M&C Saatchi has taken a Gold Lion in the mobile category for its Optus Clever Buoy work. It is one of only three Aussie agencies to win metal at the annual awards.
GPY&R Melbourne also took a Bronze Lion for its Oakley Pro Vision work, while Whybin\TBWA Sydney also won a Bronze for its Tourism New Zealand Selfie Drone.
Speaking at the winners press conference, Joanna Monteiro, VP creative director at FCB Brazil and the jury president for Mobile, said there were a lot of heated discussions around the winners, and praised mobile for its ability to “really change behaviour”.
Google was given the Grand Prix award for its Google Cardboard Virtual Reality project.
“We were looking for [entries] pushing the boundaries for mobile, we believe that [Google Cardboard] is a game changer since it gives more access to and democratises virtual reality technology.
“We’ve seen some ideas in VR and it's really amazing, [Cardboard] makes the technology available for a lot of contemporaries. It costs about $20 and will allow brands to engage much more with consumers and offer a different level of experience. We were talking a lot about experience and how we engage people and we truly believe that a lot of new creative ideas we’ll see next year [will use Cardboard] as well.”
Eight Aussie brands were shortlisted; Optus and M&C Saatchi in three categories for Clever Buoy, and for Commonwealth Bank for Where’s my Wallet; Tourism New Zealand 'NZDronie' by Whybin\TBWA Sydney; Virgin Mobile '#mealforameal' by Havas Worldwide Sydney, Oakley 'Pro Vision' by GPY&R Melbourne, and 3Cs Outerwear 'Rise&Fall' by Grey Sydney.
Jaimes Leggett, Group CEO of M&C Saatchi Australia said of Clever Buoy's win: “This campaign has shown how brutally simple ideas really can change the world. We’re excited about the next phase of this project, and are hugely grateful to Cannes Lions for the honour of this award.”
Last year the judges in the Mobile category said that the category needed to “eliminate gimmicks” and award ventures that provide utility and experiences.
See the full list of winners here.
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