Cannes 2011

A Few Final Observations on Cannes 2011

A Few Final Observations on Cannes 2011

After having a few days to debrief, here are some of my and my colleagues' observations on the 58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

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Why More Categories at Cannes Are a Good Thing

Why More Categories at Cannes Are a Good Thing

One piece of work winning in two different Cannes categories was a once-in-a-blue-moon thing. Today it's the norm. This is the reality that agencies and clients should consider when thinking about entering award shows.

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Nike's 'Write the Future' Scores Cannes Film Grand Prix

Nike's 'Write the Future' Scores Cannes Film Grand Prix

"Write the Future," the blockbuster Nike spot that imagines the potential future of various soccer stars should they go on to win the World Cup, bested another athletics brand, Puma, whose "After Hours Athlete" emerged as the other frontrunner for the top prize.

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Puma's 'After Hours Athlete' Nabs Film Craft Grand Prix

Puma's 'After Hours Athlete' Nabs Film Craft Grand Prix

The film jury crowned Droga 5's "After Hours Athlete" for Puma the winner not for one particular aspect of its production, but for the sum of its expertly executed parts.

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Droga 5's 'Decode Jay-Z' for Bing Wins Again, This Time the Integrated Grand Prix

Droga 5's 'Decode Jay-Z' for Bing Wins Again, This Time the Integrated Grand Prix

By the time the integrated/titanium category rolls around at the end of the week, the winners' list -- topped by Grand Prix winner "Decode Jay-Z With Bing" by Droga 5 -- is a pretty familiar lineup of the greatest hits from earlier contests.

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PepsiCo's Walker Crisps Wins Cannes Grand Prix in New Creative Effectiveness Contest

PepsiCo's Walker Crisps Wins Cannes Grand Prix in New Creative Effectiveness Contest

PepsiCo's U.K. potato chip subsidiary Walkers efforts to prove that a lunchtime sandwich becomes a more exciting meal when eaten with potato chips won the Grand Prix for the first creative effectiveness awards at Cannes.

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Inside Cannes' Creative Effectiveness Jury: The Debate Over Old Spice, and the Best Restaurant for Argentines

Inside Cannes' Creative Effectiveness Jury: The Debate Over Old Spice, and the Best Restaurant for Argentines

Dario Straschnoy, president of Young & Rubicam in Argentina, emailed us about when on during the judging of Cannes' first creative effectiveness awards.

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Unilever Won't Sacrifice Ad Spending Because of Commodity Prices, Uncertain Economy

Unilever Won't Sacrifice Ad Spending Because of Commodity Prices, Uncertain Economy

Unilever CEO Paul Polman is making big bets in global brand building. He told a Cannes crowd that the company will stick to increased ad spending despite the challenges.

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Lost in Translation? Graf Q&A's His Former Boss

We here at Ad Age cover a lot of the hardware that gets dished out at the South of France confab, but if there's a Lion for humor, creative vet Gerry Graf wins the Titanium for funny.

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Murdoch, Katzenberg Say Economy Has Hampered Creativity

Murdoch, Katzenberg Say Economy Has Hampered Creativity

Cannes Debate moderator (and WPP chief) Martin Sorrell directed rather relaxed panelists James Murdoch and Jeffrey Katzenberg to touch on a range of topics, but for the creative and marketing execs who flock to the Cannes confab, the most thought-provoking theme to emerge from the talk was that a focus on financial stability can be the enemy of creativity.

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Scene in Cannes: Day Three

Scene in Cannes: Day Three

On the third day of the Cannes Lions fest, Ad Age celebrated its global cover competition and the Grey Vietnam team that designed the winning cover for its Global Issue with a cocktail party at the Majestic Hotel.

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Martha Stewart Stars in Unilever Ad -- 55 Years Ago

Martha Stewart Stars in Unilever Ad -- 55 Years Ago

At an event in Cannes, Interpublic CEO Michael Roth rolled an old clip: a vintage spot for Unilever's Lifebuoy soap in which Martha Stewart played a young married woman.

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Old Spice 'Responses,' 'Wilderness Downtown' and 'Pay With a Tweet' Earn Top Cyber Honors at Cannes

Old Spice 'Responses,' 'Wilderness Downtown' and 'Pay With a Tweet' Earn Top Cyber Honors at Cannes

The Old Spice "Responses" campaign, Arcade Fire's "Wilderness Downtown" and Innovative Thunder's "Pay With a Tweet" earned top honors from the cyber jury, reflecting the diversity and maturity of the category as a whole.

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China Wins Press Grand Prix With JWT Ad for Samsonite

China Wins Press Grand Prix With JWT Ad for Samsonite

China's determination to improve its creative standing in advertising paid off with the country's first Cannes Grand Prix, a press ad called "Heaven and Hell" for Samsonite luggage by JWT Shanghai.

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Vegas Hotel Experience Takes Design Grand Prix

Vegas Hotel Experience Takes Design Grand Prix

Given this year's Design Grand Prix winner, hopefully what happens in Vegas won't stay in Vegas. Top honors went to "The Cosmopolitan Digital Experience," a multimedia digital effort that weaves storytelling into the exterior and interiors of a new Sin City hotel.

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Scene in Cannes: Day Two

Scene in Cannes: Day Two

On day two at the Cannes Lions, radio, outdoor and media Grands Prixes were awarded, and we spotted Martha Stewart and Robert Redford on the scene.

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Eric Schmidt Outlines Google's Strategy for Social

Eric Schmidt Outlines Google's Strategy for Social

Google has taken a lot of criticism for its failures in the social space, where others, such as Facebook, Twitter, Zynga and the now publicly traded LinkedIn, have seen their valuations soar.

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Facebook Forms 'Client Council' to Advise the Social Network on Advertising

Facebook Forms 'Client Council' to Advise the Social Network on Advertising

The invitation-only council, which includes McCann Worldgroup CEO Nick Brien and Coca-Cola's Wendy Clark, is the latest of Facebook's efforts to work with agencies.

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Cannes Panel: How Women in Ad Industry Can Increase Senior Ranks

Cannes Panel: How Women in Ad Industry Can Increase Senior Ranks

A few hundred women -- and some men, too -- gathered in a ballroom over a breakfast of fruit, cheese and eggs at the Majestic Barriere in Cannes to examine the trends and headwinds facing women in professional leadership at advertising and marketing companies around the world.

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South Korea's Cheil Captures Media Grand Prix at Cannes

South Korea's Cheil Captures Media Grand Prix at Cannes

In a sign that emerging markets are winning more attention on the awards circuit, the Grand Prix in the media category went to a campaign out of South Korea by Cheil Worldwide.

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