UK entries were challenged by other countries, many of whom have not had such a strong showing at Cannes. The UK took home three gold Lions, whereas much smaller markets such as New Zealand and Peru won a very respectable two golds. Belgium's I DO agency carried off the Grand Prix for newspaper De Tijd.
Although more awards were handed out this year than last - 18 golds compared with nine - the spread of countries receiving awards this year is wider still. Entries may have been down slightly - the fragmentation effect, largely, of the Cyber Lions and the new Promo Lions category - but 30 judges still had to plough through 1,600 entries from around the world.
So is the UK falling behind the rest of the world in terms of creativity?
Steve Harrison, founder and creative director at Harrison Troughton Wunderman, and president of the 2006 Lions Direct jury, believes this year saw the awards come of age with the rise of international, ideas-led creative.
"The rest of the world now shares our belief in ideas," he says. "Countries such as Peru and Malaysia, Chile and Argentina relate to our set of values and our search for excellence. The UK can no longer expect to lead the field."
There could also be a more pragmatic reason why work from the UK makes less of an impact at Cannes. According to Steve Aldridge, creative partner at Partners Andrews Aldridge and a judge at this year's awards, the simpler and more international the idea, the more chance it has of winning an award. "The reason a lot of UK work doesn't come through is that it's often complex and uses a lot of word play and double meaning, and is often relevant to a target group that might not translate to another country."
For most people, the development of a more level, global playing field is to be celebrated. Peter Riley, creative partner and founder of 20:20 London, which took home three Lions Direct Awards for its work on Sony Playstation, sees this evolution as positive. "People should be asking why it didn't happen sooner. Global creativity is what it should be about."
What can the UK learn from this year's results? It seems local subtleties in creative and copy and strength in segmentation are the biggest barriers to the UK bagging more global awards.
However, the UK's prowess in data is something that other countries believe they can adopt. Kien Eng Tan, judge and president and executive creative director of Arc Malaysia, which won three Lions Direct, says: "The UK is more sophisticated when it comes to strategy, in-sight and data mining because the market is more mature.
It's unfair for the UK market, because, compared with Asia, the quantities seem to be lower and the production costs are lower."
For those who like to win silverware, it comes down to those campaigns that have a global appeal and an effective message. But given this year's showing, the UK's competition is now tougher than ever - and this has to be good for everyone.
HOW THE COUNTRIES FARED IN THE LIONS DIRECT AWARDS
Country Number of golds/ Total number of
Grand Prix Lions Direct
Belgium Grand Prix One
Germany Five golds Fifteen
UK Three Ten
Australia Three Nine
Malaysia Two Three
New Zealand Two Five
Peru Two Two
Sweden One Three
South Africa One Three
Switzerland One Three
U.A.E One One
(Countries ordered by number of gold awards)
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