Cannes Shows Advertising Public Service Ability
Agencies Submit Hundreds of Entries Focusing on Health and Safety
Jun 26, 2009
Safe driving, smoking addiction and alcohol abuse topped the entries in the health and safety categories at the 2009 Cannes Lions Advertising Festival. They were among the 22,652 entries that the Cannes competition drew from 86 countries.
Agencies from across the globe also entered ads and campaigns focusing on:
- Child safety
- Heart problems
- AIDS and HIV
- Cancer, including breast, colon and prostate cancer
- Drug abuse
- Fireworks
- Weight problems
- Gambling
Some health and safety entries broke new creative ground. Some challenged the limits of traditional good taste. Some fared very well in the competition.
Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney Road Safety Campaign
- Saatchi & Saatchi of Sydney, Australia, for instance, won three Gold Lions in the Press Division for its road safety campaigns on behalf of the Pedestrian Council of Australia.
- Ogilvy & Mather of Dusseldorf, Germany won a Cyber Lions Gold for its "Donate a Meal" entry on behalf of Duesseldorfer Tafel.
- Dentsu Razorfish of Tokyo won a Lions Gold for its outdoor safety awareness campaign on behalf of Dunlop Falken Tyres.
- DOB Paris won six Golds for its outdoor campaign on behalf of Greenpeace.
Ogilvy Stockholm Supports Georgia War Victims
In another "cause" campaign, Ogilvy Stockholm won 10 Outdoor Golds for its fundraising boards to support the war victims of Georga, a campaign it conducted for UNA Sweden. The Happiness agency of Brussels won two Golds in the direct mail category for its road safety awareness campaign on behalf of OVK/Parents of Child Road Victims.
The Partners Agency of London won a Gold in the Design Category for its "Office Games" entry on behalf of Children’s Hospice and Richards House. The McCann Erickson Group Skopje of Macedonia won a Media Gold for its "Testicular Cancer Awareness" entry on behalf of Veritas Spiriti.
Motorcyclist Aboard a Coffin
A video produced by Creative Juice of Bangkok starts with two friends at a bar, one offering the other a ride on his motorcycle. The spot then cuts to the friend picturing the cyclist atop a coffin instead of a cycle. It ends with a funeral scene.
The Acento Agency of Los Angeles submitted perhaps the most harsh anti-smoking entry on behalf of the California Department of Public Health. It utilizes murals, which the agency says are "used in Latin American cultures to portray the history of nations and the suffering of its people through the ages." Acento's murals show the tobacco industry causing numerous deaths. "This is a story of deception, lies, manipulation and death," the agency says.
Saatchi & Saatchi Brussels entered a television campaign featuring a small boy being chased all day by a little cloud of smoke. The campaign, produced for the Flemish League Against Cancer, advises smoking parents that "If You Quit, They quit."
Y&R Says Don't Fry the Bananas
Y&R Bangkok tackled the obesity problem in Thailand with an ad featuring a "banana killer," pointing out that even when a healthy food like banana is fried it can contribute to obesity.
Contract Advertising of Mumbai described its advertisement against child abuse this way: "Using surreal imagery, it explores the devastation of a mind marinating in the abyss of its own darkness. The riotiously colored backdrops and the fiendish details of the street add to the pervisity."
AIDs and HIV inspired some of the most realistic and disturbing entries in the Cannes competition. The Start agency of Munich, for instance, used "screaming and commanding dictators" to illustrate how the phallus can rule male behavior. "We set our message as clear as possible," the agency said.
Best Advertising Unveiled at Cannes Fest
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