Strategy

The crowd leaving the Cannes Reel screening looked a little like 14-year-olds leaving a theatre after watching a kung-fu movie; punching each other, accidentally spraining some things and tearing others. Advertising can be exciting, inspiring and at the same time painful.

The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival celebrates the best commercials in the world. This year there were several Vancouver agencies that placed and won. Congratulations. But, there were many more who decided, at the end of the night, to make “break-through” work a priority.  

Until the kung-fu fever wears off, this undoubtedly means taking a pound of axle grease and a shoehorn to every project for the next three months trying to force it into award-winning work. They are Indiana Joneses hot on the trail of shining insight that will win accolades, ultimately over-thinking client deliverables at the client’s expense.

Sure, awards are nice. What is also nice is when the creative concept helps the client move product or makes the phone ring. This is why we strive for reward-winning versus award-winning.  

Sometimes (most times) the job is to help the client realize rewards and returns. Yes, it is the agency’s responsibility to think up ways to be memorable, position the offering right, hunt for insight and execute compelling creative, but the brief should never be driven by the desire to win an award.

Some of the best and most-memorable creative advertising ever created has failed to move product. Take the Taco Bell Chihuahua. “Yo quiero Taco Bell” was one of the most quoted lines and awarded campaigns ever. “Yo quiero Taco Bell” translates to “I want Taco Bell.” People were saying it but they sure weren’t doing it – during the three years the character drove the company’s advertising, sales actually dropped despite piles of advertising awards and inclusion into popular lexicon.

If marketing work wins an award, it is a testament to the right process and reflective of a great client relationship. But going out to win awards on the client’s dime is not a winning strategy. If forced to choose between increased sales and an award, sales should win every single time.