Brazil says goodbye to Cannes Lions after one of the best campaigns at the festival of creativity

The pros carry 92 stickers in their bags

CANNES – The city of Cannes, on the French Riviera, has welcomed in the last week hundreds of members of the Brazilian creative community – and thousands of foreigners from all over the world – who have landed on the French Riviera in search of traditional Lions and countless connections with other advertisers from agencies around the world.

After five days of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativityof which the Stadium is the official representative, Brazil crossed the Atlantic Ocean bringing home 92 statuettes for local agencies and advertisers, in one of its best participations in the last few years of the event, surpassing the 70 Lions – between gold, silver and bronze – in 2022 “Brazil had a very good attendance at the festival this year,” said Cannes Lions president Simon Cook.

At the Palais des Festivals, in addition to the Lions awards ceremony at the end of each evening, stars from Hollywood or the world of advertising brought the crowd into the conference rooms to attend lectures that discussed topics such as diversity, creativity in times of artificial intelligence and the role of corporate marketing vice presidents in working with agencies.

Besides Brazil, other Latin American names also ensured a good performance and were the highlights of the festival. On Friday the 23rd, with Brazilian founder Anselmo Ramos at the helm, as well as numerous Gold Lions and three Grand Prix, GUT Buenos Aires won the award for Agency of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year and Independent Group of the Year. As for the awards, Ramos posted on the social network Linkedin a wish list made three years ago with his plans for the next decade, from 2020 to 2030, in which he marked the year 2023 as the time to win the award of the independent agency at the Cannes Lions. “Trust me, ‘The Secret’,” the executive posted.

Among leading Lions, the independent agency earned top honors in the Lions PR, Creative Data Lions and Mobile Lions categories, with Grand Prix Talking Self-Gifts on Valentine’s Day, World Cup Delivery and a study that analyzed hundreds of paintings to locate the Stella beers that have been represented in the arts over the last few centuries, showing a sort of “free publicity” that the most famous painters have done for the centenary brewery.

Black presence on the Riviera and diversity in Cannes

If 2022 was a year to question the lack of diversity within the market, 2023 was the time for diversity to “take the stage” at the Palais des Festivals and become one of the most talked about topics. Brazilians like Samantha Almeida, from Globo, Felipe Silva, from the Gana agency, Joana Mendes, from Clube de Criação, Deh Bastos, from Publicis, and Celso Athayde, or Hollywood stars like director Spike Lee, or the actress from Wakanda Forever, Danai Gurira, – among other names – has brought to the French Riviera questions about diversity, the problems of stereotypes and the importance of opening doors to people from different backgrounds and how this can stimulate the advertising market.

According to BETC HAVAS managing director, Erh Ray, the 2023 edition of the Cannes Lions has shown a shift in the way advertising campaigns are rewarded, with jury members increasingly looking at ESG-related topics, which includes rewarding actions with intentionality in relation to these causes. “Nowadays, the festival is much more focused on the whole industry than just creativity,” he says.

In addition to diversity and inclusion, those who visited the Palais des Festivals in Cannes during the week of the festival were “bombarded” by discussions about the transformations caused by the exploitation of Artificial Intelligence tools in the creative market. From the most skeptical to the most optimistic, everyone agreed that these tools are here to stay. In the assessment of the vice president of creation for Africa, Sérgio Gordilho, this type of technology must remain a tool for transforming the industry, which will serve as an accelerator of creativity, but without taking away the human role within the market. “We are here (at the festival) to discuss the present, because the future depends on God. Cannes Lions is living proof that one medium does not kill the other,” he says.

With the closing of the 70th edition of the International Festival of Creativity, Cannes salutes the hustle and bustle of the parties organized by the big agencies, the comings and goings of advertisers along the traditional boulevard “La Croisette” on the edge of the Mediterranean Sea and “Bad English” as the official language. While members of the international creative market return to their home countries and work to create the next pieces that will be awarded at the festival, the Côte d’Azur awaits the 71st edition of Cannes Lions, in 2024, when once again, for a week, The city of 70,000 inhabitants will become the world capital of creativity.

Source: Terra

Rose

Rose James is a Gossipify movie and series reviewer known for her in-depth analysis and unique perspective on the latest releases. With a background in film studies, she provides engaging and informative reviews, and keeps readers up to date with industry trends and emerging talents.