The winner is a digital reinterpretation of Coca-Cola's
40-year-old iconic commercial "Hilltop," which finds a
multiracial troop singing "I want to buy the world a Coke." The
result took the form of Admob rich-media banner ads running within
apps that let viewers literally buy a stranger a Coke by pinging a
vending machine. Entirely through the mobile ad, users can pick a
city to send the Coke to, append a message and press a button that
dispenses a drink at one of the specially designed vending machines
in a handful of cities. While Google commissioned the project,
Coca-Cola signed off on the campaign.
The Coke ad is part of a wider effort, entitled Project Re:
Brief, that also reimagined iconic campaigns from Avis rental cars,
Alka-Seltzer and Volvo. Google produced a documentary chronicling
the experiment and has screened it in Cannes.
WHY IT WON:
In Google's quest to show the ad community than there's more to
display advertising than previously thought, the internet giant
appears to have succeeded with the Coke ads. The jury lauded the
campaign for both emotional impact and for illustrating just what's
possible in the medium.
"Project Re: Brief sticks out because it basically able to show
how to use all the different display ads in creative ways," Mr.
Eslinger said.
CONTROVERSY OR CLEAR WINNER?
It was an extremely close call—the jury did a tie-breaker
vote with gold winner "Backseat Driver" for Toyota from Party
Tokyo, but Google ultimately won out. The Toyota campaign is a
mobile game to entertain children in the back seat while their
parents are driving. The app links to the car's location and
creates a driving game based on the actual roads they're on to
somewhat mirror what mom or dad is doing in the driver's seat.
"Where does the product and the marketing begin and end?" said
Mr. Eslinger. "For a lot of things, advertising is the actual
product."
THE JURY:
Mobile's was an especially vocal 12-person jury effusive over a
medium that 's gotten lots of buzz but relatively few ad dollars.
The jury celebrated the 54 campaigns awarded for representing the
full range of mobile media. "The majority of mobile media are
represented in the winners, even campaigns using simple SMS as
sending a text for donations," said Laura Marriott, CEO-chairperson
for NeoMedia Technologies.
They also took their role in setting the course for the future
of mobile advertising seriously. "When something wins at Cannes, it
becomes the case study for other agencies to sell ideas," Mr.
Eslinger said. "This stuff affects our industry and our
business."
THEIR ADVICE FOR FUTURE MOBILE ENTRANTS:
In its first year, the mobile category saw nearly 1,000 entries,
but the jurors pleaded that next year the Lions festival both
provide better descriptions explaining entry categories and the
entrants themselves be more mindful of the categories they
ultimately enter. "Entrants need to be more thoughtful on where
they enter," said U.S. juror Geoffrey Handley, co-founder of The
Hyperfactory. "There were some cases of really great work in the
wrong category. It's not our job to put it in the right spot.
People hopefully will get it right next year and be more
thoughtful."
