CANNES, France—adam&eveDDB's "Shoplifters" spot for Harvey Nichols won the Film Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions festival here tonight, while Droga5's "Rule Yourself: Michael Phelps" for Under Armour took the same prize in Film Craft.
Film Lions jury president Joe Alexander, chief creative officer at The Martin Agency, said his jury was looking primarily for new ideas—approaches that haven't been seen before. "Shoplifters" certainly qualifies, he said.
"The Grand Prix goes to a new way to use security camera footage to sell a rewards card, of all things, for a retailer. It's just a phenomenal piece," Alexander said. "I think the best pieces now cross over. This one ran in cinema, it ran as an incredible viral piece. It's a very modern piece of film that lived in both worlds."
"Most of us on the jury had seen this piece on a computer screen before," added Film juror Ana Balarin, executive creative director at Mother London. "When we got to see it on the big screen—this had never happened to me in a jury room before—once it was finished, the whole jury room spontaneously started applauding. That says a lot about it. … Who would have thought that a film with a low budget, without a script, using found footage could be so entertaining and have such a rich narrative?"
The closest contenders to "Shoplifters" included Wieden + Kennedy's "Whale" for Old Spice, Forsman & Bodenfors' "Look Who's Driving" for Volvo Trucks, and AMV BBDO's "Never Alone" for Guinness, Alexander said.
This is adam&eveDDB's seventh Grand Prix in the span of three years. It won four Grand Prix in 2014 for Harvey Nichols' "Sorry, I Spent It on Myself" and one last year in Film Craft for John Lewis' "Monty's the Penguin." That latter campaign also won the Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix at Cannes this year.
In Film Craft, it turns out Droga5 was competing against itself for the Grand Prix. The jurors ended up debating the merits of "Rule Yourself: Michael Phelps" against Droga5's Hennessy spot "The Piccards," before finally choosing the former for the top prize, said jury president Laura Gregory, founder and CEO of Great Guns.
"We chose this piece because, at the end, it's the one that transcended the craft and just reached out and touched us," said Film Craft juror Steffen Gentis, chief production officer of BBDO Germany. "The craft became completely invisible, and we just found ourselves completely immersed."
Droga5 absolutely dominated the Film Craft Lions this year. Along with the Grand Prix, the Phelps spot also won two golds and a silver in Film Craft (along with a gold in Film). The Hennessy spot picked up five golds in all. And Droga5's Under Armour spot with the Team USA women's gymnastics team won a gold and three silvers.
Notably, very little virtual reality work was recognized in either category.
"VR is the technology of this festival, for sure," said Alexander. "But we struggled with it as a jury, to be honest—how to judge it. We had a deficit of judgment. I think that's probably true of a lot of us who just don't have enough experience looking at VR films and how they work. … I think we're maybe three or four or five Film juries away from having a good idea of what makes a good VR experience and a good VR film. We don't have a lot of it in our shortlist. I think one piece won a bronze [Vrse.Works' "Waves of Grace" for the United Nations] because we felt we should say something about it."
"We struggled in the same way [in Film Craft]," added Gregory. "Most people doing VR now are technologists, not storytellers. Most of the VR that I've seen globally is really lacking in craft."
See all the U.S. winners in Film and Film Craft below:
—U.S. Film winners:
Gold Lion winners:
• Old Spice "Rocket Car"
Entrant Company: Wieden + Kennedy Portland
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks Los Angeles / The Mill Los Angeles / Revolver/Will O'Rourke Sydney
• Old Spice "Whale"
Entrant Company: Wieden + Kennedy Portland
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks Los Angeles / The Mill Los Angeles / Revolver/Will O'Rourke Sydney
• Under Armour "Under Armour Phelps"
Entrant Company: Droga5 New York
Production Company: Epoch Films New York
• Geico "Forest"
Entrant Company: The Martin Agency Richmond
Production Company: Furlined New York / Cut+Run New York / MPC New York
• Netflix "House Of Cards - Fu 2016"
Entrant Company: BBH New York
Production Company: Reset Santa Monica / The Mill New York / Exile Santa Monica
Silver Lion winners:
• Nike "Last"
Entrant Company: Wieden + Kennedy Portland
Production Company: Park Pictures Santa Monica / A52 Santa Monica / Walker Los Angeles
• Nissan North America "Shoulders of Giants"
Entrant Company: TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles
Production Company: Smuggler Los Angeles / Rock Paper Scissors Santa Monica / A52 Santa Monica
• Geico "Check" "Reunion" "Fisherman" "Directions" (campaign)
Entrant Company: Hungry Man Los Angeles
Production Company: Hungry Man Los Angeles
• Geico "Whisper" "Spy" "Countdown" (campaign)
Entrant Company: The Martin Agency Richmond
