The Cannes Effectiveness awards
The odd thing is that the judging criteria will be divided between results (50%), idea (25%) and strategy (25%).
So I’m not sure how you incorporate the brilliance of an idea into an ad’s effectiveness (aesthetic effectiveness, perhaps?), but I’m going to stick my neck out here and say that the above proportions should be how every ad is judged.
An ad that is not seen is like the proverbial tree falling in the wood, and an ad that is seen but is not effective must be counted as a failure. That means that the 50% is essential to an ad’s success, whether it’s a 25×4 for a chip shop in Grimsby or a multi-million pound 360-degree fuckfest.
Then the idea part: this is very important because an ad can still be effective even if it’s a pile of shit/rip off/only effective through repetition. The idea part would then reward the pursuit of originality and freshness.
And the strategy: coming at an old problem (they’re all old problems) from a new perspective is always a challenge, and therefore worth rewarding.
So even though this award suggests that it rewards effectiveness, I think that makes it too easy to pigeonhole as results-over-creativity. However, if they really are going to take the process of creation into account, then maybe this is the one to win (obviously, the juries have to be very well chosen).
Defo agree with all points in this post Ben.
As an aside…T-Mobile “Welcome Home”.
BRILLIANTLY EXECUTED! (but the biggest rip off ever?).
Discuss please.
Do you mean that it’s a rip-off of the entire flashmobbing phenomenon?
God, this argument is never-ending.
Surfer used that painting, the Cresta Bear used Easy Rider, Cog used Der Schiesse in Der Lav, Meercat used Geico…
You can either mark them all down or mark none of them down, and I think the latter makes the most sense.
When you get an ad with no known antecedents, such as Old Spice, then I must bow down so far I slip a disc, but they are darn rare.
is naughty creative referring to this?
http://www.creativereview.co.uk/cr-blog/2010/september/sncf-ddb-paris
I was more thinking this:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RgZuHlDuulk
Think the team were Jim Seath and Andy Booth (now AMV), out of Farm/Karmarama (not sure which).
Oh…and this…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WnY59mDJ1gg
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excuse me if i seem a tad jaded but this strikes me as merely a way for cannes to squeeze more money out of gullible ad and marketing folks by finally rewarding the crap ads. you know agencies will lie their asses off about how “effective” their meh creative was. dying to see those campaign videos!
and pretending that their ludicrous judging “formula” is somehow connected to the real world? it’s a joke. sorry.
please don’t do this cannes. if anything they should be reducing the number of not-really-gold awards they dole out. i’m looking at you “Cyber” grand prix.
next up: Le Grand Prix du Merd?
Talking of shit ads. Who here has seen that Sony/Scrooge ad…
Vinny, I think anything and everything Cannes does is a way of making more money.
The reality will certainly be the one you described.
My hopes for a proper, all-round ad award will never be realised.
So have I got this right, if an ad campaign runs and goes gangbusters (maybe it triples sales or something), but the strategy isn’t particularly new, or the idea isn’t groundbreaking, then it’s not good advertising?
That Sony/Scrooge ad was originally going to feature Rupert Everett as Scrooge. But he threw a sissy fit on the day of the shoot (allegedly) and Mr Jacobi kindly stepped in.
The most effective campaigns of recent years would include Go Compare, Webuyanycar.com, ESure and Compare the Meercat. None of these would be eligible though, as they haven’t won a Lion in any other category.
No Mr. C Unt. Nobody here is, hopefully, stupid enough to say that. Yup, advertising is a means to an end. roger wilco.
great ads are very obviously effective. that’s a huge part of what makes them great ads. they hit all the right notes from start to finish.
this is a very obvious attempt by cannes to start doling out awards for “boring-but-effective” ads.
anyone who’s ever sat in a cannes screening room knows that the real market is in boring but “effective” advertising, AKA mediocrity.
If I got it right, Effie awards will take place in Cannes next year ? How about one category per contender and we would be all rewarded. Remember when it was just a film festival…