Cannes Lions announces Unilever as Creative Marketer of the Year

Delhi: The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced Unilever as the 2024 Creative Marketer of the Year. 

Unilever was last honoured as Creative Marketer of the Year in 2010. At last year’s Cannes Lions, Unilever was awarded Lions across a number of its brands including Dove, Hellmann’s, Dirt Is Good (known as Persil, Skip and OMO), Magnum, Vaseline, Marmite and Pot Noodle.

In 2023, Unilever’s largest brand, Dove, was awarded the Media Lions Grand Prix for its ‘#TurnYourBack’ campaign by Ogilvy, London / DAVID, Madrid. ‘#TurnYourBack’ was deemed by Media Lions Jury President, Christian Juhl, to be “a timely example of how our industry can use the power of media to protect young people and empower them to reject the pressure they feel to conform to artificial standards and be confident in their true, unfiltered selves.”

The ‘Dove Real Beauty Sketches’ picked up 16 Lions, including the Dan Wieden Titanium Lion Grand Prix as well as the Gold Creative Effectiveness Lion the following year.

Hellmann’s ‘Mayo McHack’ campaign picked up two Silver Lions in PR and Brand Experience and Activation last year.

This programme is championed by Unilever’s Creative Council, which brings together its Chief Marketing Officers and creative agency leaders and is chaired by Unilever’s Chief Growth and Marketing Officer, Esi Eggleston Bracey.

About Unilever’s award, Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, said, "This award is about recognising and celebrating those brands that are consistently delivering work that raises the bar for creative excellence across the global creative communications industry. Unilever is pushing the creative boundaries consistently and continuously across a wide range of brands from different markets, in collaboration with a breadth of agency partners, demonstrating a clear understanding and commitment to the power of creativity as a driver for progress and growth. Congratulations on this much deserved win.”

Esi Eggleston Bracey, Chief Growth and Marketing Officer, Unilever, commented, “Thank you, Cannes Lions, for recognizing our brand leaders and agency partners who are always pushing creative boundaries. Our commitment to bold, brave, and more creative marketing is unwavering. Creativity that starts with inspiration, connects to commerce at every moment and resonates with people to build desirable and unmissably superior brands. It is a huge honor to accept this award on behalf of our exceptional team that truly grasps the power of human connection to serve people and grow our brands.”