Cult Wins Five Lions at Cannes Debut

Branded entertainment agency and creative production company, Cult, has won five Lions at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. 

The ‘Scariest BK’ stunt for Burger King, for which DAVID The Agency, Miami, partnered with Cult, was awarded two Bronze Lions in the Promo and Activation category, two in the Outdoor category and one in the Design category and was shortlisted in each of the following categories: Titanium, Media, PR, Entertainment, Promo and Activations, and Outdoor. 

Launching at Halloween last year, the team imagined the scariest thing a Burger King customer could encounter was a McDonald’s instead of their favourite burger restaurant. Created by DAVID Miami and Cult, the stunt involved dressing up a Burger King in Queens, New York as a spooky McDonald’s ghost and serving Whoppers in McDonald’s branded boxes. 

The hugely successful campaign resulted in over two billion impressions, more than $11 million in earned media, over 300,00 shares, and a 488% increase in brand mentions. 

These accolades build on the strong portfolio of work from the commercial production arm of successful online video magazine, Crane.tv. Cult’s other notable and highly publicised campaigns for Burger King include ‘The Angriest Whopper’ and ‘The Big King’. 

The wins for the project also follow a successful haul at the One Show in May. Cult won two bronze pencils and three merits for the 'Scariest BK’ and two merits for Mars Petcare - Pedigree's 'A Vote For Good' with BBDO / New York. In just a few short years, Cult has already completed an impressive host of commercials and short films that have been deemed ‘impossible’ at pitch by some production companies. 

On the win, Constantin Bjerke, Founder of Cult, comments: “We’re thrilled to have been recognised so highly at our very first Lions, and grateful to our brilliant partners, Burger King and DAVID The Agency, for trusting a small team like us. It feels amazing to achieve this success with Cannes Lions’ Marketer of the Year, and one of the most awarded young agencies. We’re delighted to see our fresh approach validated by these wins and excited to make this the first of many.”