Best of the Best: Aussie and Kiwi Ads Take Home Big Awards from Cannes

The weekend’s biggest prize, the Titanium Grand Prix, came Down Under for only the second time in history, going to The Monkeys, part of Accenture Song, for their ‘First Digital Nation’ campaign for the Government of Tuvalu. The spot was produced by Collider.

Tara Ford, chief creative officer of The Monkeys said: “Tuvalu has been fighting climate change for over 30 years. Without land, you don’t have a nation. You don’t have a place on the world’s stage. Our mission was to help them protect their sovereignty even when the land had gone. We are honoured to receive this very special award."

The agency also won two Bronze Lions, including one for their ‘Weather Anything’ campaign for MacPac Clothing.

Colenso BBDO took home seven awards, including a Consumer Services/ B2B Grand Prix in the Print and Publishing category, for their campaign with NZ telco, Skinny. 

Simon Vicars, the chief creative officer at Colenso BBDO, said: “Phone It In was a lot of fun to work on, and I think people can feel that in the writing. 32 scripts went out into the world, but behind those 34 were countless drafts, rewrites and alts. We laughed so hard along the way, then we worried so hard that no one would read them. To win gold in craft is a wonderful endorsement of having fun and sweating the details.”

"A Cannes Grand Prix is the highest of highs. We felt this high in 2016 with Brewtroleum, and we’re so proud to repeat the feat. Ideas like 'Phone It In' don’t get made by a creative department, they get made by a collective of people too excited to stop. This is a moment for all those people – from client side to all the agencies involved – to celebrate wildly.”

Continuing New Zealand’s habit of punching above their weight globally, Special (Auckland) nabbed five awards, including the Insurance Grand Prix in the Health and Wellness category, for their ‘Last Performance’ campaign. The spot, produced by Auckland-based South Pacific Pictures, was for Partners Life Insurance.

Special founder and CEO Tony Bradbourne, said: “To win at Cannes is one thing, but to walk away with a Grand Prix is truly humbling. Our name is a promise that everything that goes out the door must be ‘special’, and twelve months ago, we challenged ourselves to create something so special it would win a Cannes Grand Prix – proving once again that creativity from the edge of the world can shine on the world stage. Congratulations to everyone involved, especially our brave and adventurous clients, for believing in the power of creativity.”

Across the pond, CHEP Network won a Social and Influencer Grand Prix in the Audience Targeting/Engagement Strategies for their ‘Flipvertising' campaign for Samsung. The Grand Prix goes along with two Silver Lions for the same campaign.

The Sweetshop, Sydney, was behind the production for the spot.

Chief creative officer at CHEP, Gavin McLeod, said: "We're thrilled with the result tonight. Delighted for our amazing client Samsung, for our brilliant production partners and our integrated team at CHEP. We're most proud of this being work for a real client, a real brief and with real results."

From 1462 entries received in the category, 49 Lions were awarded — eight Gold, 15 Silver, 25 Bronze — were awarded in addition to the Grand Prix.

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In other awards, VMLY&R and PHD Media both nabbed Gold Lions for ‘Fitchix’ and ‘Phone It In’, taking home two and three awards, respectively. 

Howatson+Company was the biggest winner in APAC, taking home a staggering nine awards across three campaigns, including six silver and three bronze. Their consistent work for 10:PM Mattress garnered seven separate awards.

Finch, BMF Sydney, DDB New Zealand, Leo Burnett, Ogilvy, McCann, HERO, and Clemenger BBDO were all also among the winners, all managing at least one Silver Lion.

FCB New Zealand also won two Bronze Lions, while R/GA, Special (Sydney), TBWA\Sydney, and Thinkerbell all won a Bronze Lion.