaign when we thought about the absolute single best piece of work in the show. Nothing lived up to the power of this image at this moment in time, culturally and in society.”

Nike Dream Crazy | Colin Kaepernick:

5. Print & Publishing Lions

Winning the top award and taking home the Grand Prix in this category for the UAE is Impact BBDO, Dubai for ‘The Blank Edition’ for leading Lebanese daily newspaper, An-Nahar, issued as a form of protest of the political situation in Lebanon.

Jury president, Olivier Altmann, CEO & Chief Creative Officer, Altmann + Pacreau, France, commented: “We are very happy to award the Grand Prix to a piece of work that celebrates creativity and journalism. We have seen some great campaigns over the past few days, where the new magazines the newspapers need our creativity to promote freedom of press and the Grand Prix is a white page of paper, multiple white pages of paper that are the proof that a great idea can help democracy to work better.”

The Blank Edition:

6. Digital Craft Lions

The Grand Prix was awarded to VIRTUE, Copenhagen for Carlings’ ‘adDRESS THE FUTURE’, whereby the multi-brand chain created a digital fashion collection to raise awareness of the environmental damage of fast fashion.

Jury President Rei Inamoto, Founding Partner, Inamoto & CO, said: “This is a Grand Prix with the ambition to tackle a huge problem that humanity faces. The unexpectedness of the idea itself, the ingenuity and the scalability makes this a worthy winner.”

adDRESS THE FUTURE:

7. Film Craft Lions

Final Cut, New York picked up the Grand Prix for ‘The Truth Is Worth It’ campaign for The New York Times which aims to show that original, independent journalism requires resources, time and commitment, and that subscribing to The NY Times is crucial in that effort.

Jury President, Rebecca Skinner, Managing Director/Executive Producer, Supreme Films, USA, commented: “Over seven days of judging there were many perspectives and discussions across all of the work, but when it came to the Grand Prix it was unanimous. A bold and courageous campaign crafted in a unique way.”

The jury pointed out that whilst the craft was very diverse and shone through, there was a high level of brands touching on social issues.

Resolve:

Fearlessness:

Rigor:

Witnessing:

8. Industry Craft Lions

The Grand Prix was presented to Momentum Worldwide, New York for Nike who transformed a church into a basketball facility called 'Just Do It HQ at The Church' for Chicago’s youth.

Trevor Robinson OBE, Founder & Executive Creative Director, Quiet Storm and Jury President, commented: “It’s a Grand Prix that celebrates bringing restraint to craft, with a legacy that lives beyond this award.”

Just Do It HQ at The Church:

9. Entertainment Lions

UM Studios, New York won the Grand Prix for Johnson & Johnson’s ‘5B’, a feature film showing how powerful nurses are.

Jury President, Scott Donaton, Global Chief Creative & Content Officer, Digitas, Global, said: “5B is a brave idea and a beautiful story that's brilliantly crafted. It can – and will – stand as a piece of great entertainment as well as an example of bold marketing. We need more stories like this, stories that make people care, that reflect a brand's values and that point the way forward for our industry.”

5B:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_VOpZMUe964

10. Entertainment Lions for Music

Doomsday Entertainment, Los Angeles won the Music Content: Excellence in Music Video Grand Prix for ‘This Is America’ for Childish Gambino which looked at the representation of black people in America and the prejudices they faced.

This Is America:

11. The second Grand Prix in this category awarded for Community: Fan Engagement/Community Building, was awarded to AKQA São Paulo, the first Entertainment Lion for Music Grand Prix for Brazil, for ‘Bluesman’ by Brazilian rapper Baco Exu Do Blues, aiming to unify audiences in the quest for equality and peace.

Bluesman:

12. Entertainment Lions for Sport

The first ever Grand Prix has been awarded to Wieden+Kennedy Portland for Nike’s ‘Nike Dream Crazy’, which leverages the power of sport to move the world forward.

This is the second Grand Prix they’ve won at Cannes, having earlier won in the Outdoor Lions Billboards category. The jury, led by Steve Stoute, Founder & CEO, Translation Enterprises noted that many of the work judged centered around diversity and inclusion in sport, and in particular women in sports with a call to action to fight back against gender bias.

Nike Dream Crazy:

13. Creative Data Lions

The Grand Prix was awarded to ‘Go Back to Africa’ for Black & Abroad, by FCB/Six Toronto. The work helped to reframe the way people think about Africa, by creating a platform that displaces the hate surrounding the racial slur “Go Back To Africa”.

Creative Data, Jury President, Yasuharu Sasaki, Head of Digital Creative and Executive Creative Director, Dentsu Inc., Japan, said: “In this digital age, there are a lot of negative data like fake news, privacy violations, or hate messages. The Grand Prix winner tackled this issue with a bold and impactful way. It changes negative messages into meaningful contents. It created a new community with the power of data and contributed to the culture.”

