Under Armour's 'I Will What I Want' Takes Sole Cyber Grand Prix

What won: In the increasingly confusing category of Cyber, the Cannes Lions International Festival Creativity jurors awarded a single Grand Prix: to Under Armour's integrated effort starring Gisele Bundchen, "I Will What I Want." Created out of Droga5, New York, the campaign featured a TV spot showing the supermodel pounding away at a heavy bag, as real comments pulled from social media appeared on the walls surrounding her. The online experience, "Will Beats Noise" took that same idea but allowed the audience to view the film with the social media posts as they were happening in real time, creating a new experience with each view. Why it won: Jury President and Isobar Global CEO Jean Lin said that the campaign represented the finest of what the jury was looking for in Cyber today. "It's an entry that demonstrates how a powerful brand narrative is enabled through technology and how this narrative can live and grow in a modern, multi-screen digital environment. It's social by nature and real-time by design. It demonstrated how a well-crafted digital experience can create uplifting impact, from the point of engagement to the point of transaction." Ms. Lin said that even before the jury started the judging process, they debated on what cyber is in 2015. The category was founded in 1998 and since then, "digital has become the connector of everything," she said. So "you ask yourself, 'If digital is everything, what are the Cyber Lions?' … What we want to celebrate are game-changing ideas that are enabled through technology, that empower brands to grow in a multi-screen environment." Controversy or clear winner? The Cyber jury has the option to award up to three Grand Prix in the categories Cyber Craft and the Web, Social and Branded Games/Branded Tech/Integrated Multi-Platform Campaign. But Ms. Lin suggested that Under Armour was the only effort to stand out and demonstrated a "totality" of what the jury was looking for. "It almost felt like if we had a second Grand Prix, we had to have 11 Grand Prix," she said, saying it was difficult to find another campaign that rose above all else. Hot topic: This year, the jury judged more than 3,700 campaigns from 54 different countries. As for trends, Ms. Lin said the jury observed a "confidence" in agency and brand's use of technology. "In the past, we'd seen ideas that innovated in the novelty of how technology can be used. This year we see a confidence in how people use it. How technology has empowered a strong piece of narrative, how technology has helped to spread ideas that can create an impact -- that's what we saw in many of the great entries."

Under Armour's 'I Will What I Want' Takes Sole Cyber Grand Prix

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