Cannes Contenders: UK

International Paralympic Committe #Wethe15

The UK had a big haul of Lions in 2021 and this year looks like being a strong one too. Of course, a list this short means leaving out many of the hot contenders, but I picked this selection to show a range of work with strengths ranging from point of view, to context, to craft, to sheer downright cheekiness.

The film from WeThe15 deserves to win and should do. It’s beautifully delivered in every way and will hold its own against all the big, epic films on show this year. But it’s the point of view that makes this such a stunningly memorable piece of work. I remember watching it for the first time thinking how I hadn’t heard these voices before but it’s about time we all did.

Bombay Sapphire Creativity is Essential

Finding legal loopholes for a positive cause also seems to chime well at Cannes. Bombay Sapphire’s Creativity is Essential is a great example of that. It’s also incredibly well designed, and achieved that rare thing of actually getting talked about by the general public. You had to go early in the morning to avoid waiting ages in the queue to get inside. Well, that is work that truly worked.

Burberry Open Spaces

Burberry’s Open Spaces is also likely to do well. It’s hypnotically watchable for its entire two-plus minutes. That’s a big achievement, especially when we’re constantly told everything has to happen in the first two seconds these days. It might miss out on the very highest accolades because the idea bears a certain likeness to a Levi’s blockbuster two decades ago. But that won’t stop it from picking up a luxury leather suitcase full of metallic lions... and rightly so.

KFC UntilWeCanFingerLickAgain

Speaking of likenesses, I love Mother's KFC’s UntilWeCanFingerLickAgain. When the pandemic rendered KFC’s tagline unusable, they simply stole the famous taglines of other brands, breaking the most sacred rule of advertising creativity in the process. The work is a triumph and I hope the judges in that dark room in the South of France will agree.

Klarna Mythbuster

Changing public opinion is a difficult thing to do. And when we’re talking about a financial institution, well, that just about makes it nigh impossible. But when Klarna’s reputation came under attack, with misconceptions about the bank spreading in newspapers and on social media, they did something unexpected. They embraced the myths and put them up as stunning mythical paintings on perhaps the world’s oldest advertising medium: the wall. 

Of course, the eagle-eyed of you might see I gave one of our own a little plug. But as a start-up, I hope you’ll forgive me.