With three Grand Prix (six if you include Australia), Cannes Lions 2009 was a historic year for Asia. Asian entries took Gold Lions for Print, Outdoor and Design, Phenomena Bangkok won the Palme d’Or for Production House of the Year, and Dentsu Tokyo was awarded Media Agency of the Year.
The Asian victory is part of a bigger trend of global winners: besides Asia’s and Australia’s six Grand Prix, two went to South Africa. In the Young Lions, Film went to Mexico, Print to Portugal, Cyber to Italy and Media to Australia.
At eight Grand Prix to Europe/USA’s five, the balance has shifted. Granted, the powers retained the biggest categories – Titanium/Integrated, Film and Press — as well as two Cybers. But the industry has gone global as never before, and there’s no going back. Let’s hope this lift is sustained.
Here are the Asian ideas that have been judged the world’s best this year:
Media Grand Prix:
KitKat Mail, JWT Japan
Eisaku SEKIHASHI (Senior Creative Director)
Kiyoshi USAMI (Senior Account Planning Director)
Shizu YAMADA (Art Director)
Midori USUI (Copywriter)
Yasuhiko YUASA (Account Director)
Yuki NAKAMURA (Account Executive)
Daisuke TSUTSUI (Account Supervisor)
Naoya TAKAHASHI (Chief Producer)
Maemi KOBAYASHI (Producer).
Promo Grand Prix:
Yubari, Beacon Communications Tokyo
Design Grand Prix:
Paper Battlefield, McCann Worldgroup Causeway Bay
Advertising Agency: McCANN WORLDGROUP Causeway Bay, HONG KONG
Executive Creative Director: Spencer Wong
Creative Director: Nick Lim/Terry Tsang/Chris Fong
Copywriter: Terry Tsang/Wong Wai
Account Manager: Yen Lee/Penelope Yau/Calton Chu
Art Director: Cherry Yiu/Nicky Sun
A series of posters not only featuring teen basketball stars, but made by them – hence the name. The Nike Basketball League’s top 10 players were invited to a studio to create posters using photos of themselves in action — silk-screening the images on top of one another. As the case-study video and the judges noted, the "posters became the battlefield."
FILM:
Gold Lions
Sagami Love Distance, GT Tokyo
A Day in the Life of Chennai, JWT Mumbai (2 Gold Lions)
PRESS:
Gold Campaign Lion
“Tree/Earth/Shark/Calf/Crocodile”
Creative Director Ali Shabaz
Art Director Christiano Choo
Copywriter Pradeep D’Souza
Illustrator Christiano Choo
OUTDOOR: Melody Road, Dentsu/Razorfish Tokyo
DESIGN:
Coming Moon, Dentsu Kansai/Osaka
Coto-Tama, Dentsu Tokyo
Street to School, JWT India/Mumbai
