Ten finalist agencies waving the maple leaf in Cannes
The Film Lions are one of the biggest and most-watched competitions at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The award gala closes the festival on Saturday, but the shortlist was released Thursday afternoon in Cannes.
Ten Canadian-based agencies (including the international offices in two cases) made the cut for 14 different ads. Montreal’s LG2 landed nods for two different campaigns.
Film
• Taxi New York‘s “Mooscles,” “Fried Steak” and “Shot and a Steer” for Applegate (officially an entry from the U.S.)
• DDB Canada‘s “Mustang” and “Curfew” for Lilly Canada
• Cundari‘s “BMW M5 Bullet” for BMW
• LG2‘s “Baby” for The Capital Transit Network and “Messages” for the Quebec Automobile Insurance Corporation
• Rethink‘s “Airport Security” for Science World
• Sid Lee Paris‘ “Rise” for Ubisoft Media (officially an entry from France)
• BBDO Toronto‘s “Gimmicks” for FedEx Canada
• Lowe Roche‘s “Last 10” for Heart & Stroke Foundation
• John St.’s self-promotional “Buyral”
• DraftFCB‘s “Focus Group” for the National Advertising Awards
With 118 entries, Canadian agency interest in the competition was down significantly this year; in 2012 there were 172 entries and 154 in 2011. In 2012, eight Canadian shops made the shortlist for 14 different spots.
The more than 30% drop in Canadian entries compares to a 10% fall in total entries to the competition.
As usual, the U.S. has the largest number of entries by far with 1,052 (up from 966 last year) followed by the U.K. at 281 (down from 329), France with 131 (down from 159) and Japan with 130 (down from 134).
The remaining shortlists – Branded Content & Entertainment, Film Craft, Titanium and Integrated – will be revealed Friday at 9 a.m. (3 a.m. EST).