Go Back to Africa:

14. Creative Strategy Lions

The Grand Prix went to ‘The E.V.A. Initiative’ for Volvo Cars, by Forsman & Bodefors, Gothenburg. The campaign aims to improve gender safety equality in cars and saw Volvo share research to help other automakers produce safer cars.

Creative Strategy Lions Jury President, Tracey Follows, Founder, Futuremade, said: “Starting from one hereto unobserved data insight about how women in the world were catered for, it transformed how we saw the whole world and gave a fresh take on safety to refresh and reinvigorate Volvo.”

The E.V.A. Initiative:

15. Direct Lions

The Grand Prix was presented to ‘The Whopper Detour’ for Burger King by FCB New York. The work created an app enabling people within 600 feet of one of the 14,000 McDonald’s locations in America to unlock a deal for a 1-cent Whopper.

Direct Lions Jury President, Nicky Bullard, Chairwoman & Chief Creative Officer, MRM McCann, said: “Our Grand Prix was completely brilliant – ‘completely’ being an important word. It had everything. Targeting, amazing execution, a clear call to action and results. On top of that it’s one of the most audacious campaigns any of us had ever seen.”

The Whopper Detour:

16. Media Lions

The Grand Prix was awarded to ‘Air Max Graffiti Stores’ for Nike, by AKQA, São Paulo.

Media Lions Jury President Karen Blackett OBE, WPP UK Country Manager & MediaCom Chairwoman UK & Ireland, WPP, explained that the work demonstrated brand bravery, benefiting the brand and the community. Blackett described it as: “A brilliant piece of work that tapped into local culture with ecommerce intertwined with geo fencing to create a new store opportunity - the media is the message. Great creativity, partnerships to make the media idea come to life and a brave client with phenomenal results.”

Air Max Graffiti Stores:

17. PR Lions

The Grand Prix was presented to ‘The Tampon Book: A Book Against Tax Discrimination’ for The Female Company, by Scholz & Friends Berlin. The work was created in protest against the unfair taxation of feminine hygiene products, still considered luxury goods and taxed at a higher rate in Germany.

PR Lions Jury President, Michelle Hutton, Managing Director, Global Clients, Edelman, commented, “We are proud to have chosen “The Tampon Book” a book designed to highlight tax discrimination. At its core we believe it is a perfectly formed public relations campaign - from conception of the idea, to the impact it delivers. It represents a modern take on communications combining creativity and the art of PR. It is a call out to the creatives of the world to show public relations has some of the most interesting challenges. It demonstrates that a campaign that sets out to change law can be 'super-powered' though creativity.”

The Tampon Book: A Book Against Tax Discrimination:

18. Social & Influencer Lions

‘Keeping Fortnite Fresh’ for Wendy’s by VMLY&R Kansas City, was honoured with the highest Grand Prix accolade. The work saw the fast-food chain going after fictional rivals on Fortnite, which highlighted the fact they use fresh beef.

Social & Influencer Lions Jury President PJ Pereira, Co-founder & Creative Chairman, Pereira O'Dell, said: “Wendy’s doesn't try to sneak into anyone's life, doesn't try to attract the audience or even invite them to do anything. It just joins the audience and minds its own business. Simple, resourceful, funny, and incredible. This idea made us smile and stood out, not only because of its unpretentious sense of humor (something very refreshing in this world of brands taking themselves so seriously), but also because it made us all realize we still have so much to learn.”

Keeping Fortnite Fresh:

19. Brand Experience & Activation Lions

The Grand Prix was awarded to McCann New York for ‘Changing The Game’ for Microsoft’s Xbox Adaptive Controller, a project for accessible technology that levels the playing field and creates opportunity for all.

Changing The Game:

20. Creative eCommerce Lions

RBK Communication, Stockholm won the Grand Prix for ‘Do Black – The Carbon Limit Credit Card’ for Doconomy, the world’s first credit card which helps users track their climate impact and meet the target of reducing consumption related CO2 to protect the planet.

Jury President, Daniel Bonner, Global Chief Creative Officer, Wunderman, commented: “The Grand Prix we chose is truly innovative and ambitious. A signal and future of responsible consumerism that is doable in the present. A unique idea that no doubt will be copied and leveraged by businesses all over the world - and full of creativity for sustainability, in terms of the platform, the production and design, the enterprise and the potential impact for everyone.”

Do Black – The Carbon Limit Credit Card:

21. Creative Effectiveness Lions

Marcel Paris was awarded the Grand Prix for hypermarket chain Carrefour, which defied the law, to change the law, with ‘Black Supermarket’ a place to sell illegal fruits and vegetables and defend biodiversity.

Black Supermarket:

22. Innovation Lions

The Grand Prix was awarded to Area 23, an FCB Health network company in New York, for ‘See Sound’, for Wavio, which built a smart home device powered with machine learning to identify sounds around the home and notify the user through a mobile app. Wavio's Avela Hendrix  interpreted live sign language from the stage.

