Both the Grand Prix-winning film from Crispin Porter & Bogusky, featuring an Ikea lamp being cast out into the cold by its owner, and the top prize winner of the poster category, Grey Auckland's work for No Bugs fly spray, played on humour to win the top spots. Indeed, Grey's campaign was later accused of ripping off a cartoon by Far Side creator and comic Gary Larson.
"Humour is very Cannes," Publicis global creative director Dave Droga said. His campaign for Club 18-30, featuring doctored photos of frolicking youngsters, won the Grand Prix in the press and poster category at last year's awards. "Its something judges find incredibly appealing, probably because the best ideas are universal," he adds.
Case in point is TBWA\London's campaign for John Smiths, which featured UK comedian Peter Kay as the embodiment of its no-nonsense brand positioning, which the judges awarded a Gold in the film category.
Wieden & Kennedy's "angry chicken" spot for Nike also relied on humour for its Gold Lion, as did Clemmow Hornby Inge's Tango campaign, which spoofed sports coverage and showed people going to great lengths to enjoy the product.
However, the industry's conscience was clearly piqued this year, with a large proportion of entries from NGOs and charities dominating the press and poster categories. McCann Erickson Spain won a Gold outdoor Lion for its six-strong campaign for Medicos Sin Fronteras, and TBWA\Paris picked up a Silver for its work for Amnesty International.
Brazilian agency Almap BBDO's painted faces for a public awareness campaign about eye safety clinched it a Gold award. Mozambique-based agency Golo Publicidade won Gold with its anti-landmine work for Red Cross, and J Walter Thompson won with work for the Salvation Army in Portugal.
According to Droga: "Charities, with their small spends, tend to encourage great creativity from agencies, as they compete fiercely to stand out in the market. This means they do well at Cannes."
Ads with a political message also made a foray into the awards, with a provocative campaign for US satirist Michael Moore's film, 'Bowling for Columbine', taking a Silver award in the outdoor category for Saatchi & Saatchi in Australia. BBH London also won a Bronze with "swastika", an anti-racist ad from the NUJ.
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