First Day of Awards 2010 - Promo & Activation, PR & Direct Lions

The first of the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival winners were honoured last night at the first of four Awards Ceremonies taking place during the Festival week.

Both the Promo & Activation Grand Prix and the PR Grand Prix went toTBWA\CHIAT\DAY LA in the USA, with assistance from Paragon Marketing Group and Fleishman-Hillard, for their entry ‘Replay’ to promote the energy drink Gatorade.

Of the 1,595 entries submitted in the Promo & Activation category, a 43% increase versus last year, 150 were shortlisted from which 55 were selected as winners by the international jury led by Tina Manikas, Global Retail & Promotions Officer of Draftfcb. Along with the Grand Prix a further 8 Gold, 20 Silver and 26 Bronze Lions were also awarded.

In its second year the PR category received 571 entries, up 32% from last year. Due to the high increase in entries, the jury decided that it was necessary to award Gold and Silver Lions, rather than only PR Lions, which is normal for a new category. The PR jury, chaired by Paul Taaffe, Global Chairman and CEO of Hill & Knowlton, awarded 11 Gold Lions and 32 Silver Lions from an initial shortlist of 87.

Of the 1,441 entries submitted in the Direct Lions category, 164 went on to make the shortlist of which 19 Gold, 24 Silver and 31 Bronze Lions were awarded. Special Group Auckland in New Zealand won the Grand Prix for their entry ‘Orcon + Iggy Pop’ for Orcon Broadband. The Direct Lions Jury of 30 members was chaired by Pablo Alzugaray, Chief Executive Officer of Shackleton.

The prestigious Direct Agency of the Year award was won by Abbott Mead Vickers, BBDO, London, UK.

All the Promo & Activation, PR and Direct Lions winners along with their credits can be viewed online at www.canneslions.com/work .

Since the Festival opened on Sunday, delegates have enjoyed presentations by key industry leaders including, JWT’s Bob Jeffrey, Fernando Vega Olmos and Guy Murphy who offered an inside peek at how three pioneering initiatives have impacted the industry; Ogilvy’s Vice Chairman, Rory Sutherland introduced three of the most persuasive salespeople from their World’s Greatest Salesperson competition with the audience deciding the winner via real-time voting and Electronic Arts examined how interactive entertainment is evolving as a game-changing medium.

The 57th Annual Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival, the largest and most coveted awards in the industry’s calendar is currently taking place in France, attended by 8,000 industry peers.