Cannes Contenders: Mullenlowe's Favourites for 2024
MullenLowe Group, a globally recognised creative network, continues to redefine the landscape of advertising with bold and innovative campaigns. Renowned for a strategic approach and commitment to effectiveness, MullenLowe operates in over 50 markets, delivering transformative results for an impressive roster of clients.
As the 2024 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity draws near, MullenLowe is poised to showcase a selection of its most exciting work, each campaign reflecting its dedication to creativity and effectiveness. From the emotionally resonant ‘FlashTest’ for the Conde de Valenciana Ophthalmological Institute, to the dynamic Solar Priceboards for Wall's, MullenLowe’s creative prowess and strategic insight is on full display.
Here’s an in-depth look at the campaigns MullenLowe Group is betting on to make a splash at this year's Cannes Lions:
Conde de Valenciana Ophthalmological Institute - FlashTest
MullenLowe SSP3 Mexico
Retinoblastoma is the most common cancer in children under 5 years old. Detected in its early stages, its life expectancy is 95%. If not, its mortality rate is 80%. This condition doesn't show symptoms that can be perceived at first glance (until very advanced stages). So, it could be long before a child's parents notice it.
We want to teach Mexican moms to detect eye cancer by themselves by taking just a simple photo with their mobile phones. Children with this disease show a symptom called ‘White Pupil’ in one of their eyes when photographed with a flash.
PRISM+ - As Close as it Gets
MullenLowe Singapore
PRISM+ is one of Singapore’s fastest-growing home entertainment brands. It’s QLED TV and sound systems offer a high-definition, highly immersive entertainment experience, one that draws you into the scene quite literally.
While prominent brands often rely on stunning visual spectacles to showcase the capabilities of their entertainment systems, PRISM+ chooses to set itself apart as a fresh upstart through a memorable, albeit unconventional, product demonstration with a simple message, ‘As Close as it Gets’.
Each film opens with a classic portrayal of popular TV tropes and genres but quickly takes a bizarre turn where the viewers are unwittingly integrated into the scene as inanimate objects, experiencing it up close and personal – too personal at times.
MullenLowe Global - MullenLowe Global Rebrand
MullenLowe U.S.
Mullenlowe's ever-changing visual identity: an ode to the octopus' fluidity and adaptability. Our objective was to move away from the corporate realm and develop a new, iconic visual identity that was simple enough to resonate globally yet nuanced enough to be embraced by every region within the network.
Mullen Lowe's new identity emphasises the fluid and ever-changing nature of the octopus rather than its physical attributes. We honed in on the most distinctive traits of this creature: the ability to self-edit its own DNA - and pushed it to the extreme by crafting a logo capable of shifting as needed without losing its iconic essence. Everyone was encouraged to create their own logo, embedding the individuality of each employee into the fabric of our identity, making this visual system more relevant and inclusive and our agency, in turn, richer.
• 155 earned impressions
• 300% brand surge on Google
• 98.3% positive sentiment
• + 2.550 social mentions
• + 35% new business opportunities
Dorival - Princesses on Periods
MullenLowe UK
Even though 1.8 billion people across the world menstruate, many are unable to deal with their periods in a dignified, healthy way. Many young girls don't even know what periods are before experiencing them, and schools are contributing to the problem, reducing sexual education worldwide. As a result, the onset of periods has a proven negative effect on young girls' educational performance, contributing to female inequality and deep-seated taboos that are hard to break.
Through the years, Dorival as a brand has deeply embraced its brand purpose, striving to help everyone navigate menstruation from the first period to the last, making it a category leader. For little girls around the world, Princesses have long been a source of inspiration, iconic role models who teach us we can be much more than we think. Introducing Princesses on Periods, an educational content platform that princesses reimagined as modern, kick-ass young girls responding to the world's top period-related questions.
In these tales, Rapunzel, Sleeping Beauty and Cinderella are no longer stuck in castles, talking to animals whilst waiting for Prince Charming - they're going to school, having fun with their friends, gaming and streaming, sharing makeup tips and playlists.
Results after only two weeks:
• 18m views
• 100k interactions
• +146% Insta followers
• +880% Google searches
Unilever Knorr - #ModTheVeg
MullenLowe UK
Knorr is the second biggest Unilever brand. The brand is on a mission to make good food irresistible. We needed to translate that message to a younger generation in a cool and modern way, a huge challenge for a home cooking brand. "Good food" has different meanings around the world. One of them is adding more vegetables to the daily average diet. The world is already having a big conversation about how the human diet affects the planet. In that conversation. vegetables play a crucial role. However, there has always been bias against them because they're often perceived as boring, lame and tasteless. We needed to change this perception.
We discovered that the bias against vegetables is even present in gaming. In video games, vegetables are less rewarding than other kinds of food: In Fortnite meat gives you 15HP vs Lettuce giving you 10HP; in Minecraft meat gives you 4HP vs carrot giving you 2 HP; in World of Warcraft a big bear steak restores 552 health vs a bean soup restoring 61 health. This reality is present in at least more than 20 games.
The movement became a petition signed by more than 200k people worldwide and sent to some of the biggest game publishers.
• +190k minutes played on average
• +20k signed the petition
• +262k watched the livestreams
• 1500 press articles worldwide
• +151m social media impressions
Unilever Magnum - Find Your Summer
LOLA MullenLowe (Spain)
Freezing. Wintry. Gelid. It's 3:14 pm in the city when, suddenly, a shimmer of warmth light emerges just when needed… It's time to find your summer with Magnum.
