Cannes Contenders: The Serviceplan Group Share Its Best Bets for the Cannes Lions Awards 2022
Creatives from Serviceplan Group’s agencies around the world talk about the work that they believe stands a chance at taking home a Lions Award from Cannes this month. In the top 10 are campaigns and innovations from Serviceplan’s agencies in Austria, Germany, the Middle East, Korea and the USA for clients including Adobe, BMW, O2, Netflix and PENNY.
LBB has asked every major agency network to share its best work from the past year ahead of Cannes Lions 2022. Check out all the lists published so far here.
O2 Telefónica - The Visible Net
Serviceplan Bubble
Christian Hellinger, managing director at Wien Nord Serviceplan at House of Communication Vienna: “With 'The Visible Net campaign of O2 and Serviceplan Bubble, the fast download speed of the 5G network can now also be experienced visually. To achieve this, innovative technology was combined with artistic skills. As a first step, the O2 network signal was measured in various locations in Germany. Then, the data was transmitted to an LED bar hanging underneath a drone which converts the data into light impulses. The stronger the network signal, the brighter the light.
5G is omnipresent in current telco advertising. For quite some time, the new technology has been hailed as the enabler of amazing improvements for businesses and consumers. But until now the term has mostly remained abstract, and its actual effectiveness was almost exclusively known to the tech-savvy. For everyone else, it remained merely a buzzword. ‘The Visible Net’ by Serviceplan Bubble for client O2 turns something invisible and strictly technological into beautiful pieces of live art, that are not only unique and awe-inspiring but also show, for the first time ever, the quality of signal and bandwidth in a way that we can witness with our own eyes – not simply as little bars in the corner of our smartphone screens.”
Idea Creation: Serviceplan Bubble
Production: BWGTBLD
BMW - The Museum of Sound
Serviceplan Group Middle East
Stefania Siani, CEO and CCO at Serviceplan Italy: “The BMW Museum of Sound NFT collection is a unique art series that depicts the sound of BMW M engines through the use of a bespoke data-visualizer. The project aims to immortalize the iconic sound of the M combustion engine as we head into an electric future. The recordings for these 19 NFTs were done on location at Dubai Autodrome in cooperation with various BMW M owners. NFTs represent real works of art in the nascent ‘crypto economy’. It’s very interesting to apply such a contemporary language to a theme as ancient as memory and the archive of emotions. All this is combined with the issue of audio: I consider sound and audio an often-underestimated heritage in advertising. In the automotive world, the ecological transition of engines will transform an entire soundscape, preserving it is a strong gesture.”
Idea Creation: Serviceplan Group Middle East
Post Production: Cold Cutz & Big Foot Films
Red Bull - The Tunnel Pass Project - Aerobatic pilot Dario Costa
Wien Nord / Now Serviceplan
Akhilesh Bagri, chief creative officer at Serviceplan Middle East: “On September 4th, 2021 in Istanbul, World-famous Red Bull Athlete and aerobatic pilot Dario Costa accomplished a hair-raising stunt in his racing plane. He defied all odds to become the first person ever to fly a plane through a tunnel and set five world records in the process. Dario and Red Bull brought the guts, and creative agency Wien Nord Serviceplan together with brand partnership specialist Now Serviceplan, provided the right backup for him to turn a dream into a success story.
At industry shows today, one could argue that the word ‘brave’ is thrown around quite generously. This makes it very important to reframe the notion of risk when you come across something like ‘The Tunnel Pass Project’. So, let’s see what was on the line to pull this off; about 14 months of planning, the reputation of two agencies and three world-renowned brands, a bunch of moolah and of course, the daring pilot’s (gulp) physical well-being. No wonder then that it captured the imagination of media and viewers all over the world and broke five world records. The only way it could’ve got any more attention is if things went south. This work literally flies in the face of ‘case-film’ bravery. This is ‘real-life’ brave. And for that, I tip my hat to all involved and especially to Dario Costa, you bat sh*t crazy maverick of mavericks.”
Idea Creation: Wien Nord Serviceplan
Production Company: Red Bull Media House GmbH & Rückenwindfilm GmbH
Post-Production / Grading: Red Bull Media House GmbH
Dot Inc. - Dot Pad
Serviceplan Group
Christoph Everke, managing partner at Serviceplan Campaign: “The Dot Pad is simply amazing. As soon as you see it, you understand the greatness of the idea – making pictures, graphs and designs accessible for the visually impaired. Yes, there are various braille readers existing but they are only helpful to read text. With the Dot Pad you can finally go further. But it is not only the idea, it’s also the technical aspect, which makes this product so special. Finding a way to translate graphics into dots and combine it with voice is really astonishing and opens a whole new dimension for everybody who is visually impaired. Wow!”
