JWT APAC's Cannes Success

JWT set benchmarks across Asia at the Cannes Lions, earning the Philippines’ second-ever Gold Lion in the show’s 60 year history and bringing home another three Gold and three Silvers to China, making it the best performing agency in China this year.

 

“Four Golds, three Silvers and a number of short lists from around the region is a great testament to our talent in Asia Pacific. I am sure our team's pursuit of great creative ideas for our clients will go on with even more passion, after their successes in Cannes,” said Lo Sheung Yan, JWT APAC Creative Council Chairman.

 

JWT Manila took home their historic Gold in Outdoor for their Schick “Icons” campaign, which was designed to raise the brand’s profile among men in a market where Schick is better known for their women’s razor line. JWT Manila created graphic posters of legendary men with iconic facial hair with the Schick Exacta 2 razor seamlessly incorporated into each design. The objective was to show how the right facial hair helps define a man’s identity, and suggest how Schick can help people define their own look.

 

Beijing won a Gold and two Silver Lions in Mobile for a wonderful app the team created for BaoBeiHuiJia (Baby Back Home), which turned individual smartphones into a search tool to locate missing children.   In China, over 20,000 children go missing each year, and many are abducted and sold into labour, prostitution, or a life on the streets as beggars. For the parents, hope of finding their child in such a large country is small.  Baby Back Home helps families by publishing missing profiles on their website, but had little success.  So JWT Beijing came up with an idea for an app that turns anyone with a smart phone into an instant search volunteer just by taking a photo of a child they suspect may be lost or stolen. Our Missing Children app then compares it to Baby Back Home's missing persons database, using face recognition technology. In just one week, we had over 20,000 downloads - and two long-awaited family reunions.

 

JWT Shanghai won two Gold Lions in Press for “Sumo Elephant” and “Wrestler Bear”, two imaginative print executions that bring to life the durability of Samsonite’s  ‘Sammies’ kids’ range of suitcases. These suitcases come embossed with cute elephant and bear motifs. JWT Shanghai used these two adorable characters in the ads, portraying them as mischievous and rascally kids who put the suitcase through all the torturous treatments imaginable; still, 'Sammies' emerges the victor, with the exhausted kids waving a white flag, reading 'Kid Proof'.

 
Shanghai also took home a Silver in Design for The Electric Translator, for Samsonite. Travelers always worry about not being able to connect with the locals – so our team created a packaging design that relates with this anxiety  - and demonstrates what the product does in a clear and charming way. 

 

JWT Ho Chi Minh, Jakarta, Hong Kong ,Taipei, Beijing and Singapore also made the Cannes shortlist in direct, outdoor, cyber, mobile and press, illustrating the strength of the network’s creative offering across multiple markets and mediums.

 

“I am thrilled with our award haul at Cannes. I'm happy not just about the Golds and the Silvers, but about the bevy of shortlists and other outstanding work that was submitted from across the network. We are one team and a victory in any office is a victory for all of us,” said Tom Doctoroff, JWT APAC CEO.  “Let's continue to lift the bar as we produce even greater ideas that build brands now and in the future.”