The Cannes experience: Judging in a fish bowl

Detail from the author’s “Cannes Sketch No. 5”

Historically, pharma creative campaigns don’t make the cut at Cannes Health. Some say pharma campaigns are just not at the same level as consumers’ like “This Girl Can” or “Intimate Words.” So it was probably a surprise to some that the “Take It From a Fish” campaign from AstraZeneca won the Grand Prix Pharma.

In case anyone ever wondered, Cannes jurors take their role seriously. We don’t just sift through the creative entries. We talk and debate ad nauseam about each submission. This year Cannes Lions Health jurors went through a total of 2,000 entries with a fine tooth comb.

We discussed the entries behind closed doors and then moved our discussions after hours at “The Gutter Bar” located at 72 Boulevard de la Croisette. And it’s here that we discussed the merits of “Take It From a Fish,” a campaign that starred Marty and Sal, two dead fish educating men about high triglycerides.

To understand why the jurors think the AstraZeneca campaign is worthy of the Grand Prix, you’d have to understand the pharma industry.

Our creative teams are faced with significant obstacles that make creativity challenging. Before we can even begin thinking about the big idea, we have to worry about including lengthy safety information, font size that we have to follow, the accuracy of the data or the content, and how the product actually works in the body.

Not only do we worry about these, our clients worry about them as well.

That’s why Marty and Sal were so refreshing. They lent humor to an otherwise difficult-to-understand topic. Their dialogue was pithy but accurate. They informed without violating the regulations heaped on them.  The creative team for Marty and Sal understood that to reach 50+ overweight men in a country where sports and junk food rule, they needed to be entertained to get them to act. That entertainment value was very creative and led to some impressive results. The campaign screamed Grand Prix.

So while “Take It From a Fish,” may not evoke the powerful emotions often associated with social causes, it certainly achieved its goal creatively and helped change lives for the better. 

The “Take it From a Fish” campaign showed that creativity, when it emphasizes the value of improving people’s lives deserves recognition. Let’s hope that Marty and Sal don’t end up in the frying pan just yet. The Cannes Lions Health jurors would like to see more of them.

And here’s another thing we discovered while at Cannes. When you’re in the trenches with some of the most amazing creative talents around, you discover camaraderie, friendships and collegial respect. We may all come from competing agencies, but Cannes Lions Health jurors are all dedicated to the same thing—finding and recognizing those worthy of Cannes.

Frankly, I expected nothing less.


Stephen Neale’s “Cannes Sketches” (click to view larger image) 

"Cannes Sketch No. 1" by Stephen Neale"Cannes Sketch No. 2" by Stephen Neale"Cannes Sketch No. 4" by Stephen Neale"Cannes Sketch No. 3" by Stephen Neale "Cannes Sketch No. 5" by Stephen Neale"Cannes Sketch No. 6" by Stephen Neale