A play created to challenge cultural perceptions about beauty and help women feel better about aging is the lone Canadian entry in the running for a Titanium & Integrated Lion in Cannes.
Unilever and Ogilvy & Mather created “Body and Soul” as part of their Dove Pro-Age marketing efforts.
Women over 45 were invited to audition by writing a “letter to their bodies,” and 2,000 women responded.
The play eventually generated more than 127 million media impressions and was sold out for all 10 performances in Toronto.
The winners of the Titanium & Integrated Lions will be announced Saturday evening in Cannes at the closing gala of the 56th International Advertising Festival.
The U.S. dominates the short list with 14 of the 23 entries still in contention.
Goodby Silverstein & Partners has five entries, Crispin Porter + Bogusky has two, as does Euro RSCG Worldwide.
Three entries on the list were created for last year’s U.S. presidential election.
“The Great Schlep” by Droga5, Will.I.Am’s “Yes We Can” song; and the Obama and Biden election campaign (entered by “Obama for America”) all have a chance at a Lion.
Other notable entries include:
• Crispin Porter’s “Whopper Sacrifice” for Burger King
• “Most Interesting Man” for Heineken’s Dos Equis brand, created by Euro RSCG in New York
• T-Mobile’s “Dance,” by Saatchi & Saatchi London, and
• The BBH New York created launch promotion for Oasis’ “Dig out your Soul” album.
The big winner so far this week has been Tourism Queensland and CumminsNitro Brisbane. Their “Best job in the world” campaign is also in consideration for a Titanium Lion.
The winners in both the Titanium & Integrated and Film competitions will be covered in a special edition of Marketing Daily, delivered to subscribers in boxes at 3 p.m. Saturday. —David Brown with files from Jeromy Lloyd
