2024 Cannes Contenders: Cheil creative leads share predictions

In the run-up to the Cannes Festival of Creativity 2024, we we've asked creatives in APAC to share their picks of the region’s most standout work that are up for a Lion at the festival. See past editions of this series featuring RGA, M&C Saatchi and McCann Worldgroup.

In this article, some of Cheil's senior creatives share their predictions for campaigns they think will roar in Cannes.

Campaign: Newspaper for 'Lettuce Preservation' 
Brand: Cook Do 

This campaign uses newspaper advertisements to promote wrapping lettuce in newspaper to help it last longer in the refrigerator. The ads were placed in local newspapers featuring a visual of lettuce wrapped in newspaper to look like a human face inside a refrigerator. The aim was to raise awareness of food waste and to encourage people to try wrapping it in newspaper to help keep it fresh. It won a Grand Prix at Spikes Asia this year. 

Seongphil Hwang, creative director at Cheil Worldwide South Korea, says: “The campaign brilliantly communicates the product’s attributes to customers intuitively and simply. It exquisitely connects customer touchpoints with an insight that lettuces can be kept for a long time when wrapped in newspapers. The work’s award-winning point comes down to three: First, it infiltrates into customers’ daily lives with unique visuals and format. Second, it earns media effect at little cost. Third, its simplicity brings impact”  

Campaign: The Plastic Forecast
Brand: Minderoo

Unlike traditional weather forecasts, this specially created one tells how much plastic is set to fall on a given day from plastic particles in the atmosphere that come down when it rains. Developed with the help of scientists at Minderoo Foundation, it launched in Paris ahead of the second session of negotiations (INC-2) of the UN’s Plastic Treaty at UNESCO headquarters in an easy-to-understand weather report.

Kimmy Liu, the executive creative director or Cheil PengTai in China says: “Visualize the plastic content in the rain and place it in the local daily news broadcast during the UNESCO Plastic Pollution Meeting in Paris. The Plastic Rain Forecast has made the harm of plastics an imminent presence. It’s a powerful public relations event. The public discussion ultimately influenced the implementation of improvement plans at the United Nations meeting.”  

Campaign: The End
Brand: Lux 

The campaign shines a light on how popular classic Indian films often portray outdated narratives where men disregard a woman's clear refusal. Using the MX Player platform Lux was able to disregard traditional ad breaks and insert ad spaces in strategic places where a man is acting inappropriately and the woman clearly expresses her dissent. At this point, the LUX ad interjects by simulating the end of the movie with end credits, giving viewers a new perspective on behaviour that has become normalised.

Youbin Bang, creative director at Cheil Worldwide in South Korea says: “It cleverly utilizes ad breaks on the streaming platform to demand an end to the normalization of violence against women and outdated sexist narratives in Indian films. It’s a simple and powerful method to communicate the right message to the target audience. I can relate to the message, and its execution perfectly fits into the advertising format.”  

Cheil’s own pick

Campaign: Try Galaxy Fold Experience
Brand: Samsung
Cannes Lions category: Brand Experience & Activation, Digital Craft, Direct 

Given that iPhone users tend to remain ignorant of new Android technology and features, this hack enabled Apple users to see the experience they were missing with the new Galaxy Fold. Engineers managed to enable different kinds of iPhones to sync up to show the benefits of a dual screen. 

Malcolm Poynton, global chief creative officer, Cheil Worldwide says: “A super-smart use of Web Real-Time Communication technology that enables iPhone users to join any x2 iPhones together and instantly experience the ‘Wow’ of Z Fold for themselves, on their own phones. This hack of iPhones sold record numbers of Galaxy Fold phones after 10.6 million iPhone users tried the Galaxy Fold experience in the first 5 months alone. While Try Galaxy Fold Experience is 100% Digital and Mobile, it also breaks new ground for Direct and Experiential & Activation marketing. Millions of iPhone users loved the experience; here’s to Cannes jurors feeling the same way.”