News Analysis: Smaller countries shine at Cannes

by Claire Foss, Marketing Direct 21-Jul-06

The results of this year's Cannes Lions Direct have come as little surprise for some UK direct marketers. Last year, the UK picked up just one gold Lion and this year didn't mark a huge improvement.

UK entries were challenged by other countries, many of whom have not had
such a strong showing at Cannes. The UK took home three gold Lions,
whereas much smaller markets such as New Zealand and Peru won a very

respectable two golds. Belgium's I DO agency carried off the Grand Prix

for newspaper De Tijd.

Although more awards were handed out this year than last - 18 golds
compared with nine - the spread of countries receiving awards this year
is wider still. Entries may have been down slightly - the fragmentation
effect, largely, of the Cyber Lions and the new Promo Lions category -
but 30 judges still had to plough through 1,600 entries from around the
world.

So is the UK falling behind the rest of the world in terms of
creativity?

Steve Harrison, founder and creative director at Harrison Troughton
Wunderman, and president of the 2006 Lions Direct jury, believes this
year saw the awards come of age with the rise of international,
ideas-led creative.

"The rest of the world now shares our belief in ideas," he says.
"Countries such as Peru and Malaysia, Chile and Argentina relate to our
set of values and our search for excellence. The UK can no longer expect
to lead the field."

There could also be a more pragmatic reason why work from the UK makes
less of an impact at Cannes. According to Steve Aldridge, creative
partner at Partners Andrews Aldridge and a judge at this year's awards,
the simpler and more international the idea, the more chance it has of
winning an award. "The reason a lot of UK work doesn't come through is
that it's often complex and uses a lot of word play and double meaning,
and is often relevant to a target group that might not translate to
another country."

For most people, the development of a more level, global playing field
is to be celebrated. Peter Riley, creative partner and founder of 20:20
London, which took home three Lions Direct Awards for its work on Sony
Playstation, sees this evolution as positive. "People should be asking
why it didn't happen sooner. Global creativity is what it should be
about."

What can the UK learn from this year's results? It seems local
subtleties in creative and copy and strength in segmentation are the
biggest barriers to the UK bagging more global awards.

However, the UK's prowess in data is something that other countries
believe they can adopt. Kien Eng Tan, judge and president and executive
creative director of Arc Malaysia, which won three Lions Direct, says:
"The UK is more sophisticated when it comes to strategy, in-sight and
data mining because the market is more mature.

It's unfair for the UK market, because, compared with Asia, the
quantities seem to be lower and the production costs are lower."

For those who like to win silverware, it comes down to those campaigns
that have a global appeal and an effective message. But given this
year's showing, the UK's competition is now tougher than ever - and this
has to be good for everyone.

HOW THE COUNTRIES FARED IN THE LIONS DIRECT AWARDS

Country Number of golds/ Total number of

Grand Prix Lions Direct

Belgium Grand Prix One

Germany Five golds Fifteen

UK Three Ten

Australia Three Nine

Malaysia Two Three

New Zealand Two Five

Peru Two Two

Sweden One Three

South Africa One Three

Switzerland One Three

U.A.E One One

(Countries ordered by number of gold awards)