Panel comments from Cannes Lions screening

The panel discussion, led by Jeremy Maggs included Cath Ireland (ECD Grey SA), Brett Morris (chairperson of the Creative Circle and ECD, Draftfcb) and Xolisa Dyeshana (local Cannes Lions Judge & CD, Joe Public), analysed the emotion and effectiveness of the world's best adverts.

Future of advertising

The Grand Prix film winner of the 2011 Cannes Lions festival was awarded to Nike Football for its 360" mini-epic, Write the Future by Weiden + Kennedy (Amsterdam). Ireland acknowledged that despite the fact that top sports personas were featured in the advert, the power of this particular advert lies in the "knife-edge" moment depicted. Every person across the globe can identify with such "what if" moments that create our future and appealing to the audience at such a fundamental level of existence has proven to be greatly powerful for the brand. She also noted that she expects to see more of the longer format storytelling epics in the (near) future of advertising.

Monologue and montage

Puma's After Hours Athlete was lauded by the panel for its impeccable insight into the market sub-culture where the human truth of the "average Joe" has been beautifully observed and portrayed in this brilliant piece of advertising. The experts pinpointed the off-centre, casual style of the advert as an ingenious strategy to zig when other sports brands are zagging. Successful creative montage and the superb script were excellently crafted, capturing the human element perfectly and winning it the Grand Prix in the Craft category. Ireland stated that the montage advert is not dead, and the After Hours Athlete will surely be a trendsetter for the future.

Don't take it too seriously

Unsurprisingly, many of the Gold Lion award winning adverts of 2011 used the power of humour and parody to evoke emotion in their audience. Such advertisements also capitalise on the "water-cooler effect," as the entertainment factor ensures a high level of talkability.

Morris noted that in South Africa, many brands take themselves too seriously, unlike the alcohol beverage Carlton Draught whose agency, Clemenger BBDO (Melbourne), bravely portrayed the target audience in a humorous account of the "typical" pub experience, one which all beer drinkers would be able to identify with. All agreed that this approach ensures that the advert and brand would not be easily forgotten.

Deutsch INC. Los Angeles, responsible for VW's timeless Darth Vader advert, The Force, created hype all over and managed to rack up over 900,000 hits on YouTube before it hit US television. Dyeshana hailed the advert for its casting and choreography of each moment of the production. This advert marks a new era in which the audience response to the advertising is taken in account when evaluating success and thus it has become common practice for agencies to include the number of YouTube hits in Cannes entries.

The creative panel mentioned the possible risk to a brand when using YouTube, as such platforms leave advertising vulnerable to butchering, but they unanimously agreed that the gains offer astounding results as brands stand the chance of becoming overnight superstars, as was the case with VW and its little Darth Vader.

Keep it simple, SA

The panellists and audience were struck by the simple yet powerful execution of an insurance advert for AMIS insurance in Mexico. The advert, created by Ogilvy Mexico, demonstrated how the power of the idea is still king in this industry, and supersedes a large budget. Morris stated that this is the kind of work we would hope to see in South Africa - small budgets, big ideas!

Emotionally attached

Leo Burnett (Melbourne) produced the heart-tugging advert for Scope, a non-profit organisation for people with disabilities. Also the winner of the Grand Prix for Good, the advert featured a performance by a genuine band of disabled persons, Rudely Interrupted. What stood out to Cath Ireland and Dyeshana was the authenticity of the advert opposed to others on the show reel that gave one a feeling of propaganda and how the concept of the ad rose above the traditional public service message. It was mentioned that the messaging may have emotionally tipped the scales, but all in all the work was worthy of its Gold Lion.

Deep Silver (Germany) broke the mould in the video game space for Dead Island, a first-person zombie horror. The result was a crafted trailer for the game, resonating with real emotion. The panel agreed that the advert was powerful as it transcends game previews moving into an audience consumption space similar to that of film trailers.

"We are pleased to be able to host such an event and give something back to the local agencies, creatives and students through our involvement with the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. I hope that this screening will help inspire our creatives and project South African talent into the international arena. Watch out for similar events in 2012," says Lynne Wylie, marketing manager Ster-Kinekor Theatres.