Commenting on the Grand Prix, Jury President, Bill Yom, Global Creative Director, Cheil Worldwide, said: “This was one of the most courageous and simplest solutions we've seen which solves a problem for the deaf and hard of hearing community that has not been addressed enough before. What's also important is that it utilizes machine learning technology in a genius creative way - basically 'hacking' YouTube to train a sound database with limited resources - to essentially, save lives.”

See Sound:

23. Mobile Lions

FCB New York won a second Grand Prix for Burger King’s ‘The Whopper Detour’, which also picked up a Grand Prix in the Direct Lions this week. The app enabled people within 600 feet of one of the 14,000 McDonald’s locations in America to unlock a deal for a 1-cent Whopper.

24. Radio and Audio Lions

360i, New York won the Grand Prix for HBO’s ‘Westworld: The Maze’, an immersive Alexa game.

Presiding over the jury, Jose Miguel Sokoloff, Global President, Creative Council and Chief Creative Officer UK, MullenLowe London, said: “We are defining the category of radio and audio, not only moving it forward, but also finding its north star, isolating an idea that is rooted in audio.”

Westworld: The Maze:

25. Film Lions

The Grand Prix was awarded to Droga5, New York, for the New York Times ‘The Truth Is Worth It’ campaign – Rigor, Perseverance, Resolve, Courage, Fearlessness – which also won the Film Craft Grand Prix earlier in the week. The campaign brings to light the danger, bravery, perseverance and determination that it takes to be a New York Times journalist and ultimately how that helps people to better understand the world.

Margaret Johnson, Chief Creative Officer & Partner, Goodby Silverstein & Partners USA, commenting on this exceptional campaign, said: “As a jury, we looked for a brilliant idea that had to be combined with a brilliant execution. And this was the best example. The typography is very simple, but extremely powerful. There's an honesty to it and a simplicity to it. It's the Naked Truth. And that's the power of it.”

Resolve:

Fearlessness:

Rigor:

Witnessing:

26. Glass: The Lion for Change

VMLY&R POLAND, Warsaw, collected the Grand Prix for ‘The Last Ever Issue’ for Gazeta.pl / Mastercard / BNP Paribas, which saw the agency team up with their clients to buy one of Poland’s longest running and most read adult magazines to then close it down.

Jury President, Jaime Robinson, Chief Creative Officer, Joan Creative, United States, said: “When I look at this Grand Prix, I see culture-shifting creativity in spades. It's a lightning bolt idea. Every single one of us in the jury room prays for ideas like this every day. The work is transgressive. It takes the system and uses the system to make change against itself. And that is such a joy. And I just love that it takes an object of degradation and it turns it into something beautiful. And then says goodbye to it forever.”

The Last Ever Issue:

27. Sustainable Development Goals Lions

Taking top honours, the Grand Prix was won by Clemenger BBDO Melbourne, for Mars Australia’s ‘The Lion’s Share’, a wildlife conservation initiative backed by the United Nations, to raise funds by asking advertisers to contribute 0.5 per cent of their media spend every time animal imagery is used in an advertisement.

David Droga, Founder and Creative Chairman, Droga5, and President of the jury, commented:“Animals are a fundamental part of our world, our culture, our society, and our language, even our filmmaking and marketing. In fact, images of animals appear in approximately 20% of all advertisements. Yet, despite this, animals do not always receive the support that they deserve. Until now. The money raised will be dispersed across the world to save species from extinction, preserve wildlife habitats, and look after animal welfare.

“It was a programme that was instigated and backed by a big brand, supported and put together by an incredible creative collective. They didn't just make a good film about what they wanted to do, they actually set up a sustainable programme that has already started reaping rewards. And that, for us, is what's important.”

The Lion’s Share:

28. Titanium Lions

This highly sought-after Grand Prix was award to FCB New York for Burger King’s ‘The Whopper Detour’, an app that geofenced McDonald’s restaurants so that the 1-cent Whopper promotion unlocked only when people were physically within 600 feet of Burger Kings’s biggest competitor, McDonald’s. This was the third Grand Prix for this work, having already won in Mobile and Direct.

Commenting, Jury President, David Lubars, Chief Creative Officer Worldwide, Chairman North America, BBDO, said: “This is an amazing use of technology to get consumers out of a rival store and into their own store. It's a future-facing tech hack, with great sales results, we hadn’t seen before. The work ticks all the boxes. It's flawlessly executed, and I can assure you, it is so incredibly difficult to do, but it looks effortless. It’s fun and human and delighting.”

29. The Grand Prix for Good, selected by the Titanium jury from across all the non-profit and charitable Gold Lions (except Health & Wellness and Pharma) ineligible to win a Grand Prix, was awarded to McCann New York, for ‘Generation Lockdown’, created for March For Our Lives. The public service announcement shows the reality of how active shooter drills have become part of America's schools’ routine. It also picked up a further three Film Lions (1 Gold, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze); a Gold Lion in the Social & Influencer category and one Silver in PR.

Generation Lockdown:

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