Compilation "Cannes! Cannes! Cannes!" Part 2 Summary by Yuya Furukawa "The Place to Create Your Next Work: Cannes 2014"

Film Category Judge
Dentsu Inc. CDC Center Director
Executive Creative Director

Yuya Furukawa

This year was historic for Japan. Not only did we achieve the first-ever double Grand Prix wins in Titanium and Lions Health, but Dentsu Inc. (Tokyo) also secured its highest-ever ranking: second place in Agency of the Year. This ranking is based on the total points earned by all agency offices worldwide for their Lions wins, calculated mechanically: 10 points for a Grand Prix, 7 for Gold, 5 for Silver, and 3 for Bronze. While only the top three are announced, this was the first time a Japanese agency had ever made the cut.

This year's standout works were three: Volvo Trucks' "The Epic Split," Harvey Nichols' "Sorry I Spent it on Myself," and Honda's "Sound of Honda / Ayrton Senna 1989." Volvo delivered overwhelming content. Harvey Nichols excelled in integrated campaign insight. Honda presented an entirely new form of advertising. These three pieces competed for the Grand Prix across nearly every category. Volvo and Harvey Nichols, brimming with film-specific sizzle, won the Film Grand Prix. Honda took the Titanium Grand Prix, awarded for work that elevates the industry itself. I believe each received the appropriate recognition.
In terms of novelty, Honda stood head and shoulders above the rest. They transformed raw data, which in itself holds no meaning, into deeply emotional output that moves people, using pure creative power. This was clearly a first in history, proving that data can generate not just efficiency and accuracy, but also surprise, emotion, and novelty – the ultimate value for communication. Work that represents a 100% new methodology is extremely rare.

What was reaffirmed this year is that no matter how many categories emerge, no matter how rich the tools—technology foremost among them—become, only one thing remains crucial for our work: an outstanding, new idea.

Starting this year, Lions Health was newly established just before the festival. While it's an award and seminar program focused on the healthcare and pharmaceutical industries, its aim seems to be attracting clients, revitalizing that industry, and making Cannes a place for business making.
We will likely see increasing participation from diverse clients going forward. Agencies worldwide view this as an opportunity to generate new business. Cannes is becoming a crucial global business arena not just for agencies, but for clients too – a place to showcase capabilities and build future business. The structure is such that awards and seminars serve as a means to enhance presence and prove capability. Through this, agencies become registered players in the global community, permitted to stand on the world stage for pitches.

Beyond the growth of individual agencies, the advertising industry itself stands at a critical juncture—one that could be described as both a crisis and an opportunity. Cannes has become a source of business and something we now "use."