Cannes Lions 2022: That’s a Wrap

The prestigious Cannes Lions festival wrapped up at the end of June leaving us marketers with a bevy of top prize winners to wade through and analyze. It’s always a treat to see what themes arise from the most awarded campaigns. This year we saw humor and humanity dominate as many brands and organizations decided to take a stand and let their true colors shine through. 

Here’s a list of some of the winning campaigns that we can’t get out of our heads. 

Real Tone for Google

Google, Mountain View/T Brand Studio, New York/W+K, Portland/GUT, Miami

Mobile Grand Prix

We were thrilled to see Google’s Real Tone campaign take home a major prize since our team worked hard on bringing this campaign to life during the Super Bowl. It’s always surreal to see programs you worked on have such a huge impact and get recognition from the highest echelon of our field. We couldn’t be more proud of the team for this one.

“Backup Ukraine”

Virtue Worldwide for Polycam X Unesco

Grand Prix: Digital Craft (Real-time Contextual Content)

This campaign was fascinating. In times of crisis and unrest, we work hard to think about ways brands can authentically and creatively offer their platform to serve the communities affected. In this campaign Polycam X Unesco did exactly that. It was inspiring to see how these brands were able to make an impactful tool that truly benefited those most affected by the crisis. 

Eat A Swede for Swedish Food Federation

McCann, Stockholm

Entertainment Grand Prix

This campaign out of Sweden plays like a serious documentary about a scientist who hopes to help the planet by getting people to eat lab-grown human meat. The humor is so dry that 5 minutes in you start to wonder if the guy is serious! But this thick slathering of satire is the perfect tone for making its point: take news headlines with a grain of salt, research the source of information, and addressing meat consumption habits is key in addressing climate change. It’s weird, but effective, and that’s really the best ad we can hope for.

NikeSync for Nike

R/GA, London

Entertainment for Sport Grand Prix

This campaign was a slam dunk for our female athletes. But even if this product isn’t for you, it’s always great to see a company that authentically shows up for their consumers time and time again. And of course, that company is Nike. This 360-degree campaign took a real issue and turned it into an experience that was holistic in how it used in-app content, influencers and social media. When everything comes together like this you get a *chef’s kiss* from us!

Apple’s Escape from the Office

SMUGGER Central LA

Grand Prix: Film (Consumer Services / Business to Business)

Apple, as expected, came through with the ad that isn’t an ad. Since 2019, they’ve been entertaining us with stories of the “Underdogs” who deal with every facet of worklife through the lens of their Apple products. We love this series because they don’t over-sell the products. Rather, they sell an experience and tell a fun, well-crafted story where all of Apple’s tools are on display. They also tapped into culturally relevant themes and storylines that a lot of people have experienced in “work life” — the great resignation, strict office culture, WFH, basic interview questions with horrendous answers. Even though it was almost a nine-minute ad (during a time where short-form is popular) it was super creative and continues to push the boundaries of what an “ad” is. We can’t wait for the next episode!

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