Cannes 2009: Two metals for India; Grand Prix for Wrangler in Press

This year, the jury's choice was visually speaking ads, while last year, long copy was preferred

In the Press Lions category, Indian agencies have bagged two metals – one silver for the entire campaign of Perfetti's Sour Marble candies by Ogilvy & Mather, and one bronze for Airtel's campaign by Rediffusion Y&R.

David Lubars, chairperson and chief creative officer, BBD North America and president, Press Lions jury, described the Sour Marble campaign as a piece of work which had a great international visual appeal. "This shows how brand owners can also have fun with their own products," he told afaqs!.

Ogilvy had three nominations for individual creatives of Perfetti Van Melle's Sour Marbles. The campaign was conceived to portray the extreme sourness of the candy. The ad showed a crocodile spitting out a lion, which in turn was spitting out a man, who was again spitting out a Sour Marble candy, thus highlighting the sourness of the candy. However, O&M got a silver for the entire campaign.

Rediffusion Y&R had three nominations for its work on Bharti Airtel's Mobile Phone Data Backup service. The campaign aimed to inform existing Airtel users that even if one loses one's phone, the data can be retrieved by sending a simple SMS to a number.

The ad shows a view from the top of a high rise building, where people are seen lying on the street as if they have fallen from the building. The copy says 'Don't drop your contacts when you drop your phone. SMS backup to 57057'.

This year, most of the winning entries were judged on the basis of their visual appeal. However, last year, the jury had preferred long copy ads. The jury's explanation is that there were many entries which had ideas similar to last year's.

The Grand Prix winner campaign, Wrangler, was also high in visual appeal and short copy. Lubars described the campaign, saying, "It gives a punch in the face."

"It is much bigger than just an ad campaign. It defines the entire company in just three words."

The Wrangler ad campaign features a bunch of denim wearing models who have become cannibal creatures of the night. The copy reads, 'We are animals'.

The Wrangler brand had repositioned itself through instinct and emotion and these ads are part of this repositioning campaign.

The jury said that the other competitors for the Grand Prix award did not go beyond the benefits of the product, so they lost out.

This year, the jury has been very stringent while judging the entries. There was a second round of shortlists even after the final nominations. Matthias Schmidt, partner and executive board member, Scholz & Friends Group, Germany and a member of the jury, said, "We wanted to see the future of print, while people say that print is dying."

In all, there were 73 metals awarded in this category.