Smart chopsticks that detect unsafe food, talking water fountains, and dancing traffic lights are all on the shortlist for an Innovation Lion during next week’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
While the world’s largest and most important industry awards program doesn’t officially begin until later this week, the shortlisted contenders in the Innovation Lions were released early Monday. Of the 34 finalists, none are from Canada, which made three Innovation Lions submissions. There were 226 entries in total, up from 206 last year.
Unlike the other competitions within the Festival—Film, Press, Mobile etc.—finalists in the Innovation Lions travel to Cannes to present their submission to the judges (and in front of an audience of delegates) before the winners are selected by the 10-member jury.
This is the third year Festival organizers have included “innovation” as its own competition. New for 2015, finalists will also present their work during the first Lions Innovation, a smaller festival within the festival on June 25 and 26. The winners will be awarded during a new ceremony for the Innovation and Creative Data winners on Friday June 26. The Creative Data categories are also a new addition for 2015, created to recognize “game-changing campaigns that clearly demonstrate an execution enhanced by the use, interpretation, analysis or application of data.” Canada made 11 submissions and there were 619 in total. The Creative Data shortlist will be announced June 25.
Amongst the Innovation finalists there is “a strong trend towards solutions for global issues,” according to a release announcing the shortlist.
“A creative culture with the courage to imagine a better future will reshape an industry and the world,” said jury president and global chief creative officer of R/GA Nick Law, in the release. “These Lions are a measure of our industry’s appetite for innovation, and our collective ambition to effect change, not just react to it.”
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity gets underway Friday with the Health Lions—which saw 61 entries from Canada—before the main Festival begins Sunday. In total, the Festival received 40,133 submissions across all three competitions—the main festival, plus Health and Innovation.
With 37,426 submissions, the main competition saw an almost identical number of entries as last year, 37,427.
Canadian submissions to the main Festival competitions for 2015 were down from a year ago: 949 compared to 995 in 2014. Last year was a disappointing one for Canada with just 14 Lions from the 995 entries, while 2013 was a recent high water mark with 28 Lions from 1,106 submissions.
Since 2010, Canada has had an average winning percentage of about 1.9% in the main competitions—91 Lions from 4,707 entries. Anything above 18 Lions this year would represent an above average Canadian performance.
However, about 3.1% of all entries to Cannes since 2010 have won a Lion. To reach that global average, Canada would have to bring home 29 Lions this year.
