Dan Wieden Titanium: Cannes 2023 Decoded

The Dan Wieden Titanium Lions honours revolutionary creativity, seeking those who push boundaries, provoke thought, and inspire envy, setting new industry directions and driving it forward.

This year's Grand Prix was awarded to The Monkeys and The Government of Tuvalu for 'The First Digital Nation'.

The Monkeys collaborated with Tuvalu to create the world's first digital nation in response to the threat of rising sea levels submerging Tuvalu. The project began by recreating one of Tuvalu's islands, with the goal of preserving the nation's land, culture, and history in the Metaverse. The digital preservation project was announced by Simon Kofe, Tuvalu's minister of justice, communication, and foreign affairs, during Cop27, with Kofe speaking from one of the initial digital Tuvalu islets.

Titanium Lions Jury President: David Droga, CEO, Accenture Song, Global, said, “How does a nation that is sinking keep its borders, sovereignty and rights? How does its people keep its culture, heritage and identity? By completely reorienting the rules and laws of what it is to be recognized as a nation on the global stage. This is far more than a creative or tech idea. It’s not even about a disposable execution. It is about recognition, policy, and safeguarding GDP. It is also about creating new precedents for dozens of other countries facing a similar future. This work was the highest scored entry from day one of the prejudging, to the very last vote on the Grand Prix on the final day. It is an idea that needed to happen and should live on far beyond any of us.”

Three Titanium awards were received by Draftline Shanghai, David Bogotá and New York, McCann Poland, Wieden + Kennedy New York and Sao Paulo and Africa Creative DDB Sao Paulo.

The Draftline Shanghai, David Bogotá and New York 'Corona Extra Lime' campaign was for the beer brand.. When lime imports to China were disrupted by Covid, Corona collaborated with local authorities to train farmers in low-income areas of Sichuan Province to grow limes. Corona sold the additional limes alongside its beers, donating the profits back to the farmers and resulting in a remarkable harvest of 1 million extra limes, increasing the farmers' per capita income by 21 per cent and generating 943 million impressions for the campaign.

Since the outbreak of the war in Ukraine, Poland has received nearly 10 million refugees from the occupied territories, making it the leading nation in welcoming Ukrainian refugees. However, with many seeking shelter in already crowded Polish cities, Mastercard launched the 'Where to Settle' digital platform through McCann POland, which has helped 20 per cent of the 1.5 million settled refugees find promising areas outside major cities to start anew by utilizing multiple datasets and providing guidance.

Just two days before the World Cup, Budweiser was banned from selling beer at stadiums in Qatar, leaving them with a surplus of beer. In response, Budweiser made a bold move by announcing that they would give away their entire stock to the winning country for free, launching the '#BringHomeTheBud' campaign that quickly spread worldwide and became a global call to action for fans and nations to support their teams and bring home the extra beer. The campaign was by Wieden + Kennedy New York and Sao Paulo and Africa Creative DDB Sao Paulo.