In our ‘Find Your Summer’ campaign, we wanted to encourage people to eat ice cream in winter by enjoying those little moments of sunshine. But to do that, we first had to find the elusive British sun. So, we waited… and waited… and waited to pres shutter at the exact moment.
Every photograph included the exact place and time where the sun was spotted, which led people to the FindYourSummer app. A site that tracks the sun’s position in real-time so everyone can find the closest sunny spot nearest to them.
This series was published on billboards, in newspapers, and in magazines all over the UK during the harsh cold months.
Unilever Persil - The Autograph (deSIGNED Posters)
LOLA MullenLowe (Spain)
Persil is using its 'Dirt Is Good' platform's partnership with Arsenal as the basis of a short film in which a young football fan goes on a quest to track down the club's Bukayo Saka.
Ahead of the film’s cinema launch on the 28th March, the Unilever brand ran an out-of-home guerrilla marketing push across north London, with seven posters signed by Saka himself. Social activity had urged Arsenal fans to scout the streets to claim the coveted posters. Those who found them received a signed Arsenal shirt.
For those unfamiliar with North London, it's characterised by its working-class roots and vibrant, diverse culture, particularly evident in its thriving arts and music scenes. However, football holds a special place in the community, especially in its unwavering support for Arsenal F.C. and their star player, Bukayo Saka. In North London, Saka isn’t merely a footballer; he's regarded as one of their own—a local hero whose success is celebrated as a reflection of the community's resilience and pride. Saka holds a special place in the hearts of North Londoners, symbolising their collective spirit and identity.
Unilever Wall’s - Solar Priceboards
LOLA MullenLowe (Spain)
In 2023, Pakistan, known for having the highest rate of power outages globally, experienced a prolonged blackout lasting more than 12 hours caused by an overloaded electrical grid and soaring temperatures. The frequent daily power cuts lasting up to 5 hours have significantly impacted businesses, particularly in the ice cream sector.
Small shops, crucial for Wall's ice cream sales, face challenges in maintaining the right temperature for their freezers, resulting in a 20% decline in ice cream sales. To combat these issues, ‘The Solar Priceboard’ initiative has been introduced, placing boards at shop entrances to prevent ice cream from melting, enhance customer satisfaction, boost customer retention, and reduce freezer returns to Wall's.
- +31% increase in ice cream sales
- 4.6k shop owners’ requests
- +29m ice creams saved per year
- 657kw clean energy supplied per unit
- 40k small shops impacted by 2030
Unilever Axe - The Power of Fragrance
LOLA MullenLowe (Spain)
Axe, known for its romantic fragrance narratives, took a more realistic approach in recent years, causing some confusion among consumers. To introduce a fresh perspective, the brand turned to film as a medium for storytelling. By creating exaggerated and comical fragrance films with mockumentary-style commentaries, Axe aimed to inject humour back into its advertising.
The two films feature unconventional scenarios, such as a girl falling for a scent at a chaotic funeral and a woman abandoning a robbery plan due to the enticing smell of a restaurant manager, resulting in unexpected and humorous outcomes.
Quezon City - Right to Care
MullenLowe TREYNA (Philippines)
LGBTQ partners have zero conjugal rights in the majority-Catholic Philippines. It is illegal for hospitals to let them make medical decisions for each other, even in emergencies. Without a national law, the local government of Quezon City (our client) wanted to protect its LGBTQ constituents. What if we could hack the law to give LGBTQ partners at least one of the rights legally married couples take for granted?
We created the Right to Care card, a first in the country. It repurposes a special power of attorney commonly used to assign financial decisions into proof of medical consent between LGBTQ partners, just like a wedding ring. Couples bear each other's Right to Care card. A QR code on the card links to a PIN-locked Special Power of Attorney stored on secure Quezon City government servers. True equality begins with the Right to Care.
• 1,780 registrations (inaugural batch)
• 155 organic media pickups
• ₱35.7m earned media
• 50% of Pride march conversations were about the card
• 136.4m organic impressions on social media
Change the Ref & March for Our Lives - The Shotline
MullenLowe U.S.
In 2023, guns killed 43,036 Americans, and yet Congress passed zero gun laws. It was time to move away from typical awareness campaigns and create something to allow citizens to demand action from their lawmakers more easily. The phone call remains one of the most effective ways to compel change in Congress; however, the same old voices weren't getting through. We needed to disrupt and give Americans a powerful new way to be heard.
Using AI technology, we re-created the voices of shooting victims from around the country and used them to craft phone calls to Congress. The calls share the stories of how the victims died and demand change. Anyone in the U.S. could trigger these calls to Congress with just a few clicks and their zip code using our website, theshotline.org. Because the platform is ongoing, more voices are being added to the Shotline, and calls will be sent again and again until a change is made.
In its first month, the campaign garnered +51 000 social mentions, 1,235 articles, +3.6 billion impressions, and was pushed to every Apple news user as an editor's pick, all with a budget of only $5,000. On social, there was a 22% increase in gun reform conversation immediately following the campaign launch. Most importantly, we moved people from vocally advocating for gun reform to direct action. We drove +150,000 unique users to The Shotline website in the first 10 days, and 83% of those users sent a victim's phone call. Over 125,000 calls have been placed to Congress so far.
• 125k+ calls to Congress
• 3.6b+ organic impressions
• 22% increase in gun reform conversation
