On day two of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2015, things got really exciting for the first time in the evening, because: the Lions in the categories "Press", "Mobile", "Direct" and "Promo & Activitation" were awarded. In the Grand Audi of the Palais des Festivals it was obvious that Cannes is the international center of the creative scene, at least this week, and that thousands of delegates are flocking to the French Riviera - the crowd was huge, the hall was filled to capacity. It was also exciting for Austria, as both Jung von Matt/Donau and Reichl & Partner were hoping to win a trophy in the "Press" category, having previously made it onto the shortlist. They were not to be disappointed, as both agencies were ultimately recognized with a Bronze Lion each for their campaigns.
Press: two bronze lions for Austria
In the "Press" subcategory "Cars", Jung von Matt/Donau proved itself with the advertising campaign "Smart for Two" on behalf of Smart and can thus take home a bronze Lion - after the shortlist nomination last Sunday, Volkmar Weiss, Managing Director Creation at Jung von Matt/Donau, remained modest and failed to speculate on a possible win - the joy must now be all the greater. Reichl & Partner is the second domestic agency to be honored in the "Press" category - impressive in view of the fact that the advertising agency with offices in Vienna, Linz, Stuttgart and Zurich had submitted only three subjects this year, all of which were ultimately awarded a Lion as an overall campaign. Managing director Rainer Reichl thus rightly speaks of a one hundred percent success rate for the agency, whose subjects "Explore your dreams", "Be the tailor of your dreams" and "Be the painter of your dreams" won over the jury on behalf of List General Contractor, a supplier of yacht and building construction equipment. The "Press" Grand Prix was claimed by The Community/La Comunidad Miami - commissioned by the City of Buenos Aires, the US agency prevailed against a total of 4,470 entries with its lovingly illustrated campaign "The Buenos Aires Public Bike System".
Mobile: Google triumphs
The "Mobile" category established in 2012 has - unsurprisingly - been growing steadily since its launch. While in the first year 965 works were submitted, this year there were 1,246. A Grand Prix, the highest prize at Cannes Lions, was awarded this year to Google's "Cardboard", submitted by Google Mountain View - a cardboard holder that turns any smartphone into virtual reality goggles and thus allows the use of numerous VR apps.
Direct: Grand Prix for Grey New York
The Grand Prix in the "Direct" category, which was judged this year under the chairmanship of Judy John, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett, also went to the US agency Grey New York. "The Greatest Interception Ever" for Volvo, a social campaign, called on Super Bowl viewers to tweet the hashtag #VolvoContest during other car brands' commercials and, in the process, nominate friends and explain why they should win a Volvo XC60. Instead of positioning itself around the Super Bowl in the traditional way with its own commercial and marketing message, Volvo focused on the user - an idea that impressed the international jury.
By the way: a domestic agency is not to be found in the "Direct" list of winners, but a domestic medium is - namely "Vangardist". Following its success at the Lions Health Awards, the magazine received one Gold and two Silver Lions in the "Direct" category for its special issue "The HIV+ Issue," created by Saatchi & Saatchi Switzerland
Promo & Activation: Grey wins for Volvo here too
On Monday, June 22 - last but not least - the winners of the category "Promo & Activation" were also announced. 3,196 entries from 73 countries reached this category in 2015, 14 of which came from Austria. Even though none of the domestic agencies convinced the jury, it is worth taking a look at the winners in this category. Here, too, the Grey agency - albeit the British, rather than the U.S. branch - received a Grand Prix on behalf of Volvo UK for the work "Life Paint." To ensure that cyclists can't be overlooked in the dark, the Swedish automaker teamed up with Grey London to develop a reflective spray that can be applied anywhere and remains completely invisible during the day.