With a decent, solid, sound work and, above all, real. This is how Mexico arrives at the most important creativity festival in the world: Cannes Lions 2021. After a year of being on hiatus due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the global contest opens its doors – virtually – to receive works produced between 2019 and 2020 from 90 different countries. One of them is Mexico, which competes with pieces that have obtained the main awards in different international festivals.
“The country is well represented. The pieces that are going to compete are worthy and of great quality, it seems to me that we arrived well armed, ”says Luis Gaitán, president and creative director of the Gray México agency.
#SeguimosHablando is the job with which Publicis Worldwide México seeks to obtain a lion in Cannes. This piece, in May, won the Yellow Pencil, which is the highest award given at the D&AD festival. It is the first time that a Mexican agency has won this recognition.
The campaign, which ‘revived’ four murdered journalists (Javier Valdez, Miroslava Breach, José Rodríguez and Moisés Sánchez) to raise their voices and demand justice for their deaths and those of their colleagues in the country, also won the Grand Prix of the IAB Mixx 2020, the highest recognition awarded at the festival that rewards the most creative and effective campaigns in digital media. It was the first time that the award was given, in previous years the category had been declared deserted.
“At Publicis we have the philosophy of choosing the best idea and putting energy into it,” says Diego Wallach, creative director of the agency. So it was the only job they sent. “Cannes is the festival that crystallizes trends and turns them into products for mass consumption. With that perspective it is impossible to be outside ”.
Leo Burnett agrees with this philosophy. Federico Russi, creative vice president of the agency, assures that one of its main objectives is creative reputation, which is why the firm supports participation in festivals, as long as they are considered good. However, “our priority is to always deliver the best work to our clients and provide solutions to their businesses,” he says.
This year, the best agency of 2020, according to the international festival Ojo de Iberoamérica, arrives at Cannes Lions with three ideas: Miles for Retirement, for the pension consultancy Vitalis; Dialnostic, for the Alzheimer Foundation and Radio Fórmula, and Untouchables, for Eva Clinic. This latest campaign, which seeks to raise awareness about breast cancer, is one of the 17 pieces that make up the shortlist for the Innovation category, along with works from Peru, Colombia, Australia and Japan. Winners will be announced on June 24.
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Industry and COVID-19
The participation of Mexican agencies in the creativity festival after the COVID-19 pandemic took a new course, although this means that it has decreased.
According to Sergio Sharpe, creative vice president of the Made agency, the health crisis put the industry to the test, causing significant reductions in revenue for brands and agencies. “But here creativity came into play, the need to go back to the origins to create decisive publicity in times of pandemic. Here it is not important if the budget is too much or too little, creativity is what managed to stand out ”.
“Clearly each agency has its own amount to invest, but without a doubt when you have fewer resources the bet is double care to choose the pieces that you are going to send. You commit more to the selection, there are more filters to get to the work that will compete globally ”, says Gabriela Paredes, head of Mediabrands Content Studio, who is part of the jury of the Outdoor category at the international festival.
Made decided to compete in Cannes Lions 2021 with two pieces. One is the one he made for Jeep, in which a parakeet named ‘Pillo’ becomes the official voice of the brand. The other was made for Save The Children. Through a spot, the creative firm shows the lack of childcare in Mexico given the little support received by parents who have to go out to work every day.
On the other side is the group, which includes Gray México, who chose to place other needs above the festivals. “At the agency we prioritize that the entire team was well, finances and work, the investment was made in these areas that we consider important. Each agency is different, but we decided to be cautious in these categories ”, adds Luis Gaitán.
Regarding the campaigns that will participate this year in the creativity festival, Gabriela Paredes says that they have one characteristic in common: highlighting social commitment, since messages in favor of vulnerable groups and inclusion stand out.
“The brands that today work to show that they are committed to society are much better received in the market. I like that they are in charge of visualizing this, it makes me feel that it is the next step in global creativity, “he says.
