Cannes Lions: Social & Influencer, PR and Direct winners

SOCIAL & INFLUENCER

One of the fastest-developing categories at the festival, the Social & Influencer Lions recognise work that, in the words of jury president and Founder of Pereira & Odell, PJ Pereira, "shows the nuances and possibilities of social". 

Top honours in the category - marking its first ever Grand Prix - went to VMLY&R Kansas City's guerrilla gaming campaign for Wendy's, Keeping Fortnite Fresh, which the jury praised for its "product-centric approach", "clear purpose" and the fact it broke new ground in the category.  

Nike, widely tipped to pick up the Grand Prix, had to content itself with golds for its Dream Crazy and Dream Crazier campaigns, alongside Ubisoft's My Life As An NPC, Sleeping Giants' A Campaign To Defend Bigotry, March For Our Lives' Generation Lockdown and Diesel's Be A Follower.

For the full list of winners, visit the Cannes Lions site.

PR

This year's jury president, Edelman's MD of Global Clients, Michelle Hutton, had the bold aim of "resetting" the PR category this year, claiming that it should no longer be perceived as a "channel" but as a "craft that matters more today to businesses, brands and society." 

From a slew of entries which put purpose at the heart of the campaign, the Grand Prix went to The Female Company's groundbreaking Tampon Book, which called out Germany's tax discrimination on feminine hygiene products in an inventive way. Hutton labelled it "a great example of modern communications which combines creativity with the craft of public relations."

Six gold Lions were also handed out to the likes of Budweiser's Wind Never Felt Better; Donate Life Second Chances; United Nations' The People's Seat; Dagoma 3D Printed Guns; McDonald's Big Mac 50th Anniversary and Plaza Vea's Perussian Prices.

For a full list of winners, visit the Cannes Lions site.

DIRECT

Despite there being a glut of original and creative entries in this complex category, there was a clear Grand Prix winner in the form of Burger King's audacious Whopper Detour, which poached customers directly from McDonald's via BK's rebooted app. 

Jury president Nicky Bullard, Chairwoman and Chief Creative Officer of MRM//McCann,described it as a "complete" Direct campaign, which "used data and targeting, made you feel something, asked you to do something and got people doing it" - but perhaps most importantly, the campaign "was absolutely relevant to the Burger King brand" rather than a CSR-type side project.