Cannes Lions stands by OMD Sydney in latest media controversy, but will review policies

The announcement by the festival's organisers seems to be in response to controversy over OMD Sydney's win, which is credited to submissions by sister Omnicom agency DDB for its work with McDonald's.  

One senior media specialist, for example, expressed incredulity at OMD Sydney's win, as it appears to ride off creative agency DDB's success. "The media agency award should go to the agency that actually 'enters' and wins the most awards," the source said.

According to MediaPost, GroupM revised about 30 of its entries after the awards were issued to request that GroupM shops be listed on submissions for credit, bringing GroupM's Lion tally up to 45 awards. This led OMG to charge that GroupM has claimed credit for awards not certified by the Cannes Lions organisation. 

However, under festival rules, credits may be changed post-festival if the entrant company is in agreement with the proposed change.

In apparent response to OMG's accusations, Cannes Lions said in a statement, "To date all claims that have been made have been validated by the Festival based on the entrant company being contacted and agreeing to the credit amendment. However, to clarify future claims of the number of Lions won, Cannes Lions will be reviewing the credit amendment policy".

In response to the issue, GroupM global president Dominic Proctor said, "We are extremely happy that all our awards have been validated by Cannes, and to win so many Lions is a tribute to our people and our clients . It was an excellent Festival for GroupM's agencies and for WPP more generally.'

With regards to OMD Sydney's win, the statement read, "Cannes Lions recognises the leading media agency with the award of Media Agency of the Year. That is the only official award it gives as it relates to a media agency compilation, and in 2013 it was awarded to OMD Sydney".

"Regardless of the revised tally, the media agency of the year award can only be won by a media agency, not a group," pointed out OMG Asia-Pacific CEO Cheuk Chiang, who was also a Media Lions judge at Cannes Lions 2013. "OMD Sydney won because it had the highest amount of entries that won Lions."

Chiang added that he applauds the willingness of Cannes Lions organisers to "do the right thing" and also applauds their decision to review the rules and be flexible on the process. "They have organised a process and procedure that ensures absolute fairness and focuses on recognising and rewarding the best work."

Havas Media Asia-Pacific CEO Vishnu Mohan supported the validity of secondary credits. "In a largely creative festival, media agencies are bound to have secondary credits in many cases and its fair that they are recognised as all work is the product of a team."

However, he questioned the need for a policy review as it can "insinuate an initial wrongdoing". "Let's just stick to one approach as long as its fair and transparent," he said. 

This is just the latest in a series of disputes over the Cannes Media Lions awards and judging process. Last year, the festival erupted over accusations of block voting and in response, organisers altered the judging process. The organisers were then accused by the New York Festivals organisers, IAG, of imitation. 

Update (11 July): The article has been revised to include a formal statement from GroupM global president Dominic Proctor.