We asked Kazuaki Hashida, a Cannes Lions PR category juror.

Hello, I'm Miichi from the Creative Planning Division 2, also serving at the PR Planning Center.
Part 2 of the Cannes series. We had the opportunity to speak with PR category juror Kazuaki Hashida on-site. Here's what transpired. What discussions took place during the judging? How were Japanese entries evaluated? We asked about all the points of interest. Let's dive right in!

Did that idea truly produce that result?

Mii: What criteria did the head judge present?

Hashida: Publicity (gaining exposure), perception change (how it altered common understanding), and behavior change (how it changed actions) – these three points, consistently emphasized in recent PR category judging, are already taken for granted among judges. This year, in addition to those, the perspectives of "Is it a surprising idea we've never seen before?" and "Did that idea truly lead to results?" were heavily weighted.

Regarding results, the jury chair expressed the view: "We're tired of hearing about million impressions or billion impressions. With the internet, reaching people is expected. Let's focus on how it moved people." I believe the crucial criteria were whether the strong idea connected to the result and whether the idea genuinely produced that result.

Mii: The Grand Prix-winning campaign "The Organic Effect," promoting natural foods, seemed a bit understated. Why was it chosen?

Hashida: First, we vote to select Grand Prix candidates from the Gold winners. After narrowing it down to three, the final discussion was between "The Organic Effect" and " Bees Can Find Sugar Where You Least Suspect It," which tackled diabetes.

The strength of "The Organic Effect" lies in its incredibly powerful results. It shifted the preconception that "organic vegetables are good for the environment, hence the high price" into the context of "they're good for your health." The Swedish co-op achieved results so strong it became their best-selling product in 20 years. Furthermore, the documentary film was very well-made and compelling content, from the charming scenes of the family undergoing urine tests to the shocking final results.

"Bees," while yielding smaller results, overflowed with creativity. The surprise that honey could be made from hamburgers, that creativity, was truly brilliant. Campaigns visualizing sugar are common, but this idea felt incredibly fresh. Actually, I cast my vote for "Bees."

If asked which was more surprising, "Bees" might have been it. However, "The Organic Effect" was chosen as Grand Prix because the idea truly contributed to the results. Ultimately, I believe it came down to a battle of balance within the judging criteria. I'm glad "The Organic Effect" won Grand Prix. I think it sent a strong message to the PR industry.

Also, entries like " Brewtroleum " and " McWhopper," which won in other categories, were brilliant PR ideas that achieved significant results. However, in this year's PR category, there was a sense that even if the idea was outstanding, work that involved massive ad spend during execution, or gave that impression, was less likely to be highly evaluated. There was a clear emphasis on focusing on earned, not paid, media. Thanks to that, I think it resulted in a very good judging outcome, distinct from other categories and truly befitting the PR category.

How were Japanese entries evaluated at Cannes?

Michi: How were Japanese entries evaluated during the judging?

Hashida: Japanese work didn't make it onto the shortlist very often. The reason was very clear: the issues Japan presented didn't resonate easily with the judges. They were high-context, requiring explanation to be understood. Even when explained, the reaction tended to be, "Oh, there's that kind of problem." For example, the Kagawa Prefecture campaign had very interesting outputs and made it to the shortlist, but it competed against " Chocó To Dance" in the same Territory Marketing category and wasn't selected. It felt like "Chocó To Dance" won out over Kagawa's campaign—a brilliant effort that found and promoted the novel fact that babies stop crying when eating udon, a product now taken for granted, thereby boosting Kagawa's fame—due to the sheer scale and clarity of its stated challenge: "This town is poor, struggling even with education." Similar discussions arose around the "Neko Bang Bang" campaign, which was trending in Japan.

Regarding the Bronze-winning " 10-Minute Donbei," I explained that for about 50 years since cup noodles launched, we've all stuck to the same 3- or 5-minute preparation method, but this campaign historically changed that. I genuinely love this campaign myself. It has a distinctly PR-like perspective, and its sales effectiveness feels very clear. I also explained that Cup Noodles always only made news about flavors, becoming a commodity, so this simple proposal to change how the product is eaten was excellent. Personally, I think this work deserved a higher ranking.

The essence of PR is consensus building

Mii: After judging at Cannes, what do you think PR really is?

Hashida: While definitions like perception change or behavior change exist, "consensus building" resonates most with me. Advertising aims to move individuals to think, "I want to try this!" PR is more collective. Whether it's a group or society depends on the case, but PR is about creating consensus – getting everyone around you to say it's good. To achieve this, we approach TV, newspapers, magazines, web media, and social media.

What strengthened after judging at Cannes is my desire to be more conscious of how we propose a brand's value to society. Maximizing sales is crucial, of course, but extending that, I believe campaigns become even better when they incorporate the perspective of: What should this brand present to society or the industry right now? How can it improve society? We've always worked this way, but I want to be more conscious of adopting a "society" perspective in our approach. For example, what should an automotive brand present to Japan today? What should a cosmetics brand present to Japan today?

 

How did you find it? That concludes our Cannes Lions PR category report. Thank you, Kazuaki Hashida from Hakuhodo Kettle!

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Kazuaki Hashida - Creative Director / PR Director
Joined Hakuhodo in 2002. Worked as a Strategic Planner handling corporate branding and product development. Joined Hakuhodo Kettle upon its establishment in 2006. Creative Director integrating strategy, TV commercials, interactive, PR, and events.
Has received numerous domestic and international awards, including 12 Cannes Lions and 4 AdFest Grand Prix.
Received the Tokyo ADC Award in 2015 and the Creator of the Year Medalist award in 2016.
Served as a judge for the PROMO & DIRECT category at SPIKES ASIA 2015 and for the PR LIONS category at Cannes Lions 2016.