Production Company: Hungry Man New York / Rock Paper Scissors New York / MPC New York
• Geico "Lake" "Hike" "Going Up" (campaign)
Entrant Company: The Martin Agency Richmond
Production Company: Furlined New York / Cut+Run New York / MPC New York
Bronze Lion winners:
• Heinz "Wiener Stampede"
Entrant Company: David Miami
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks Los Angeles / Cut + Run Santa Monica / The Mill Los Angeles
• Pepsico "Puppymonkeybaby"
Entrant Company: BBDO New York
Production Company: Smith and Jones London
• Nike "The Conductor"
Entrant Company: Anonymous Content Culver City
Production Company: Anonymous Content Culver City
• Audi of America "Commander"
Entrant Company: Venables Bell & Partners San Francisco
Production Company: MJZ Los Angeles / Final Cut Los Angeles / The Mill Los Angeles
• LetGo "Cliff"
Entrant Company: CP+B Miami
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks Los Angeles
• National Football League "Super Bowl Babies Choir"
Entrant Company: Grey New York
Production Company: Townhouse 23 New York / Park Pictures New York / Exile Santa Monica
• Procter & Gamble "Strong"
Entrant Company: Wieden + Kennedy Portland
Production Company: Rattling Stick Santa Monica
• United Communities of San Antonio "Devices"
Entrant Company: Shooters Films San Antonio
Production Company: Shooters Films San Antonio
• Under Armour "Under Armour USA Womens Gymnastics"
Entrant Company: Droga5 New York
Production Company: Epoch Films New York
• The United Nations "Waves of Grace"
Entrant Company: Vrse.Works Los Angeles
Production Company: Vrse.Works Los Angeles
• Unicef "Unfairy Tales Series"
Entrant Company: 180LA Santa Monica
Production Company: House of Colors Sao Paulo / Consulado São Paolo / Bubba's Chop Shop Burbank
• States United to Prevent Gun Violence "Gun Crazy"
Entrant Company: Grey New York
Production Company: Supply & Demand New York / Uppercut New York
• The Hunting Ground "The Unacceptable Acceptance Letters" "Ms. Robert's Unacceptable Acceptance Letter" (Campaign)
Entrant Company: Goodby Silverstein & Partners San Francisco
Production Company: Prettybird Culver City / Cut + Run San Francisco / Spy San Francisco
—U.S. Film Craft winners:
Grand Prix winner:
• Under Armour "Under Armour Phelps" (also won 2 golds and a silver)
Entrant Company: Droga5 New York
Production Company: Epoch Films New York
Gold Lion winners:
• Hennessy / LVMH "Hennessy The Piccards" (5 golds)
Entrant Company: Droga5 New York
Production Company: Somesuch London / Anonymous Content Culver City / Mill+ New York
• Under Armour "Under Armour USA Womens Gymnastics" (also won 3 silvers)
Entrant Company: Droga5 New York
Production Company: Epoch Films New York
• AT&T "Close To Home" (also won a silver)
Entrant Company: BBDO New York
Production Company: Anonymous Content Culver City
• Clark Street Bridge "Looking Back"
Entrant Company: FCB Chicago
Production Company: Lord + Thomas Chicago
• Adidas "Your Future Is Not Mine"
Entrant Company: Squeak E Clean Productions Los Angeles
Production Company: RSA Films Los Angeles
Silver Lion winners:
• Nike "Last" (also won 2 bronzes)
Entrant Company: Wieden + Kennedy Portland
Production Company: Park Pictures Santa Monica / A52 Santa Monica / Walker Los Angeles
• National Football League "Super Bowl Babies Choir"
Entrant Company: Grey New York
Production Company: Townhouse 23 New York / Park Pictures New York / Exile Santa Monica
• Delta "Tell The World"
Entrant Company: Smuggler New York
Production Company: Smuggler New York
• Amerian Honda Motor Co. "Paper"
Entrant Company: RPA Santa Monica
Production Company: Reset Santa Monica / Rock Paper Scissors Santa Monica / A52 Santa Monica
• Unicef "Malak and the Boat"
Entrant Company: 180LA Santa Monica
Production Company: House Of Colors Sao Paulo
Bronze Lion winners:
• Autism Speaks "The World of Autism" (2 bronzes)
Entrant Company: BBDO New York
Production Company: Lobo São Paulo
• Under Armour "Rule Yourself"
Entrant Company: Droga5, New York
Production Company: Reset Santa Monica
• AT&T - It Can Wait "Fletcher's Drive"
Entrant Company: Smuggler New York
Production Company: Smuggler New York
• Onemoreday.today "One More Day"
Entrant Company: Station Film New York
Production Company: Station Film New York
• Girls Who Code "Girls Can't Code"
Entrant Company: McCann New York
Production Company: Tool New York
• Apple "History of Sound"
Entrant Company: TBWA\Media Arts Lab Los Angeles
Production Company: Stink Los Angeles
• Harman International/ JBL "Bigger Than Us"
Entrant Company: Amusement Park Entertainment Los Angeles
Production Company: Amusement Park Entertainment Los Angeles
• HP "Jane"
Entrant Company: 180LA Santa Monica
Production Company: Park Pictures Santa Monica / Agoraphone Brooklyn
• The Grammys "Compton"
Entrant Company: TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles
Production Company: TBWA\Chiat\Day Los Angeles
• Heinz "Wiener Stampede"
Entrant Company: David Miami
Production Company: Biscuit Filmworks Los Angeles / Cut + Run Santa Monica / The Mill Los Angeles
• Target "Target Creates First Ever Live Music Video With Gwen Stefani"
Entrant Company: Deutsch Los Angeles
Production Company: Wondros Los Angeles