Cannes Lions 2023 Grand Prix Winners in B2B, Data, Direct, Media, Social and Influencer, and PR

There is no doubt that Earth is in danger. Whether it’s the climate crisis, economic problems across the world, over the overpopulated nature of the planet, alarm bells are ringing, and the window for society to do something about it is rapidly closing. 

For this reason, the Brazilian Stock Exchange and AlmapBBDO realised that the best way to draw attention to this was by turning the planet into an IPO, and launching it on the stock exchange. Named ‘Terr4’ (in english, ‘Eart4’), the campaign translated social inequality into unequal distribution of dividends, and loss of biodiversity into poor asset management to such effect that this now Grand Prix-winner is now supported by the UN Global Compact. 

Creative B2B Lions jury president, Tom Stein, chairman and chief growth officer, Stein IAS, said: “This is just the second year for the Creative B2B Lions, and the Grand Prix our jury awarded illustrates the profound progression of B2B creativity. With its powerful, highly relevant and deeply emotional call to action - literally launching an IPO for planet Earth - the work is catalysing the global business community to become part of the UN Global Compact. Through it, Brazil’s stock exchange has strengthened its worldwide brand reputation as a progressive force, innovator and market leader. The massive, systemic impact of B2B at its very best is on full display.”

Beer is a surprisingly common fixture in a lot of paintings. But, have you ever stopped to consider exactly what kind of beer the depicted people are drinking? This was the question which inspired GUT Buenos Aires and Stella Artois to dig a little deeper. Referencing art created between 1366 (the brewery’s founding year) and today, the two collaborated with the Belles Artes Museum to analyse everything from distribution routes and glass types to exact colouring, determining specific odds as to whether the drink depicted happened to be the brand’s. 

Throughout sports history, there have been many numbers associated with specific athletes - providing inspiration for fans around the globe. However, it’s safe to say that none of these athletes had Down syndrome, which, until now, meant that true diversity and representation was not being achieved.

As such, FCB Toronto and adidas came together to create a new iconic number in the world’s most accessible sport: running. Opting to highlight ‘321’, which is also the chromosome that causes Down syndrome, the brand not only brought on its first athlete with Down syndrome, but worked with marathons around the world (including those sponsored by rivals) to reserve the 321 bib at every event for a runner with Down syndrome - giving viewers around the world a more authentic chance to see themselves represented meaningfully. 

Unrealistic beauty standards are a plague. ‘Buy this product to achieve this look!’. ‘You’re only pretty if you fit these exact specifications!’ - the list goes on and on. So, when TikTok decided to introduce a filter that used AI to regenerate every facial cell for ‘perfect’ beauty, the internet had enough. Led by Dove, Ogilvy and DAVID, the parties worked together to start a movement inviting users to prevent the filter from using their faces - literally - by turning their backs. 

Media Lions jury president, Christian Juhl, global CEO, GroupM, said: “In awarding the Grand Prix, we wanted to recognise work that fully harmonises creative and media with purpose and product. '#TurnYourBack' not only set the standard for bringing these components together - it’s a timely example of how our industry can use the power of media to protect young people and empower them to reject the pressure they feel to conform to artificial standards and be confident in their true, unfiltered selves.”

Despite attempts to de-stigmatise masturbation, in the US, studies show that it’s still a largely taboo topic, with 69% of women feeling uncomfortable discussing self love. However, as DoorDash and GUT believe, orgasms shouldn’t only belong to people in relationships - especially not on Valentine’s Day. 

Taking keen notice of the fact that 42% of its users are single people, the online food ordering company created the ‘Self Love Bouquet’, consisting of 11 roses, and one rose sex toy. The result? It sold out across the country’s major cities! An explosive campaign through and through.

PR Lions jury president, Jo-Ann Robertson, CEO, global markets, Ketchum, UK, said: “With a deep understanding of its audience, DoorDash was able to deliver a culturally of-the-moment campaign that made its customers feel something, whilst delivering incredible business results. The brand's focus on celebrating and empowering single women's self-love was simple, brave, and the campaign was perfectly built with earned at the core.”

How do you get gen z - a generation that, historically, hates ads - to care about advertising? As demonstrated by CHEP Network and Samsung, giving away free prizes is certainly an effective solution! 

By informing people around the world they could win a free phone by watching the right ads, the global community rallied together, with strangers helping each other determine the right keywords to tailor each user’s algorithm toward Samsung - all in the hopes of getting the particular, winning ad on their feed. After all, if they don’t like it when you chase them… just make them chase you instead!