2024 Cannes Contenders: M&C Saatchi highlights award-winning work

In just two weeks, over 15,000 global advertising leaders will gather on the sun-kissed shores of Cannes for the 71st Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

This prestigious event celebrates the world’s best creative work, bringing together iconic thought leaders, innovative companies, and inspiring ideas from the creative marketing community.

As we approach the festival, Campaign Asia-Pacific has curated a list of contenders that promise to redefine the industry with their boundary-pushing campaigns. From emotional masterpieces to attention-grabbing simplicity, these standout works span various categories. Today, M&C Saatchi’s creative heads share insights on the monumental campaigns they think are poised to earn Lions in the PR and Creative Data categories.

Dive in.

‌Campaign: 'Climate Doctor’s Certificate'
Brand: School Strike 4 Climate
Cannes Lion category: PR

To encourage as many school-aged kids as possible to skip classes on the day and make their voices heard, SS4C has created The Climate Doctor’s Certificate via creative agency CHEP.

It’s a sick note signed by a different kind of doctor: prominent climate PHDs including Doctor David Karoly, councillor on the Climate Council of Australia and professor Emeritus at the University of Melbourne, and Doctor Nick Abel, honorary associate professor at ANU College of Science.

Emma Robbins, the co-national executive creative director at M&C Saatchi ANZ whole-heartedly embraces this idea. “As a passionate sign-waver at climate protests with my kids, who keep hoping their school and government would 'do something,' I love this idea. The planet is sick, and our kids are fed up of inaction. Boom.”

Campaign: 'Where to Settle'
Brand: Mastercard
Cannes Lion category: Creative Data

The campaign is a digital platform created by Mastercard providing job and apartment rental offers for the displaced Ukrainians. Scott Dettrick, the co-national exectuive creative director at M&C Saatchi ANZ, says, “This is a great example of a company reinterpreting their data into a lateral brand act that supports their ethos of economic inclusion and helps solve a pressing social problem in an immediate and meaningful way.”

Campaign: 'Coors ‘Lights Out’
Brand: Coors Light
Cannes Lion category: PR

The campaign successfully transforms a viral baseball moment  involving Angels player Shohei Ohtani at Citi Field into a commemorative keepsake. 

Steve Coll, M&C Saatchi's group CCO feels this a brilliant example of a big company responds quickly to a small cultural moment. It shows the opportunity for brands who are alert to the moments that occupy their audience. I understand that the demand for anything to do with Shohei Ohtani is so great in Japan that Coors opened up new distribution to the country at the back of this campaign. A great example of creativity being great for business.

M&C Saatchi's own pick

Campaign: 'Plastic Forecast'
Brand: Minderoo Foundation
Cannes Lion category: PR

The Plastic Forecast is an innovative weather metric that predicts daily plastic pollution. By merging atmospheric plastic research with weather forecasts, it brings this critical issue to life through interactive 3D plastic clouds.

According to a spokesperson from the agency, “With plastic production set to triple by 2050, we’ve pioneered a world-first weather forecast that measures plastic content in rain. Our goal is to drive change within the UN’s plastic treaty, transforming daily weather reports into powerful reminders of our plastic problem.”