The 2019 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity brings together some of the world’s most innovative advertisers to recognise the best campaigns from the year. Canvas8 examines the winning campaigns to identify the five key behavioural shifts underpinning this year’s Grand Prix winners and the opportunities they present for brands.

1. HOW CAN BRANDS
CELEBRATE CULTURE
/ The five behavioural shifts
underpinning Cannes Lions’
2019 winning campaigns

2. The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity brings
together some of the world’s most innovative advertisers
to recognise the best campaigns from the past year.
A significant majority of the Grands Prix went to campaigns
that overtly demonstrated an understanding of real
people, and directly engaged with current issues.
Across the board, people’s desire for accessibility,
inclusivity, and authenticity took centre stage – whether
that was Childish Gambino shining an uncompromising
light on structural racism, or Nike building a community
basketball court in a church.
In this deck, we examine the awards to identify the five key
behavioural shifts underpinning the winning campaigns
and the opportunities they present for brands.

3. / The five behavioural shifts underpinning
Cannes Lions’ 2019 winning campaigns
Reclaiming narratives
Reconfiguring the world
Come into my world
Fearless frontliners
Risky business
People are asserting control over their own stories
People want more inclusive product design
People want brands to enter their world in an authentic way
People want brands to speak through individual changemakers
People want brands to behave ‘badly’ to initiate change

4. Reclaiming
narratives
/ People are asserting control
over their own stories
While pop culture may often seem
several paces ahead of old-world
thinking, historically-skewed narratives
still prevail. With people demanding
increasingly relatable and inclusive
representation, brands are giving people
the space to reconsider and reconfigure
their own narratives.

5. The travel platform Black & Abroad spun the
racist rhetoric of ‘Go back to Africa’ on its head
with Go Back to Africa. Co-opting the phrase, it
used AI to gather an extensive pool of imagery
that depicts Black travellers enjoying Africa’s
vibrant vistas and lively culture.
The campaign aims to infuse the internet with
positive images of and ideas about African
Americans traveling in Africa and show that
going ‘back to Africa’ can be an identity-
affirming journey.
Brand / Black & Abroad
Agency / FCB/SIX Toronto
Go Back to Africa
RECLAIMING NARRATIVES
CANNES LIONS 2019

6. Childish Gambino’s decade-defining video for
This is America addresses the representation
of Black people in America. Shattering the
internet when it was released in May 2018,
This is America’s multi-layered barrage of
references to institutional racism and the
commercialisation of Black culture offers new
insights with each viewing.
By unpicking dominant stereotypes and
offering new takes on age-old injustices,
Childish Gambino provides a conscious
awakening and aims to empower audiences
to do their own research into whitewashed
historical narratives.
Brand / Childish Gambino
Agency / Childish Gambino/ Doomsday Entertainment
This is America
RECLAIMING NARRATIVES
CANNES LIONS 2019

7. Brand / Gazeta.pl
Agency / VMLY&R Poland
Gender roles and expectations of women in
society were also flipped in fresh, surprising
ways. Polish newspaper Gazeta.pl bought out
the porn magazine Your Weekend to create
The Last Ever Issue. Sounding the death
knell for the publication, Gazeta.pl replaced
the pornographic content with forward-
thinking articles on feminism and diverse
representations of womanhood.
In sparking a cultural debate, The Last Ever
Issue not only questioned the dominant
culture of misogyny, gender inequality, and
sexism, but also proved to be the magazine’s
best-selling copy ever.
The Last Ever Issue
RECLAIMING NARRATIVES
CANNES LIONS 2019

8. From making sounds around the home
visible to adapting game controllers, some
of the world’s biggest brands are designing
products with accessibility as their priority.
The conversation is shifting as people realise
it is the world that disables them, rather than
they themselves. With this in mind, people
want more inclusive product design, not only
to make quotidian tasks easier, but to unlock a
realm of creativity and entertainment.
Reconfiguring
the world
/ People want more inclusive
product design

