CANNES, France—McCann Melbourne, which won a record five Grand Prix last year for "Dumb Ways to Die," won the 2014 Creative Effectiveness Grand Prix here on Monday for a different train campaign: its "Guilt Trips" effort to get young people in Australian cities to visit their parents in the country.
The client, V/Line, had a tough challenge: to draw young people away from their routines, away from their digital devices and on to trains to see relatives hundreds of miles away. "We recognized there is no force more powerful than a mother's guilt," says the agency.
The case study below shows the various tactics used by the campaign, which boosted ticket sale by 15 percent with no discounts at all.
"If we were teaching at Harvard or the London School of Economics, this would be a case that you could teach to a class and show them how to take an insight, drive it to an idea, bring it to execution, use all the media at your disposal and actually creative a business case that drives business and creates profit for a company," said David Sable, global CEO of Y&R and president of the Creative Effectiveness jury.
The jury also awarded six Creative Effectiveness Lions, two of which went to Ogilvy & Mather offices. (Unlike most other categories at Cannes, this one does not award golds, silvers and bronzes.) The other Lion winners were:
• Wieden + Kennedy London - Lurpak "Weave Your Magic"
• Ogilvy & Mather Brazil - Dove "Real Beauty Sketches"
• Ogilvy & Mather London - Expedia "Travel Yourself Interesting"
• Publicis London - Depaul Box Company "Don't Raise Money, Make Money"
• Havas Worldwide Sydney and One Green Bean Sydney - Virgin Mobile Australia "How Brad Pitt's Bro' Helped Virgin Mobile Punch Above Its Weight"
• DDB Sydney - McDonald's "Australia Day"
The Creative Effectiveness Lions recognize creative campaigns shortlisted or awarded in previous years that show a measurable and proven impact on a client's business. "Guilt Trips" won three Lions last year at Cannes.
See more work from the "Guilt Trips" campaign below.
