Cannes predictions: Brian Charles Capel

This is the fourth in a series of Cannes predictions we will be publishing in the run-up to this year's festival. See the previous editions:

• Leigh Reyes' predictions
• Juhi Kalia's predictions
• Tham Khai Meng's predictions

Year after year, we see stellar creativity that somehow keeps evolving in an innovative, surprising way. Fresh new ideas and approaches that never fail to amaze as well as outstanding ideas stemming from technology that leave us in awe and asking, 'How the hell did they do that'? With Cannes Lions Festival just around the corner, and in the spirit of being an eternal student of life, here are five pieces of work I think will potentially do well at the awards this year.

Suntory ‘Hibiki glass’

First up, Suntory does it again. With winning work in Cannes 2014 with their ‘3D on the Rocks’ and ‘Carving the Forest’, their latest work of ‘Hibiki Glass’ blends the ultimate experience through technology. Whether you enjoy single-malt whiskey or not, you would love to get ahold of this glass, and the background panel as well.

NTT DoCoMo ‘3-second cooking’ 

If ever a client says “I want a demo commercial!” never say you would not be able to create great work. With the brand’s perception of being ‘Old School’, the agency has managed to change the perception of people with this amazing ‘demo’ spot. With the help of Google Translate, I was so entertained with all the positive comments from people.

Nike ‘House of Mamba’

Just as you thought that you know everything about what technology can do, you come across the ‘House of Mamba’ and you say ‘damn’… The collaboration between the agency, the technologist, the builders, the supercool computer geeks and Kobe Bryant only wows me. It took so much planning, vision, ambition and energy to bring this idea to life.

Tourism Authority of Thailand, ‘I hate Thailand’

The work itself is one thing, but getting the client to agree to something that begins with a ‘hate’ for the brand takes bravery. This work shows true understanding of all travelers and the worst case scenario of traveling. And this content emphasizes the uniqueness of Thailand, which is the people of Thailand. It is never just the destination but it is the people that make the destination special.

Can you imagine what this piece of work would have been like if it went through a massive amount of research groups? The outcome would have been a lame “I love Thailand” and people would have skipped the video in 10 seconds, maybe 5. (Full disclosure: Leo Burnett Thailand created this work. -Ed.)

Aershan ‘Signature Bottle’

This is a brilliantly simple idea that solves a real problem most people rarely think about or pay enough attention to. It solves the problem of waste in so many ways and most fundamentally, it is an enabler that helps to drive a positive change in behaviour towards the issue. Personally to avoid wasting water, I practice pasting a tape over my bottle and writing my name on it so I always know which is mine. I do sincerely hope mineral-water brands everywhere adopt this idea. 

Brian Charles Capel (@briancapel) is group ECD at Leo Burnett Indonesia.