Social & Influencer Lions: Cannes 2022 Decoded

'The Unfiltered History Tour', Dentsu Creative's entry for Vice Media, captured its third Grand Prix of Cannes 2022 in the Social & Influencer Lions, following earlier triumphs in the Radio & Audio Lions and Brand Experience & Activation Lions.

Created by Dentsu Creative in Bengaluru and Mumbai, the campaign raised awareness of an interactive mobile site and podcast series that presents artefacts in the British Museum from the perspective of their homeland communities.

FCB Inferno London won a Silver Lion for its 'Dyslexic Thinking' work for Virgin Group, while Grey London received a Bronze for its 'Never Seen Without Consent' entry for Brook, the sexual health and wellbeing charity.

Creative Salon spoke with Laura Jordan Bambach, president and chief creative officer at Grey London, to learn more.

What were the key trends in the category?

"The Social & Influencer category was hugely popular this year, and one of the largest in the Festival. It signals the richness and power of the area for marketing, and was incredibly diverse too. From a reactive tweet that went viral, to deep engagement strategies, the Metaverse, utility and AI influencers - great social and influencer work took many different shapes and delivered on many different objectives above and beyond simple reach and influence."

And what characterised the winning work?

"Most impressive was that, after a few years where the winning work tended to be focused on the serious and purposeful, we saw some fantastic green shoots of humour and entertainment. There was a lot of joy and hopefulness alongside the hard-hitting, and winning pieces all did more than simply shine a light on issues but answered the question 'and now what?' Pointing the audience towards action and ultimately creating positive change rather than just awareness."