15 hidden gems among 2023’s Cannes Lions winners

Once the craziness of Cannes Lions week is over, it’s fun to dig through the winners’ lists to find work that may have gotten a bit lost in the shuffle. Below, check out 15 Lion-winning campaigns from around the world this year that we felt deserved a second look. (Plus, look back on all of the Grand Prix winners here.) Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here Cheat Cookies Client: Oreo Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Dusseldorf Seven Lions including Golds in Direct, Media and Social & Influencer One of two Oreo campaigns on this list, this one involved the launch of six different Oreo-cookie embossments, inspired by the Xbox controller buttons, which let consumers create cheat codes with the Oreo Xbox Special Edition and unlock in-game content in Forza Horizon 5, Halo Infinite and Sea of Thieves. The Congregation Client: podHER Klick Health, Toronto Gold Lion in Design The U.S. Constitution guarantees freedom of religion—so, what if a new religion were invented that endorsed a woman’s right to choose? That was the starting point of this campaign centered around an impressively designed book of beliefs. Doppelgänger Client: Chipotle Agency: Gale Gold Lion in Creative Data Email isn’t the sexiest marketing channel, but when used creatively, it can deliver big results—as seen in Gale’s clever campaign connecting customers who made the same orders at the same time in different parts of the country. The Greatest Guide to Jochos & Burgers Client: Bimbo Buns Agencies: VectorB McCann, Mexico City and Performance Art, Toronto Silver Lion in Design There was a lot of talk about AI at Cannes this year. This delightful campaign was one of the few that showed how generative AI, when used with guardrails, can lead to resounding success. Gut Health Client: Dutchie Agency: Ogilvy, Bangkok Silver and Bronze Lions in Film Craft Thai advertising is revered for its offbeat humor. This campaign fits perfectly into that legacy with a personification of gut health that’s quite unforgettable. I'm a Criminal Client: Girls Not Brides Agency: Media.Monks, Mexico City Silver Lion in Film Craft For World Children’s Day, Media.Monks partnered with Yo Quiero, Yo Puedo and Oriental Films to educate people on a gruelling reality in Mexico that’s rarely discussed. Over 300,000 girls share the same fate as the subject of the film. The Life Collection 2022 Client: Ikea Agency: Try, Oslo Gold Lion in Print & Publishing This standout print campaign promoted Ikea’s furniture recycling program by featuring items that had outlasted their original owners—for reasons including death, divorce, bankruptcy and the pandemic. Life Subtitled Client: Chicago International Film Festival Agency: Ogilvy Chicago Silver Lion in Industry Craft Ogilvy subtitled the city of Chicago in honor of the thousands of subtitled films that have screened over the years at the Chicago International Film Festival. Normalize It Client: Oatly Agency: In-house Silver Lion in Film The EU School Scheme supports the distribution of milk, fruit and vegetables to millions of children, from nursery to secondary school, across the European Union. This film from Oatly cleverly advocated for plant-based milk to be among the offerings. Oreocodes Client: Oreo Agency: VMLY&R Commerce, New York Five Lions including Golds in Creative Commerce and Direct Much like Oreo’s “Cheat Cookies” campaign did (see above), “Oreocodes” engaged customers on a one-to-one level using some snazzy tech. In this case, a commerce experience tapped into the minimalistic similarity between barcodes and a stack of Oreos to allow people to get Oreo offers by scanning barcodes on milk products. Red River Farm Client: PETA Agency: House 337, London Silver Lion in Film PETA won its first Lion since 2016 for “Red River Farm,” a darkly satirical take on children’s television programs—with animals on a farm singing about how they’re really treated, much to the horror of the show’s host. Rocky Client: Ladbrokes Agency: Neverland, London Silver and Bronze Lions in Film Craft Rocky’s famous solo jog through the streets of Philadelphia becomes a group affair in this seamlessly produced spot for betting site Ladbrokes, directed by Nicolai Fuglsig. The Soot Life Expectancy Client: The Extra Step Initiative Agency: X3M Ideas, Lagos Bronze Lion in Health & Wellness Nigeria won its first-ever Cannes Lion with this campaign from X3M Ideas, which created a formula that calculated and issued a new, more realistic life expectancy for Nigerians based on time spent in the soot-ravaged Rivers State. There’s Nothing Comic About Dyslexia Client: Dyslexia Scotland Agency: Innocean Berlin Silver Lion in Industry Craft Designers will nerd out on this campaign, which challenged the industry to create dyslexia-friendly fonts other than the famous (and much-hated) one that’s already out there—Comic Sans. We Didn't Write This Campaign Client: NotCo Agency: MRM Worldwide, Santiago Gold Lion in Print & Publishing, Silver Lion in Outdoor After years of fighting lawsuits from big dairy, plant-based NotCo decided to use language directly from those lawsuits in its ads. Ad Age Creativity Bookmark our section covering the best in brand creativity every day Read more here

15 hidden gems among 2023’s Cannes Lions winners

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