Cannes Lions Grand Prix winners’ creative genius is undisputed but what human truths underpin 2014’s Lions? Post-recession blow-outs, an appetite for risk and a desire to make a difference are major themes shaping this year's winners.

1. WHAT MAKES A
GRAND PRIX WINNER?
!
!
CANNES LIONS
JUNE 2014

2. Cannes Lions Grand Prix winners’ creative genius is
undisputed but what human truths underpin 2014’s Lions?
As a behavioural insights practice, we don’t judge a
campaigns’ creative strength, but we do deconstruct how and
why they resonate with their audience.
Post-recession blow-outs, an appetite for risk and a desire to
make a difference are major themes shaping this year's
winners.
Still reeling from the global recession, we’ve seen the rise of
personal treats, and moments when even small wins become
epic. But it’s far from gloomy for Millennials. They’re
generation can, not generation can’t. It’s one of their defining
mantras.
And far from seeking shelter, people are continuing to
embrace risk - as long as there’s an invisible safety harness,
whether it’s a Nivea wristband or Volvo roll-cage.
The desire to make a difference is leading to a collective social
conscience. At one extreme is hacktivism and civic
responsibility - taking on leadership roles where governments
can’t or wont. At the other extreme is clicktivism. If changing
the world is as easy as buying a new pair of jeans or using an
ATM, then who wouldn’t want to be involved?
Explore it, critique it and let us know what you think.
Nick , Sam, Harry, Lore and the Canvas8 team

3. !
“Self-gifting represents a form
of carefully planned retail
therapy"
Bryant Simon, Author
!
Up to 59% of a typical London family’s
income is spent on rent. Job opportunities
are scarce, and finances tightly controlled.
And when cash does flow, there’s an urge
to treat themselves. It’s a pressure valve.
This intensifies during the festive season.
In 2012, people spent an average of
around £150 on gifts for themselves
during the holiday period – a 27%
increase on five years previously.
With nearly two thirds of shoppers
admitting to cheering themselves up by
spending, seasonal retail isn't always a
selfless experience.
SORRY, I SPENT IT ON MYSELF
HARVEY NICHOLS

4. !
”The strongest narrative for
challenger brands that's
emerged in recent years is this
idea of the people's champion”
Adam Morgan, Author
!
When aspirations hit a brick wall, the
portrayal of unrealistic achievements
typically associated with energy drinks
becomes obsolete.
By giving people more energy “in
exceedingly average moments,” Lucozade
reflects a more attainable reality. A reality
where even small wins become ‘epic’.
It drives an underdog mentality that
people can easily identify with.
LUCOZADE
LUCOZADE ENERGY DRINK

5. !
”Take possession of a cultural
artefact, make it more
detailed, more contextually
responsive, more culturally
nuanced and more valuable"
Grant McCracken, Anthropologist
!
Life is hard. In 2013, 1 in 10 Americans
were clinically depressed. For the first
time people were projecting that future
generations would not have it as good.
Pharrell told the world to stop
overthinking it. That happiness was a
choice. A state of mind.
He offered a video ‘geo-remix’, simply
saying “we’re choosing happiness too” –
with postcards to the rest of the world
reading "We're happy. With love from…"
!
!PHARRELL WILLIAMS - 24 HOURS OF HAPPY
UNIVERSAL / IAMOTHER

6. !
”Our brains are social-
monitoring devices much more
than calculators… learning
from the example of those
around us”
Mark Earls, co-author of ‘I’ll Have What She’s Having’
!
The simple act of smiling can make you
happier. There is a positive neural
messaging that benefits your health and
happiness. And through facial mimicry,
the more people smile, the more they
make others around them feel happier.
But emotional contagion happens in
reverse too.
Coca-Cola’s Happy ID encourages
happiness using identity cards to spread
positive emotional contagion.
!
!HAPPY ID
COCA-COLA

7. !
”Data visualisation is the
process of making the invisible
visible”
Dr. Sara Diamond, President OCAD
!
Built on a musical algorithm, the living
pattern captures the spirit of the avant
garde festival. The pattern interacts with
the entire festival ecosystem - the
programme, the poncho and the city.
Taking cues from contemporary nightclub
design with its guerrilla stunts, the effect
is open and exciting.
And by giving people their own tools to
generate music, it propels the festival
from passive to participatory.
!
!
!
BERGEN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL BRAND CAMPAIGN
BERGEN INTERNATIONAL FESTIVAL

8. !
”By being a racing driver you
are under risk all the time"
Ayrton Senna, F1 Driver
!
Films like Senna and Rush demonstrate a
nostalgia for the hard-living, fast driving
playboy years of Formula One. A time
when Formula One was exciting, loud and
dangerous.
Those days are gone, but the data trails
remain. And by fusing the data with new
technology, Honda simulated the memory
through racecar sounds and lights.
Sound of Honda gave people an
emotional data-driven experience from a
single lap, 24 years ago.
!
!
!
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SOUND OF HONDA / AYRTON SENNA 1989
HONDA MOTOR CO.

