A Look at the Grand Prix Winners for 2024: | Marketing Edge Magazine (2024)

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the world’s premier event for advertising and design, concluded recently.

The event drew approximately 15,000 attendees, including industry professionals and notable figures like Elon Musk. Attendees engaged in networking, learning from experts, and discussing current trends, with AI being a prominent topic.

In addition to the festivities, the festival’s awards ceremony honored outstanding creative achievements across 32 categories, showcasing the best in design, innovation, social impact, PR, and more. Here is an in-depth look at the Grand Prix winners for 2024:

Audio & Radio Lions
Client: Specsavers
Campaign: The Misheard Version
Agency: Golin, London
Specsavers creatively tackled the issue of hearing loss by re-recording Rick Astley’s “Never Gonna Give You Up” with intentionally incorrect lyrics. This campaign aimed to highlight the everyday challenges faced by those with hearing impairments.

Brand Experience & Activation Lions
Client: Pop-Tarts
Campaign: The First Edible Mascot
Agency: Weber Shandwick, New York
Pop-Tarts introduced an edible mascot during the Super Bowl, captivating the internet and engaging consumers in a unique and memorable way. This innovative approach boosted brand interaction and visibility.

Creative B2B Lions
Client: JCDecaux
Campaign: Meet Marina Prieto
Agency: David
This campaign featured an anonymous grandmother taking over Madrid’s subway system to demonstrate the power of poster campaigns. It emphasized the effectiveness of traditional advertising in a digital age.

Creative Business Transformation Lions
Client: Philips
Campaign: Refurb
Agency: Lepub, Amsterdam
Philips showcased its commitment to sustainability by selling refurbished products with upgraded warranties at lower prices. This campaign highlighted the environmental and economic benefits of reusing technology.

Creative Commerce Lions
Client: Renault
Campaign: Cars to Work
Agency: Publicis Conseil, Paris
The Renault CareMakers program provided cars to individuals in areas with inadequate public transport, enabling them to commute to work. This initiative addressed transportation challenges and supported local economies.

Creative Data Lions
Client: Mastercard
Campaign: Room for Everyone
Agency: McCann Poland
Mastercard’s platform facilitated cooperation between Polish and Ukrainian businesses, promoting mutual success and profitability. This campaign used data to bridge cultural and economic gaps.

Creative Effectiveness Lions
Client: Heinz
Campaign: It Has to Be Heinz
Agency: Rethink, Toronto
Heinz’s long-running campaign included ads exposing restaurants that refilled Heinz bottles with cheaper ketchup and interactive elements where audiences drew Heinz bottles when asked to “draw ketchup.” This reinforced brand authenticity and consumer loyalty.

Creative Strategy Lions
Client: KPN
Campaign: A Piece of Me
Agency: Dentsu, Amsterdam
KPN addressed the issue of online shaming among Gen Z with a powerful music video. This campaign leveraged emotional storytelling to raise awareness and foster a supportive digital community.

Design Lions
Client: Cemento Sol
Campaign: Sightwalks
Agency: Circus Grey, Lima
Peru’s leading cement brand collaborated with visual impairment organizations to create a visual system on pavements. This system helped visually impaired individuals identify different shops and businesses, enhancing their autonomy and mobility.

Digital Craft Lions
Client: Spotify
Campaign: Spreadbeats
Agency: FCB, New York
Spotify’s B2B campaign targeted marketers with a music video formatted as a media plan spreadsheet. This creative approach effectively showcased Spotify’s advertising capabilities to a professional audience.

Direct Lions
Client: Xbox
Campaign: The Everyday Tactician
Agency: McCann London
Xbox’s campaign saw Bromley FC offering a paid role to a skilled player of the Sega game Football Manager 24. This unique blend of gaming and real-world opportunity demonstrated the practical applications of gaming skills.

Entertainment Lions
Client: WhatsApp
Campaign: We Are Ayenda
Agency: Creative X, Palo Alto & Modern Arts, Los Angeles
“We Are Ayenda” documented the escape of the Afghan Youth Women’s National Football Team from Afghanistan after the Taliban’s rise to power. This campaign highlighted the resilience and bravery of these young women.

Entertainment Lions for Gaming
Client: Xbox
Campaign: The Everyday Tactician
Agency: McCann London
This campaign also won in the Direct category, showcasing the versatility and impact of Xbox’s Football Manager 24 promotion.

Entertainment Lions for Music
Client: Johnnie Walker
Campaign: Errata at 88
Agency: AlmapBBDO, São Paulo
Johnnie Walker celebrated bossa nova’s global influence with a tribute concert at Carnegie Hall. The event featured Alaíde Costa and other notable artists, revisiting a pivotal 1962 performance.

