First Day Grand Prix Winners at the 2022 Cannes Lions in Pharma, Health & Wellness, Outdoor, Print & Publishing and Radio & Audio

This year the Pharma category was one of those with all eyes on it, with the backdrop of the events of the pandemic from the past two years. Out of all the entries, the jury awarded two Gold Lions, four Silver and four Bronze Lions. The Grand Prix was swept up by a campaign from VMLY&R New York, in collaboration with Dell Technologies & Intel, featuring a first-of-its-kind book for people living with motor neurone disease (MND) that banks their voices as they read aloud. After a few quick steps online, with some additional details provided, users can ‘bank’ their voice and create an accurate digital replica of it. 

For the Health & Wellness category, the jury awarded seven Gold Lions, 11 Silver, and 19 Bronze, but the Grand Prix was again won by VMLY&R. ‘The Killer Pack’ a collaborative effort between VMLY&R Mumbai and Maxx Flash, the so-called Killer Pack aims to tackle the long-standing issue of mosquito-borne diseases in India. The Pack is an innovative 100% biodegradable packaging that kills mosquito larvae when disposed of in garbage dumps and stagnant water, helping to fight life-threatening diseases like dengue and malaria in India. 

For the two awards won by VMLY&R, Debbie Vandeven, global chief creative officer commented in a press release: “They are the first Grand Prix in Health & Wellness and Pharma for the VMLY&R network. And we are so happy and humbled to kick off the week with two bangs and collect our first Grand Prix in these important categories.”

In the same release, Amit Srivastav, director at Maxx Flash, said: “This innovative idea from VMLY&R brings our brand purpose to life. Maxx Flash believes in creating affordable and effective solutions to eradicate mosquito-related diseases. I am extremely happy with the impact of this solution and I am thrilled to see it recognised with such a high honour at Cannes Lions” 

In the Print & Publishing category, there were four Gold Lions awarded, six Silver and four Bronze. The Grand Prix this year went to Impact BBDO Dubai and An-Nahar Newspaper with their ‘Election Edition’ - an edition of the newspaper that was never printed and instead the paper and ink for it were donated to print ballots. In a time of extreme disruption for Lebanon, both coming from domestic and international sources, this work proved to be disruptive and impactful enough to be paid attention to. 

At today’s press conference, jury president Natalie Lam, from Publicis APAC & HK, commented: “The fact that a publication decides not to publish anything - that sends a much, much stronger statement than saying anything on paper. This is the power of the big idea. And I don’t think there’s any solution that could be stronger, and better, and clearer than this act itself.”

For the Outdoor category, the jury awarded 10 Gold Lions, 15 Silver and 23 Bronze. The Grand Prix went to adidas Swimwear’s Liquid Billboard, by Havas Middle East Dubai. A campaign that featured the first ever Liquid Billboard, in line with the brand’s recent debut of its inclusive swimwear Collection, and built on adidas’ brand commitment to make the future of sport as inclusive as possible.

This year, the Radio & Audio category awarded three Gold, seven Silver and 12 Bronze Lions, with the Grand Prix going to Dentsu Creative Bengaluru for their ‘Unfiltered History Tour’ campaign for Vice Media. Combining the historic with the modern, the campaign gives audiences the opportunity to look at the iconic artefacts in the British museum in their true light. Combining innovation, immersive experiences and cultural impact, this campaign is one for the books. 

Ogilvy USA’s Marianna O’Kelly, as the jury president for the category, commented on the campaign at a press conference earlier today: “It was brave, disruptive, and seamlessly links technology with these cultural insightful stories. It engaged and deeply connected on a human level, and demanded change on an issue, which was delivered with the attitude and worldview of the brand itself. For us, it had all the ingredients of a modern, but timeless piece of work.”