Cannes Contenders: Australia

Sydney Opera House – Play It Safe

The Sydney Opera House is one of the world’s greatest cultural landmarks. For the creative community, it’s a beacon of what can be achieved when we refuse to play it safe. 

An original musical tribute to celebrate the 50th anniversary of such a creative icon could have been a disaster, but in the hands of Aussie ‘jack-of-all-creative-trades’ Tim Minchin and director Kim Gehrig, it is anything but.  

Dylan Alcott Foundation – Shift 20 Initiative 

Despite 20 per cent of Australians having some form of visible or non-visible disability, only 1 per cent are represented in our advertising. To support and increase representation, the Shift 20 Initiative took 13 of Australia’s biggest brands and re-shot their ads with people with disabilities.

It sounds ridiculous, but the best thing about this simple initiative is that they actually ran the bloody ads. Everywhere. They were unignorable, which was the entire point. 

A beautifully simple idea that sets a precedent for all other Australian brands. 

Minderoo - Plastic Forecast

Everyone knows that plastic production is bad for the planet, but did you know it ends up in the atmosphere and actually rains down on us? I didn’t.

Using beautiful design, clever data and highly relevant media placements in Paris during the UN’s Plastic Treaty negotiations, this campaign is a brilliant (albeit terrifying) reminder of how creativity can be used to reframe a familiar problem and spur on action.

Uber Eats - Get Almost Almost Anything

To launch their second iteration of Get Almost Almost Anything, Uber Eats imagined what would happen if customers really could order anything. 

While the whole integrated campaign is fantastic, the Tom Felton spot should be celebrated for its sheer dedication to the idea. Seeing a slightly dejected Draco Malfoy get slowly crushed by his own guilt to ultimately highlight Uber Eats’ vast offering is about as pure as product advertising gets.

Who Gives A Crap – Winnie-The-Pooh: The Deforested Edition

Now I couldn't possibly round up the top five contenders without being a bit cheeky (pun intended) and backing one of our own.

To draw attention to the catastrophic rates of deforestation caused by traditional toilet paper manufacturing, Who Gives A Crap created 'Winnie-the-Pooh: The Deforested Edition'. 

While A.A. Milne’s original 1926 text remained untouched, each illustration was reimagined to represent the impact of land cleared every day to make traditional toilet paper.

Despite the humorous link between Pooh and toilet paper, this revised edition was hand-crafted with respect, beauty, and 100 per cent recycled materials and sustainable processes.