9. Brand / IKEA
Agency / McCann Tel Aviv
IKEA Israel invited people with disabilities
to identify barriers when using products in
their portfolio, resulting in a series of add-
ons such as larger lightswitch pads and hooks
for cupboard handles. Intended to remove
physical inhibitors to people’s daily lives,
products in the ThisAbles range can even be
printed independently on a 3D printer.
And as part of a new form of altruism that has
brands open-sourcing their data to improve
society, IKEA made the blueprints for their
ThisAbles campaigns available to other players
in the industry.
ThisAbles
RECONFIGURING THE WORLD
CANNES LIONS 2019

10. Brand / Microsoft
Agency / McCann New York
New innovations are also opening up a world
of creative expression to the 61 million adults
in the US that live with a disability.
Responding to a burgeoning gaming culture
– global gamers are expected to jump to 2.7
billion by 2021 – Microsoft’s Changing the
Game campaign centres on the design and
provision of adaptive controllers. Levelling
the playing field for those with full and
limited mobility, this responds to the growing
consumer leisure and entertainment demands
that so often play second fiddle to functional
inconveniences among people with disabilities.
Changing the Game
RECONFIGURING THE WORLD
CANNES LIONS 2019

11. Brand / Volvo
Agency / Forsman & Bodenfors, Gothenburg
Volvo’s E.V.A. Initiative highlights the car
industry’s historical use of male crash-test
dummies – which means women are more
likely to be injured in a collision.
Also open-sourcing their data to improve
society, Volvo is reshaping the car industry
by publishing a more inclusive central digital
library of crash data that includes men,
women, and children.
The E.V.A Initiative
RECONFIGURING THE WORLD
CANNES LIONS 2019

12. Come into my
world
/ People want brands to enter
their world in an authentic way
Brands can no longer rely on traditional
advertising to get people’s attention. People will
skip ads, switch channels, or use ad blockers
to get around promotional content they find
invasive and unappealing. However, people
are much more willing to listen to brands that
meet them where they are and show a clear
understanding of their world.

13. Brand / Wendy’s
Agency / VMLY&R Kansas City
Brand trust plays a significant role in
purchasing decisions, so winning consumer
confidence is crucial – it’s one of the reasons
nano-influencers have become so popular.
By interacting with Fortnite gamers as a peer,
Wendy’s Keeping Fortnite Fresh mission
eradicated the alternate world’s frozen
burgers and underscored the fast food brand’s
commitment to quality ingredients.
Keeping Fortnite Fresh
COME INTO MY WORLD
CANNES LIONS 2019

14. Brand / Carlings
Agency / Virtue Copenhagen
With an acute knowledge of its audience,
Norwegian clothing retailer Carlings launched a
digital fashion collection that allows social-first
shoppers to purchase unique items they can
share in their virtual lives.
In a world still hooked on fast fashion,
Carlings’ adDRESS The Future ticks the box
for sustainability, while appealing to the
10% of shoppers who buy clothes just to be
photographed in them.
adDress THE Future
COME INTO MY WORLD
CANNES LIONS 2019

15. Brand / Nike Chicago
Agency / Momentum Worldwide
But it’s not just through digital spaces
that brands are finding ways to level their
conversation with consumers – Nike’s Just Do
It HQ at the Church tapped into people’s desire
to bond and build community with a basketball
court at Chicago’s Church of the Epiphany.
Not only does the church provide a haven from
an often unsafe urban environment, but the
space is largely devoid of brand messaging,
showing that doing good and selling merch don’t
always have to be mutually exclusive.
Just Do It: HQ at the Church
COME INTO MY WORLD
CANNES LIONS 2019

16. Fearless
frontliners
/ People want brands to speak
through individual changemakers
Whether placing a zoom focus on the
process of uncovering news stories or
charting one man’s decision to take a stand
against police brutality, brands are seeing
the value in connecting deeply with personal
stories. As people want brands to actively
engage in important conversations, aligning
with changemakers not only shows their
commitment to a cause, but spotlights those
individuals who might slip under the radar.

17. Brand / Nike
Agency / Wieden + Kennedy Portland
Dream Crazy
FEARLESS FRONTLINERS
CANNES LIONS 2019
Nike’s Dream Crazy follows the journey of
athletes who, throughout their lives, have had
to deal with constant criticism for pursuing their
dreams. The campaign explores the challenges
and disbelief athletes often encounter, whether
they’re just starting their career or they’re an
established pro.
Narrated by Colin Kaepernick – who ‘dreamt
crazy’ with his controversial decision to take a
stance against police brutality – Nike empowers
athletes to share their journey of ‘dreaming
crazy’ in their own words.

