Cannes 2011: Shimmering silvers for Shave Sutra, as well

The competition between Mudra and BBDO India on the beaches of the South of France, zeroed down to just two campaigns -the Silent National Anthem by Mudra and Shave Sutra by BBDO India. Both have won accolades at Cannes, this year.

While Mudra bagged one silver (PR) and two bronzes (Promo & Activation) for its Silent National Anthem, BBDO India also got two silvers in PR Lions for Shave Sutra. BBDO India's Shave Sutra campaign for P&G brand Gillette was shortlisted in two sub-categories, namely, Consumer Goods, including FMCG and Household Products, and Best Launch or Re-launch.

The jury president for PR Lions and president and CEO (chief executive officer), Fleishman Hillard, Dave Senay says, "Shave Sutra took a very low involvement product and made it interesting. It playfully involved Kamasutra positions in Shave positions, and made it humorous which grabbed attention."

Senay says, "Many channels of communication were used, and as a result the sales for Gillette improved after the campaign and we had to honour the result."

Without the result, Senay feels, the campaign would be just another entertaining and tongue-and-cheek campaign.

The Shave Sutra campaign is an extension of the Shave India movement, where 2,000 men shaved in public.The activity found a place in the Limca Book of Records. The agency claims that in 60 days, more than four million new consumers joined the Gillette franchise and the movement got over US$3.4 million media coverage.

Interestingly, in this category, all three shortlists were converted to metals. VeenaGidwani, CEO, Madison PR, who was part of PR Lions jury, felt that the work entered in this category was not enough. She says, "There is lots of good work back home which could compete at this global stage. However, not may PR agencies enter these awards, and this has to change.

She adds, "Advertising agencies, which have been more frequent at these awards, see PR as another category to enter."

The Grand Prix in the category was awarded to Clemenger BBDO, Melbourne, for its campaign for National Australia Bank. The campaign was based on the insight that consumers do not differentiate between two banks and consider them to be working together as one large entity. This is why National Australia Bank staged a loud public break-up with its competitors.

Senay says, "This was a brilliant example of positioning a brand and de-positioning its competitors."

It was a highly integrated campaign across media -- paid, earned, owned and shared. The campaign earned Australian$5 million worth of media in one day, and was the most discussed topic on Twitter for some days.

While judging the PR Lions, the jury gave 60 per cent emphasis on strategic research and results, while the other 40 per cent was for execution and creative originality.

To view other interviews from Cannes 2011, click here.