According to Mark Fiddes, creative partner at KLP and a member of the Lions Direct judging panel, a high number of the winners had a very strong element of integration, which helped demonstrate the strength of a campaign's creative.
"One way to test the strength of a great idea is its ability to work in different media. The idea has to resonate across all channels," he said.
The Grand Prix direct prize was awarded to Young & Rubicam Sydney for its Jim Beam campaign, which according to Fiddes, was a good example of how an integrated campaign should work.
"The winner of the Grand Prix prize was a unanimous decision," he said. "Jim Beam proved you can use humour in DM to drive high levels of response."
The ads tapped into the idea that, at this time of sexual equality when the relevance of masculinity is in question, there is only one brand with the authority to silence the debate and take a stand for real men -- Jim Beam bourbon. It asked men, women and anyone else to call a number whenever manhood is doubted.
Fiddes also believes that the fact that the direct awards were dominated by European countries -- with the UK picking up 11 gongs out of the 56 categories -- is no coincidence.
"DM practice is more mature in the US. They know what works and are, therefore, more risk averse. There were some great entries from the US although they were less risky. Europe's a younger creative territory, so we can afford to be naive," he said.
Fiddes also singled out TBWA\GGT's "Plan from the Pru" campaign, which won gold in the financial products and services category, as a good example of an integrated entry.
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