All ears to entertainment
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity
, the entertainment category celebrates campaigns that creatively engage audiences through content and experiences. In "BE Extraordinary," our series in collaboration with
Harsh Kapadia, CCO, Grey India
, we peer outside the Grand Prix, focusing on clutter-breaking work that picked silvers and bronzes, often overlooked despite their significant impact and innovative approach. This segment highlights campaigns that masterfully combine brand messaging with compelling entertainment.
Collateral Stains - Tide, Saatchi & Saatchi New York
Tide, a brand synonymous with stain removal, partnered with
Marvel Studios
to launch its Tide Ultra Oxi Boost Power PODS. Instead of focusing on superheroes, the campaign ingeniously spotlighted the "collateral damage" suffered by background actors and extras in action-packed Marvel films.
The insight was that these individuals, caught in the chaos of superhero battles, often end up covered in various stains from dust, debris, ketchup, or ice cream. Tide created a series of "Collateral Stain Stories," featuring these often-unseen characters.
The campaign went as far as creating limited-edition action figures of "guac stain journalists" or "ketchup stain business guys," and produced short films showing these everyday heroes using Tide Ultra Oxi Boost Power PODS to clean up. This highly observant and humorous approach demonstrated the product's power by tackling the dirtiest consequences of superhero antics, proving it could clean even the most epic messes.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Saatchi & Saatchi (@we.are.saatchi)
Paris 2024 Olympic Games Opening Ceremony - KitKat, VML Czechia
The opening ceremony for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games, an event recognised for its immense scale and profound messaging, was a notable entry for its entertainment value, involving KitKat and VML Czechia. Diverging from the conventional stadium-based spectacle, the ceremony ingeniously transformed every corner of Paris into a dynamic stage, utilizing the entire city as its backdrop.
Beyond its striking visual grandeur, the performance delivered a powerful and timely message that stood in defiance of prevalent global conversations. It emphatically emphasised themes of unity, togetherness, and inclusivity. In a world frequently grappling with cultural divides and fragmentation, Paris chose to celebrate diversity and underscore its importance through this monumental public performance. The ceremony was lauded not merely for its breathtaking production values and artistic ambition but also for its courageous and resonant statement on universal values, solidifying its status as a globally impactful piece of entertainment.
The girl who played the tutari - Coca-Cola's Coke Studio, VML India
Coca-Cola, through its established Coke Studio platform in India, sought to maintain the freshness and relevance of its music content. The campaign focused on the
'tutari
,' a traditional Indian wind instrument historically associated with announcing war, and largely believed to be exclusively played by men.
The initiative identified and showcased a female artist who performed the
tutari
, defying this age-old myth and outdated notion. By providing a prominent stage and platform to this artist, the campaign subtly championed women's empowerment without being overtly didactic.
The project beautifully integrated traditional music with a modern social message, crafting an entertainment piece that was both culturally significant and musically compelling.
View this post on Instagram A post shared by Coke Studio Bharat (@cokestudiobharat)
Tracking Bad Bunny - Rimas Music, Bad Bunny, DDB Latina Puerto Rico
This campaign leveraged the influence of global music sensation Bad Bunny to create a unique blend of music launch and tourism promotion. In response to a politician's negative remarks about Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny launched his album by naming his song tracks after the longitude and latitude coordinates of various locations across Puerto Rico.
This innovative approach engaged his massive fanbase, who eagerly deciphered these coordinates to explore the island virtually via Google Maps, and in some cases, physically visit the locations.
The campaign effectively transformed an album release into an immersive experience and a powerful, organic tourism initiative for Puerto Rico, showcasing how product (the music) and marketing can be intricately intertwined. It demonstrated a high degree of confidence in the artist's ability to drive fan engagement beyond traditional promotional methods.
Project Memory Card - PlayStation, Six Inc Tokyo / Hakuhodo Tokyo
To commemorate its 30th anniversary, PlayStation chose an unconventional approach that centered on its community rather than just its history. Instead of producing a commercial highlighting past achievements, PlayStation launched "Project Memory Card," inviting fans to submit their personal connections and playing memories associated with the brand.
The core of the campaign involved an open invitation for fans to submit their personal connections and cherished playing memories associated with the PlayStation brand. This initiative resonated strongly with the community, resulting in a collection of over 26,000 fan-contributed posts. PlayStation then partnered with a director to meticulously transform these authentic, user-generated memories into an original branded entertainment film titled 'Players.'
The resulting film was praised for its surreal and beautifully crafted interpretation of these collective memories. It was notably not a traditionally scripted piece, instead deriving its narrative and visual direction directly from the wealth of shared fan experiences. "Project Memory Card" exemplified how a brand can leverage its community's deep connection to create a highly personaliaed and emotionally resonant piece of entertainment, truly reflecting years of shared history and fostering a sense of collective ownership over the brand's legacy.
Avani's Gold - Britannia Marie Gold, Talented India
Britannia Marie Gold, an Indian biscuit brand, launched "Avani's Gold" to shine a spotlight on a sport often overshadowed by cricket in India: shooting. The campaign centered on an Indian Olympian,
Avani Lekhara
, who achieved significant success in shooting. The Avani Lekhara Special Edition stands as a testament to Britannia Marie Gold's unwavering commitment to empower women for decades. The core idea ingeniously linked the physical size and circular shape of a Marie Gold biscuit to a shooting target. This made the niche sport of shooting instantly relatable and more viewer-friendly for a mass Indian audience.
The campaign aimed to break through the cricket-obsessed media landscape, making shooting more accessible and understandable, and in turn, building a wider fanbase for the sport. This creative integration allowed Britannia to play an active role in sports promotion beyond conventional celebrity sponsorships, demonstrating brand involvement through an insightful product connection.
Signed by Fanatics - Fanatics NewYork
"Signed by Fanatics" innovatively expanded the traditional merchandising business into the digital realm, specifically within American college sports. Recognising the significant role of college athletes and the lucrative NIL (Name, Image, Likeness) deals, Fanatics, a sports merchandising company, tapped into the popular EA Sports video game.
In these games, millions of fans create and play as their own virtual college athletes. Fanatics identified an opportunity to extend its product portfolio beyond physical merchandise by offering the first-ever real NIL deals to these virtual athletes created by fans.
The campaign, encapsulated by the line "Players created by fans, now signed by Fanatics," enabled fans to monetise their digital creations and allowed Fanatics to enter the digital merchandise space, effectively expanding its business by integrating with digital gaming culture.
(At BE Extraordinary, a series about the winners at Cannes Lions in collaboration with Harsh Kapadia, CCO, Grey India, we peer outside the Grand Prix, and look at clutter breaking work that picked the silvers and the bronzes, but don't often get discussed.)
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