Ogilvy & Mather wins Network of the Year at Cannes Lions for fifth year running; WPP takes out Holding Company of the Year

The 2016 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity ended tonight with the presentation of the Network of the Year, awarded to Ogilvy & Mather for the fifth year in a row. 

The network picked up 120 Lions across 31 offices. The haul included one Titanium, one Glass Lion, four Grand Prix awards and 31 Gold Lions. They also won 39 Silver and 44 Bronze awards.

The four Grand Prix wins came from four different countries: Ogilvy & Mather UK for Phillips ‘Breathless Choir’; INGO Stockholm, an Ogilvy & Mather/Grey joint venture, for The Swedish Tourist Association ‘The Swedish Number’;  ‘Manboobs’ campaign for The Breast Cancer Health Movement by the Network’s DAVID Buenos Aires office and ‘The Everyman Meal’ for KFC by Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg.

Ogilvy & Mather Frankfurt also won a Creative Effectiveness Award for its Rabbit Race campaign for Media Markt.

Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer at Ogilvy & Mather, said: “In 2009 we laid out a five-year plan to improve our performance at Cannes. Now, in 2016, we could not be more humbled to be named Network of the Year for the fifth year running. We are proud and grateful for everyone that has helped us on this journey. This extraordinary achievement demonstrates the courage of our clients and the extraordinary creativity that all our teams possess around the world. Our deepest thanks to our clients, our people, the judges and Cannes Lions.”

Added John Seifert, Worldwide CEO at Ogilvy & Mather: “It is a huge honor to be awarded Network of the Year five times in a row.  It is testament to the great skill and humanity of our talented teams across the network and the visionary leadership of my partners Tham Khai Meng and Miles Young.  I look forward to leading this network on to even greater success in our mission to ‘Make Brands Matter.’

Film received 2,801 entries and 70 Lions were awarded. The Grand Prix went to Shoplifters for Harvey Nichols by adam&eveDDB, which utilised security camera footage to promote a rewards card for the luxury retailer.

From 2,317 entries received in Film Craft, 71 Lions were presented, including a Grand Prix to Under Armour Phelps for Under Armour by Droga5. The winner delivered content that elevated the written script and transcended the craft so it became invisible. “The jury was completely immersed in the experience,” said Jury President, Laura Gregory, Founder & Chief Executive Officer of Great Guns.

In Titanium 254 entries resulted in 5 Lions with a Grand Prix to #OptOutside for REI by Venables Bell & Partners, which also claimed the Cyber Grand Prix earlier in the week. The jury looked for winning work that marked a new direction, got people to reconsider the norm and connected with the cultural zeitgeist. “The work drew on what was happening in the outside world and attached the brand to the conversation,” said Jury President, Sir John Hegarty, Founder of BBH.

Integrated received 278 entries and 13 Lions were awarded. The Grand Prix went to House of Cards FU 2016 for Netflix by BBH New York. While many entries succeeded in clever integration across a range of mediums, the winner took this further. “This brilliant work leveraged current culture in the US to draw in its audience. Every element was brilliantly executed,” said Sir John Hegarty.

During the ceremony, Marcello Serpa (left) was honoured as this year’s Lion of St. Mark in recognition of his outstanding contribution to the industry. Blake Mycoskie founder and leader of ethical shoe brand TOMS received the LionHeart Award for his socially responsible business model. And Samsung Electronics was named Creative Marketer of the Year for their commitment to customer-focused, creative communications work. Executive Vice President of Global Marketing, Mobile Communications Business, Younghee Lee, collected the award.

The Grand Prix for Good was won by Malak and the Boat for UNICEF by 180LA, Santa Monica. “Sometimes you have to support an idea whose moment is now,” John Hegarty remarked. “This campaign was incredibly emotional and as a jury we played a small part in helping it reach more people.”

Other awards presented at this evening’s ceremony were:

Agency of the Year was awarded to AlmapBBDO Sao Paulo. Grey New York came second and INGO, Stockholm third.

Independent Agency of the Year went to Droga5, New York. Second place to Jung von Matt and third to Wieden+Kennedy, Portland.

The Palme d’Or, given to the most awarded production company, was presented to Tool, USA. Epoch Films, USA came second and Stink, United Kingdom third.

The Network of the Year award was presented to Ogilvy & Mather. Second to BBDO and third to Y&R.

Also awarded was the Holding Company of the Year, which went to WPP. Second to Omnicom and third to Interpublic.

This year, over 15,000 attendees came to Cannes Lions and the Festival included eight days of content, over 43,000 entries, seven awards shows, two galas and networking opportunities throughout. Highlights from the week can be found HERE and winning work is now available to view HERE.