Craig Chester’s Cannes Overview

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CHESTER-Cannes-Steps-thumb-400x224-188356.jpgCraig Chester, CD, Saatchi & Saatchi Health is Australia’s representative on the Health & Wellness Lions jury. Chester, along with most of the Australian and NZ jurors, is reporting exclusively for CB.

Andrew Spurgeon, our Lions Health and Wellness jury president said to me when we first met, “the Lions is a well oiled machine, you just climb on board and let it take you for a ride.”

And what a ride it was. Four days locked away in a dark jury room with creative gurus filled with insight and passion. I have learnt a lot.

My fellow jury members laughed and cried. They argued but they listened. They were opinionated but gracious. And they, along with numerous pieces of work, inspired me to want to do better.

My experience at the awards show this year had its ups and its ups, and then there were the really uplifting bits.

Incredibly, numbers of women in a small developing country are without words to describe their own reproductive system. They could not talk properly to a doctor to get a correct diagnosis for health issues like cervical cancer. So they needed someone to help them find the words.

Intimate words, the title of this years health and wellness grand prix winner, did exactly that. The agency involved pulled together a team of linguists, psychologists and communication experts to actually invent a new language that would allow women to communicate to their doctor and potentially save their lives. This new language will be one that will be passed on from mothers to daughters for generations. How many of us can say their campaign contributed to the good health of a small community for potentially hundreds, if not, thousands of years?

The campaign was funded by global giant Procter and Gamble to promote one of their leading brands, Always. It is a brilliant example of the meeting point between corporate social responsibility and marketing. With the support of PR, this campaign will contribute to sales and the reputation of Procter and Gamble themselves as well as the women in question. A very small chunk of a marketing budget very well spent. They should be applauded for a long time to come along with the agency that helped them make such a contribution to our world.

And how many of us can say they played some small part in helping Alzheimers sufferers to stay connected to their loved ones – to actually remember the ones that have meant everything to them throughout their lives? To invent a mobile app that alerts an Alzheimer patient a loved one is within metres of saying hello with photos, and key information reminding them of who is approaching.

These are just two examples of some of the outstanding work to come out of this year’s festival. I would encourage you to take some time to look at all winning entries. You may not only discover a little creative work that inspires you and makes you better at what you do, you may be touched and truly moved.

This year we also saw technology feature less significantly within the winning campaigns. Much of the winning work began with a beautifully simple thought that was supported by digital tech rather led by it. Radio, arguably the weakest category last year, also made a strong return to the limelight this year while traditional print and outdoor went in the opposite direction.

Lions Health is truly unique. The products and services advertised and promoted can and do have a truly profound effect on humanity. It showcases creatively courageous and innovative solutions to many unique problems. It helps us to sincerely care about the brands and services we promote. It encourages us to do well, then do better, then do brilliantly.

@cchestercd