CANNES, France—Russia made history here tonight, winning the Grand Prix in the Innovation Lions category for a telecom's installation at the Sochi Olympics that used sophisticated technology to let visitors take giant 3-D "selfies" on a board that acted like a huge pin screen.
The so-called MegaFaces Pavilion, sponsored by MegaFon, consisted of 11,000 telescopic cylinders, each of which represented a pixel. As on a pin screen, the cylinders could extend to form the shape of the faces, and LED lights at the ends of the cylinders added the proper color and shading. The data for the 3-D faces was generated in 3-D photo booths inside the building.
It's the first Grand Prix ever won by by Russia at the Cannes Lions festival. The work is credited to Axis Moscow and Asif Khan Ltd in London.
"It's just really a beautiful design," said jury president Tom Bedecarré of AKQA. "It's the first time we've ever seen anything like this from a technology standpoint."
"It's actually coming up with a new art form," added juror Sune Kaae of R/GA.
Three other Innovation Lions were handed out tonight. And a U.S. agency, Breakfast NY, snagged one of them for "Points," a rotating digital street sign built to display a flexible range of data, from which favorably reviewed restaurants are within walking distance to nearby tweets.
Agênciaclick Isobar and Questto No, both in São Paulo, won a Lion for the Fiat Live Store. And Ogilvy Paris won a Lion for Babolat Play. See the case studies for all three below.
This is only the second year of the Innovation Lions. The Barbarian Group won the Grand Prix last year for a software-development platform it built for creative coders.