Leo Burnett’s “#LikeAGirl” earned a coveted spot among just eight winners in Cannes Lions’ inaugural Glass Lions competition.
The campaign (which has already won two Gold Lions here in earlier competitions) was also a strong candidate for the Grand Prix, though the jury opted instead for “Touch The Pickle” by BBDO India Mumbai for Procter & Gamble’s Whisper sanitary napkins brand.
According to the Festival organizers, the Glass Lions were created to recognize work that is “confronting prejudice and inequality through progressive, socially-conscious representations of gender.”
Charged with awarding the first Glass Lions, jurors felt a responsibility to make a statement about the kind of work the Glass Lions would stand for, said Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO of If We Ran the World and Make Love Not Porn.
“We were laser-focused as we narrowed down from the long list on work that was true to the spirit of the Glass Lion, that challenges and shatters gender stereotypes, and that had the power to affect, has affected and will affect true cultural change” said Gallop.
According to the submission for “Touch the Pickle,” a woman’s period is a taboo subject in India. People don’t like to talk about it and one archaic tradition holds that “impure” women on their period shouldn’t even touch a home’s pickle jar because they will cause the pickles to spoil. The “Touch the Pickle” campaign sought to dispel those myths.
“We have, in ‘Touch the Pickle,’ a campaign that actively takes on and challenges a huge gender issue,” said Gallop.
The jury also liked that the campaign is “rooted in the brand values,” she said. “There is absolutely a responsibility there that the brand is taking on that we would love to see all brands take on.”
Along with #LikeAGirl, the jury considered “Share the Load” (also from BBDO Mumbai and for P&G India), and Uruguay’s “Feliz Dia Hombres” (by Notable Montevideo for Urufarma) for the Grand Prix, said Gallop.
Aside from eschewing categories in the competition (entries could be for any product or service and in any medium), entry fees were also donated to gender equality causes.
There were 166 entries from 43 countries and 18 of those entries made the shortlist, including Juniper Park for its “#NotOkay Campaign” for YWCA.
In terms of how the Glass Lions measure up to others being awarded across the Festival, the Glass Lions are worth seven points in the various agency competitions that close the Festival, an equal point value awarded to Gold Lions in other competitions.
Want the latest news and winners from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity? Sign up for Marketing‘s Late Breaking newsletter for up-to-the-minute awards news. And to get our full coverage, sign up for the Marketing Morning Filter.
