China Wins Moderately in Cannes - Looking at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival

CANNES / FRANCE --- Saatchi & Saatchi Guangzhou won the one prize China took home from this year's Cannes Lions Advertising Festival held in June in Cannes in Southern France. The Bronze Lion was won in the Press and Poster Category for a Head & Shoulders / Procter & Gamble advertising campaign. The only other mainland advertisement short-listed in the Press & Poster category went to Megacom Advertising Beijing for its Before/After advertisement for German Henkel.

The Cannes Lions, the biggest international advertising festival for creative talent, this year again received a record number of entries for the awards, with over 19,000 global ads websites and media projects showcased at the event -  this, despite the global downturn in advertising spend. The advertising awards, called the Lions are given in the Press & Poster, Cyber, Media and Film categories. This year the Grand Prix prize in Press and Poster went to Paradiset DDB Stockholm for its Diesel advertising campaign, to Cliff Freeman and Partners New York in the Film Category for its Fox Sports campaign and to Crispin Porter & Bogusky, Miami for Florida Anti-Tobacco Pilot Program for the Media Lion.

Despite much talk of the new ASIAN CREATIVITY at the festival and an increasing number of entries sent in by Chinese advertising agencies China's representation and profile at the festival is still lacking despite the large group of delegates from the China Advertising Association and entries for the awards from a total of 23 local and multinational agencies in China.

This year the China Media Monitor attended the event at the invitation of the Cannes Lions organizing committee and contributed a feature on China (see feature: CHINA ON LOCATION) for the Lions Daily, the daily news publication distributed during the event. The China Media Monitor also exclusively interviewed the CEO of the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival Mr. Romain Hatchuel asking him how China can improve its profile at the event and take more roaring Lions home in future.

Participating and participating seriously was the main advice Mr Hatchuel gave, who believes that the event has more to offer than touring and visiting the South of France but is the biggest global advertising university ever. (see the feature interview with Cannes Lions President Roman Hatchuel). Agencies do not only win recognition for winning lions but the event is the biggest networking opportunity while countries have the chance to showcase highlights of their regional advertising industries.

The event also offers a number of seminars. This year the seminars included a session sponsored by Dentsu Inc on ASIAN EXPLOSION – The Creative World of Advertising, introducing advertising highlights from Japan, India and Thailand which have won acclaim world wide. Dentsu senior creative director Akira Kgami who chaired the session said that `while it is flattering to be so much in the spotlight because of attention given to Asian Creativity there is very little real understanding of the huge creative and cultural diversity of the Asian region. How deep does the much talked about Asian creative boom go? According to Kagami much deeper and indeed wider than most people in the West realize.         

While the Cannes Lions are also criticized for featuring too much advertising from Western countries with the UK and USA taking the leading role for creative talents other regions have been gaining acclaim with Brazil a leading example.

But also Asia is staring to flex its mussels with Japan, Singapore, India and Malaysia taking home more prizes while we are still waiting for China to jump onto the wagon.

For more information on the festival and lists of winners in the different categories please feel free to contact us at CMM, check www.canneslions.com and read the feature in this issue of the China Media Monitor.