Entertainment Lions for Sport
Client: Orange
Campaign: Women’s Football
Agency: Marcel, Paris
Orange’s ad used advanced VFX to highlight the skill and excitement of women’s football, challenging biases and promoting gender equality in sports.

Film Craft Lions
Client: Hornbach
Campaign: The Square Meter
Agency: Heimat, TBWA, Berlin
Hornbach’s imaginative ad emphasized the importance of every square meter in a home, showcasing the brand’s commitment to quality and innovation in DIY projects.

Film Lions
Clients: Sydney Opera House and Orange
Campaigns: Play It Safe and Women’s Football
Agencies: The Monkeys, Accenture Song, Sydney and Marcel, Paris
Sydney Opera House celebrated its 50th anniversary with a film starring Tim Minchin, while Orange’s women’s football ad addressed biases in sports. Both campaigns were awarded for their exceptional storytelling and impact.

Glass: The Lion for Change
Client: Vaseline
Campaign: Transition Body Lotion
Agency: Ogilvy, Singapore
Vaseline launched a skincare product specifically for transgender women on International Transgender Day of Visibility in Thailand. This campaign promoted inclusivity and support for the transgender community.

Grand Prix for Good
Client: Reporters Without Borders
Campaign: The First Speech – Russia/Turkey/Venezuela
Agency: Innocean, Berlin
This campaign revisited the first speeches of Presidents Putin, Erdoğan, and Maduro to underscore the importance of press freedom and the dangers of censorship.

Health & Wellness Lions
Client: Dramamine
Campaign: The Last Barf Bag
Agency: FCB, Chicago
To mark its 75th anniversary, Dramamine dedicated a campaign to the barf bag, celebrating its role in providing relief from motion sickness.

Health Grand Prix for Good
Client: UN Women
Campaign: Child Wedding Cards
Agency: Impact BBDO, Dubai
UN Women’s direct mail campaign urged Pakistani lawmakers to pass legislation protecting children from child marriage, using personalized wedding cards to deliver the message.

Industry Craft Lions
Client: Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
Campaign: The 100th Edition
Agency: Scholz & Friends, Berlin
For Holocaust Remembrance Day, the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung featured Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer, commemorating her experiences and the importance of remembrance.

Innovation Lions
Client: KVI Brave Fund Inc
Campaign: Voice 2 Diabetes
Agency: Klick Health, Toronto
Voice 2 Diabetes combined voice technology with AI to transform diabetes detection, providing an innovative approach to healthcare management.

Luxury & Lifestyle Lions
Client: Loewe
Campaign: Loewe X Suna Fujita
Agency: Loewe, Madrid
Loewe’s Holiday collection featured a collaboration with ceramic studio Suna Fujita, blending luxury fashion with artisanal craftsmanship.

Media Lions
Client: Mercado Libre
Campaign: Handshake Hunt
Agency: Gut, São Paulo
During Black Friday, Mercado Libre’s campaign used QR codes appearing on TV during on-screen handshakes to offer discounts, creating an engaging and interactive shopping experience.

Outdoor Lions
Client*l: Pedigree
Campaign: Adoptable
Agency: Colenso BBDO, Auckland
Pedigree’s initiative used AI to transform shelter dog photos into high-quality studio images, seamlessly integrating them into digital ads to promote adoption.

Pharma Lions
Client: Siemens Healthineers
Campaign: Magnetic Stories
Agency: Area 23
Siemens Healthineers made MRI scans less intimidating for children by turning the sounds into enchanting audiobooks, enhancing the patient experience.

PR Lions
Client: Specsavers
Campaign: The Misheard Version
Agency: Golin, London
Specsavers’ campaign to raise awareness of hearing loss also won in the Audio & Radio category, demonstrating its broad impact and effectiveness.

Print & Publishing Lions
Client: Coca-Cola
Campaign: Recycle Me
Agency: Ogilvy, New York
Coca-Cola’s print campaign featured a crushed logo to encourage recycling, promoting environmental responsibility.

Social & Influencer Lions
Client: CeraVe
Campaign: Michael Cerave
Agency: Ogilvy PR, New York
Actor Michael Cera humorously claimed to be the developer behind the skincare brand in this campaign, blending humor with brand promotion.

Sustainable Development Goals Lions
Client: Renault
Campaign: Cars to Work
Agency: Public

The Dan Wieden Titanium Lions

Client: Doordash:
Campaign: Doordash All The Ads;
Agency: Wieden+Kennedy Portland; Superette, San Franciso