Entries to this month’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity have reached record numbers, with 40,133 entries received across Cannes Lions (21-27 June), Lions Health (19-20 June) and Lions Innovation (25-26 June).
Philip Thomas, CEO, Lions Festivals, said that “The level of entries showed an industry that believes in the power of creativity as a driving force for business and for brands,” said Lions Festivals ceo Philip Thomas.
“The Lions are a proxy for great creativity, and it is exciting to see marketers globally pushing themselves and their agency partners to produce truly outstanding work, and having the confidence to bring it to Cannes Lions to compete on the world stage.”
Categories that have seen the most increases are Creative Effectiveness (which has doubled), Film (+8%), Branded Content & Entertainment (+18%) and Film Craft (+6%).
“It’s particularly interesting to see such significant rises in these categories,” Thomas said. “Creative Effectiveness has added yet more evidence for creativity as a business driver, while categories like Film, Film Craft and Branded Content & Entertainment show how important these tools are for telling stories.”
Two areas that have seen a decline are the Press and Outdoor categories – although entries for both categories still far outstrip all others. “It does look as if the well-documented challenges of these media could be behind this decrease, but we should be wary of drawing hasty conclusions from just one year’s data,” Thomas said.
“For instance, the Radio category has been decreasing for a number of years, but this year has bounced back to very nearly its highest-ever entry number.”
Glass Lion: The Lion for Change, the festival’s new category to address issues of gender inequality or prejudice, has received 166 entries in its launch year. All proceeds will go to a charity that will be chosen from a shortlist of ten by Cannes Lions delegates during the Festival.
Lions Health, the global creative festival for healthcare communications, has received 1862 entries in its second year, a 30% increase. Festival director Louise Benson attributes this to a growing creative confidence in an industry that has to work within restrictive frameworks.
“There was clear evidence that people are determined to push through these boundaries to embrace the challenges, largely because of the hugely personal and palpable results that can be achieved,” Benson said.
Lions Innovation, the new festival which will see data, technology and creativity intersect, has received 226 entries into the Innovation category and 619 entries into Creative Data.
Japan, the UK, USA and Germany are the stand-out countries in terms of numbers.
“This has been a very strong start for the festival and symbolic of the industry shifts which see data and technology being used as necessary creative tools,” said Lions Festivals chairman Terry Savage.
Judging of the 2015 awards takes place in Cannes, France, where 366 global jurors – including eight from NZ – will meet to debate and vote on the entries before awarding the elusive Lion trophies.
NZ JURORS
Cyber Lions: Guy Roberts, ECD Saatchi & Saatchi
Creative Effectiveness: Lucinda Sherborne, DDB executive planning director
Media Lions: Robert Harvey, Dentsu Aegis Network
PR Lions: Tricia Sherson, Sherson Wills
Promo & Activations Lions: Tony Clewett, ECD FCB
Radio Lions: Bridget Taylor, ECD Contagion
Design Lions: Musonda Kalongo, head of design Y&R
Film Craft Lions: Robert Galluzzo, EP Finch Australia/NZ
2015 ENTRIES BY CATEGORY
Branded Content & Entertainment Lions: 1394
Creative Data Lions: 619
Creative Effectiveness Lions: 160
Cyber Lions: 3738
Design Lions: 2409
Direct Lions: 2813
Film Lions: 3070
Film Craft Lions: 2205
Glass Lion: The Lion for Change: 166
Health & Wellness Lions: 1430
Innovation Lions: 226
Media Lions: 3179
Mobile Lions: 1246
Outdoor Lions: 5037
Pharma Lions: 432
PR Lions: 1969
Press Lions: 4470
Product Design Lions: 280
Promo & Activation Lions: 3196
Radio Lions: 1720
Titanium and Integrated Lions: 374
TOTAL: 40,133
KEY DATES
Delegate registration: Open now
Festival dates: Sunday-Saturday 21-27 June
- Download entry summaries here
- Further information, including entry categories, jurors and content programmes, can all be found at www.canneslions.com
Share this Post