9. !
”Homo sapiens were the only
group of early hominids to
emigrate over the entire world,
which entailed great risk”
Marvin Zuckerman, Psychologist
!
Humans are programmed to seek out
risks and danger. It’s a dopamine release.
We’re demanding experiences like Tough
Mudder, and shouting “YOLO!”
But 4 in 5 Americans spend their days
behind desks. Coupled with an emphasis
on health and safety, most people prefer
to ‘play it safe’, watching others from the
safety of their TVs or tablets.
Volvo’s Live Test Series shows that ‘safe’
doesn’t eliminate risk, but can facilitate it -
and by association, safety becomes a little
bit cooler.
!
!
THE EPIC SPLIT / LIVE TEST SERIES
VOLVO

10. !
”Children love to play in
moderately risky ways.
Through play, they acquire the
physical, social, and emotional
capacities required for healthy
development "
Peter Gray, Psychologist
!
Over the past 60 years, we’ve seen a huge
decline in children’s freedom and an
opportunity to play on their own. It’s led
to a rise in ‘helicopter parenting’.
Nivea’s wristband means kids can roam
free, but parents know where they are.
With Brazil’s beaches notoriously
overcrowded, the brand played both to
parents’ fears and their desire to take a
step back.
!
!
PROTECTION AD
NIVEA SUN KIDS

11. !
”The reason we fall out of love
with technology is simple. We
stop paying attention"
Adam Frank, Astrophysicist and NPR commentator
!
Louis C.K. reminded us that “everything is
amazing right now, but nobody's happy.”
To stop and appreciate everyday things
can be immobilising. So we rely on novel
stimuli to grab our attention - if only for a
moment.
British Airways understood this desire to
better appreciate what we already have,
using new technology to draw attention to
old technology. It reconstructs the
appreciation we all had as children when
we first saw a plane fly overhead, as
awestruck adults pointed to the
awestruck child pointing skywards.
!
!MAGIC OF FLYING
BRITISH AIRWAYS

12. !
”We are more concerned with
the context – the ‘what’s going
on’ – than the projection of
identity"
Dr. Pamela Rutledge, Psychologist
!
2013 may have been the year of the selfie,
but selfies are less an expression of self-
admiration and more a communication of
‘I was there’ moments.
MegaFon used selfies to communicate the
sense of historic occasion, personalise
people's Olympic experience and
maximise their social currency
!
!
!
!
MEGAFACES - MEGAFON SOCHI OLYMPIC PAVILION
MEGAFON

13. !
”There's conflict between the
desire to do good and the
desire to do nothing… We need
lazy ways to do good"
William Tupe, Philanthropist
!
55% of people say they would pay more
for sustainable products. Sustainability is
rarely the primary motivation to buy a
product, but it helps post-rationalise the
purchase.
With 2.5 billion aspirational consumers
seeking style, status and sustainability, it
becomes a pro-social identity marker.
And it’s easy. G-Star realised that solving
the world’s problems by buying a great
pair of jeans is an attractive proposition.
!
!
!RAW FOR THE OCEANS
G-STAR RAW

14. !
”Fiction seems to be more
effective at changing beliefs
than nonfiction”
Jonathan Gottschall
!
The healthy eating debate is a difficult
challenge for brands to stomach.
Chipotle’s response? A hard hitting adult
narrative softened by a Pixar-style
animation, Willy Wonka soundtrack and
gaming delivery. It’s a semiotics homerun.
What Chipotle demonstrated is that if you
have nothing to hide, then you have
something to say.
!
!
THE SCARECROW
CHIPOTLE

15. !
”We’re not going to change the
world, but if we can make a big
enough noise for people to
notice there's a problem,
someone will take notice”
Member of hacktivist group Anonymous
!
The perceived failing of many traditional
institutions to bring about social change
has seen the rise of ‘if you don’t do it, we
will’ activism. This attitude speaks
volumes of a globally minded citizen
focused on results, action and
momentum.
Drawing heavily on Hollywood-esque
cinematic codes and convention, the
result is morality in black and white:
supporting ‘Sweetie’ publicises people's
affiliation with a campaign for good.
!
!
SWEETIE
TERRE DES HOMMES NETHERLANDS

16. !
”Making things more
observable makes them easier
to imitate”
Jonah Berger, Professor of Marketing
!
Political hesitation saw the law allowing
gay marriage in Australia overturned in
December 2013.
While most Australians have long been
supportive of marriage equality, their
support has been silent.
For ANZ, in a country where trust in
business is greater than trust in
government, it was a civic responsibility.
Playfully (and proudly) reskinning ordinary
ATMs, ANZ enabled public support to
become… public.
!
!
!
GAYTMs
ANZ

17. !
”Shame reflects how we feel
about ourselves. Guilt involves
an awareness that our actions
have injured someone else"
Joseph Burgo, Psychologist
!
By 2050, the UN predicts that 75% of the
world’s population will be crammed into
megacities. This impacts both those
moving and those left behind. Cramming
into cities paradoxically creates more, not
less, loneliness.
Guilt Trips confronts the issue head on -
borrowing from the way charity messaging
has typically been coded.
V/Line identified the line between shame
and guilt; rather than shaming people into
a defensive reaction, it used guilt to elicit a
positive action.
!
!
GUILT TRIPS
V/LINE

18. There’s a more in-depth study on the
behaviours underpinning this year’s
winners, available on request.
For your free copy please email
cannes@canvas8.com
Canvas8 is an online intelligence resource
that helps innovators better understand
what matters to their audience and why.