Idea Creation: Serviceplan Korea
Netflix - The Art of Stealing
Serviceplan Group
Niat Asfaw Graça, general manager at Serviceplan Bubble: “What a creative way to promote a series. When the show came out last year, it was the most-watched non-English series on Netflix. And in this launch campaign for season 2, Netflix's 'Art of Stealing' takes a swipe at Poland's most valuable painting. The most creative background story, the painting was itself was really stolen and recovered as recently as 2016 by the Polish National Museum, which valued it at over €100 million. So, more than just an ad for a Netflix show, ‘The Art of Stealing’ also bears a lot of symbolic weight - appropriate to the topic of the series.
Furthermore, it was an extraordinary collaboration, as the National Museum really cooperated with Netflix full-fledged, they really exhibited the fake painting where the necklace was missing. It also took place inside the museum. Remarkable. Then, they bought ad space outside the museum featuring a promotional image of the painting, still with the necklace missing, and then - guerrilla-style - a Lupin ad on top, featuring Omar Sy holding the necklace under the words ‘Merci Madame’.
WHAT A GREAT STUNT!”
Idea Creation: Serviceplan
Production: Gong, Warsaw
PENNY - Der Wunsch (The Wish)
Serviceplan Campaign
PJ Pereira, co-founder and creative chairman at Pereira O’Dell: “’The Wish will be one of the biggest winners of the year. But here’s the problem, talking about its multiple qualities (and there are many), is spoiling its merit, just like telling why some great movies are great will make them less rewarding to watch. So let me stop there: watching ‘The Wish’ is rewarding like great stories are. Not commercials. Stories. Those that reflect the time in which they were written, in ways we can’t fully realize… until we watch it. And here it is, I already said too much. Sorry.”
Idea Creation: Serviceplan Campaign
Director: Marcus Ibanez
Production: ICONOCLAST Germany GmbH
O2 Telefónica - The Every Home
Serviceplan Bubble
Ainhoa de las Pozas, CEO at Serviceplan Spain: “Nowadays, internet companies provide commodity services and must face every day with lots of competencies also in the communication area. So, the goodness of this campaign lies in a mix of delivering a simple and clear message (internet for every home) based on a real brand USP with a disruptive campaign. How have they done it? By bringing an idea that is not only a TV spot but an integrated, liquid campaign where all targets and needs are represented. Key values are: simplicity in terms of messaging – clear and direct, O2 provides services for all targets wherever they need them and also the visual representation is totally effective (all targets are shown), it‘s liquidity and inclusivity, a campaign for everybody, that everybody understands.
At a production level, it's beautifully recreated in a way that shows different ways of living represented in the houses, the protagonists and their life in their different relations to internet use. But what do we mean by liquid? The campaign doesn’t stop there, it has several spin-offs that bring the brand closer to the youngers (amazing Minecraft and twitch) but I could guess there’s more to come as you can stretch the idea further for each target group.”
Idea Creation: Serviceplan Bubble
Director: Rodrigo Saavedra
Production: Rekorder GmbH
AROYA - Freedom Grams
Serviceplan Group
Alexander Schill, global chief creative officer at Serviceplan Group: “Cannabis in the U.S.A. has evolved into a billion-dollar industry, but still carries the heavy burden from decades of criminalisation. As an advertising agency, we saw the business potential and what stands in its way. As communication experts, we found an innovative solution that empowers the industry and consumers to bring about change. And as humans, we’re happy to do our part in giving back freedom to those who are unjustly incarcerated.”
Idea Creation: Serviceplan Group
Adobe - Happier Than Ever
Pereira O’Dell - Serviceplan
Jason Romeyko, worldwide executive creative director at Serviceplan Group: “Adobe has been a sweetheart of creative people for years and their new technology helps creativity become even more accessible for all. By looking inside Billie Eilish’s mind, I love how this inspires young creators to think about their own processes. (Heck, I thought about mine). Eilish’s collaboration with Adobe is more than a ‘celebrity endorsement’, it is the very best in brand entertainment crafting. From casting to script to production values to earned media, this is my pick for metal. I LOVE the music video!”
Idea Creation: Pereira O’Dell
Directors: Robert Rodriguez Patrick Osborne
Production: Interscope Films and Darkroom Productions, in association with Nexus Studios and ALPWW
Newtown Action Alliance - #NotComingHome
Serviceplan Group
Natalie Shardan, managing director at Serviceplan Middle East: “I get goosebumps every time I watch this film, waking up to news about a horrible shootings in schools around the US and hearing about all those dead kids is heartbreaking. But watching an ad that puts it in this context is like a slap in the face!
A school is supposed to be a happy and safe place where kids learn, grow and meet friends. The fact that this ad shows that a soldier came back from a war zone in one piece while his little girl that he left behind in peace died as a result of a gun crime is very powerful. I will never forget this ad, and I’m sure millions who watched it won’t forget it either. This is the power of advertising. I’m proud that this piece came from our agency.”
Idea Creation: Serviceplan Hamburg, Germany
