Shift in the axis of communication

Another piece of work that struck me as brilliant was the one by Australian hearing solutions brand Cochlear.

The Lions Health awards can throw up interesting gems. I was touched by this year's Health & Wellness Grand Prix winner: Corazon. Part of an integrated marketing campaign called 'Give Your Heart', created by independent agency JohnXHannes, New York, the objective was to bring awareness for organ donation.
 
The issue is a real one in the US like it is in India: Of patients on endless waiting lists for critical organs. A subject like this has to be handled with care for the message to literally strike the heart. And how did JohnXHannes along with its digital studio Active Theory work around this?
 
They developed an application that is activated the moment you hold your mobile phone to your heart. Brilliant, isn't it? This piece of work tells me one thing: That great ideas bring together a number of things: Technology, the ability to provide solutions, brand purpose, great execution, et al.
 
Corazon is one of those I wish I had in my portfolio. It has left a lasting impression on me on the power of 'Lifechanging Creativity', the motto of the Lions Health awards. My brother (Amit) and me made a presentation on the motto along with Pooranji (Pooran Issar Singh), who featured in our campaign last year titled 'Last Laugh', at the Cannes Lions.

 
To be sharing the stage with her, the oldest speaker at the festival (she is 86 years) and with Heather Bresch, CEO, Mylan, the first woman head of a pharmaceutical company in the US, was a different experience altogether.
 
I find the Cannes Lions among the most inclusive of advertising festivals - in terms of its gender representation, agency as well as country mix. I was happy to know that the number of participants from Asia has grown over the years. I think it gives us a sense of where the axis of communication is shifting. And that is good news for agency folks such as us who are based in India. The next Corazon could well come from this part of the world. 
 
Our own Grand Prix winner ‘Blink to Speak’ (from TBWA India) is a fine example of how communication is evolving into finding solutions for problems. Very few realise this, but India has been winning Grand Prix at Cannes for four years in a row: ‘Share the Load’ (by BBDO India) in 2015, ‘6 Pack Band’ (by Mindshare) in 2016, ‘Immunity Charm’ (by McCann India) in 2017, and now, ‘Blink to Speak’. A dream run? Maybe, but I think we will add to the tally as we go forward.

 
Another international piece of work that struck me as brilliant this year was the one by Australian hearing solutions brand Cochlear. Indians are familiar with Cochlear implants for hearing-impaired people. In their home country, however, Cochlear wanted to build awareness around hearing issues.
 
So they came up with an ad, basically a hearing test in disguise, that was played online and in cinemas in Australia. The film was a love story that had two different endings, depending on whether you could hear the low-level audio of certain parts of the plot.
 
Those with a hearing problem predictably picked up only some aspects of the story as opposed to those who did not have hearing issues. The result was that they missed the point of the story: Did love last or not?
 
The question of course as I sign off from this year's Cannes Lions is this: "Will India's dream run with the Grand Prix last or not? or “Will this be a year when India gets two Grand Prix trophies?”

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(The author is founder and managing director of Medulla Communications)