18. Brand / An-Nahar
Agency / Impact BBDO Dubai
With 73% of people worried about the use of fake
news globally and 33% of Britons reading less news
because they believe it’s biased, media brands
are leveraging their value, in both the political and
personal spheres. The Lebanese newspaper An-
Nahar, which was founded in 1933, responded to
the country’s political deadlock by putting eight
blank pages in its print edition and linkless white
boxes on its online site, both with headlines but
without news items.
The Blank Edition encouraged Lebanese citizens to
use the whitespace to lobby politicians – resulting in
a new national unity government – which brought
nine months of wrangling to an end.
The Blank Edition
FEARLESS FRONTLINERS
CANNES LIONS 2019

19. Brand / Johnson & Johnson
Agency / UM Studios
Spotlighting those who were once on the frontline
of history, Johnson & Johnson’s documentary, 5B,
tells the story of nurses at San Francisco General
who established an AIDS ward in the early 1980s.
The 50-minute film, directed by Oscar-nominated
director Dan Krauss, gives nurses the chance to talk
about their experiences and explores their heroic
efforts during the US HIV/AIDS crisis.
5B
FEARLESS FRONTLINERS
CANNES LIONS 2019

20. Risky
business
/ People want brands to behave
‘badly’ to initiate change
In an era of ‘woke-washing’, where people
are becoming more cynical of branded
gestures towards equality, they still expect
brands to take a stand.
As people around the world realise that
companies can exert more influence
than their own individual actions, they’re
expecting brands to break the rules and
then make new ones.

21. Brand / Nike
Agency / Momentum Worldwide NY
Flying in the face of the São Paulo Governor’s
punitive measures against street art, Nike’s
collaboration with the city’s street artists saw
artworks being transformed into shoppable
destinations for the hypebeasts of Brazil.
Tapping into how 68% of Gen Yers say that creating
positive change is a goal they actively pursue,
Nike’s campaign used insider understanding to
resonate with young Brazilians. The Air Max Graffiti
stores responded to Paulistanos’ desire to preserve
their city’s creative essence, drawing attention
to existing murals as they became geo-tagged
sneaker-drop locations.
Air Max Graffiti Stores
RISKY BUSINESS
CANNES LIONS 2019

22. Brand / Carrefour
Agency / Marcel Paris
Taking a stand against the European Parliament’s
ruling that outlawed the sale of all but 3% of fruit
and vegetable varieties, French grocery chain
Carrefour’s Black Supermarkets sold produce from
the illegal 97%.
In their tradition of supporting biodiversity, the
chain encouraged people to openly break the law,
creating a memorable call to action, which resulted
in a change to EU agricultural policy.
Black Supermarkets
RISKY BUSINESS
CANNES LIONS 2019

23. Brand / The Female Company
Agency / Scholz & Friends Berlin
In Germany, tampons – considered non-
essential by the government – are taxed at a
higher rate than books, which are classed as a
necessity. Cleverly manipulating legislation, The
Female Company’s Tampon Book sidesteps the
pink tax by packaging tampons within a book.
The anti-establishment gesture spurred
political dialogue on menstrual equity
worldwide – 10% of women can’t afford
feminine hygiene products in the UK, for
example – whilst allowing women to stock up
on tampons without prohibitive taxation.
Tampon Book
RISKY BUSINESS
CANNES LIONS 2019

24. Want more?
Download the full analysis by clicking here
James Cunningham
Head of new business
james@canvas8.com
(+44) (0)20 7377 8585
London
Canvas8
142 Central Street
EC1V 8AR
United Kingdom
If you’d like to see how we can help your business
apply culture intelligence say hello@canvas8.com.
Get in touch
Deniece Dreyer
Head of new business
deniece@canvas8.com
(+1) 602 770 1771
Los Angeles
Canvas8 Inc.
1601 Vine Street
90028
United States
Samantha Amoroso
Head of new business
samantha@canvas8.com
(+1) 347 991 8882
New York
Canvas8 Inc.
81 Prospect St.
NY 11201
United States