We were honored to be asked to select one idea from the excessive Act Responsible social campaigns base for their Editor's Pick section.

The best ideas are simple and this one definitely clicks that box. It is straightforward without being straight. It manages to both fulfill the traditional role of advertising of "raising awareness", and to provide, albeit temporarily, a real life solution to a problem.

It seems that expectations from today's advertising are higher then before - we expect from social campaigns not only to raise subjects and inspire people to thinking and actions, but also to really make something happen, change something for the better, and even if they can't change the world, to at least provide some warmth during night for someone homeless leaving on the street, as in this case. Every little change counts.

The jury session of the only international advertising festival judged by editors and journalists from the marketing and communications press was held last week in Paris.

The four main Epica Grand Prix were awarded to Denmark, Namibia, Tunisia and Turkey.

Film Grand Prix for its "Made From Cool" campaign for fashion brand Jack & Jones, starring Christopher Walken, was awarded to Danish agency &Co.

This year's jury president, French journalist François Kermoal, commented: "The casting of Christopher Walken was a bold move and you certainly don't expect to see him in this environment. The campaign is disruptive, on-target and perfectly executed."
Creative director Thomas Hoffmann said: "From day one we knew it had to be Christopher Walken, but we were convinced he'd say 'no' because he'd never done advertising before. But he liked the idea and the scripts. Actually he went quite deeply into the character - he had clear views on how this person would look and behave."




Press Grand Prix, first for Namibia, was won by Advantage Y&R for its work for the Land Rover Defender.




Havas Worldwide Turkey won the outdoor Epica d'Or for its "Music of the People" image for Açik Radio.




The interactive grand prix was won by Memac Ogilvy Label Tunisia for its "Mobilizing the 12th Man" app for football club C.S. Hammam-Lif.



For the first time in its 27 year long history, Epica Awards ceremony will take place outside of Europe - in Delhi, India, on January 24th 2014.

Years ago, art collective Guerilla Girls reignited debate about the position of women artists with their poster "Does a Woman Have to Be Naked To Get Into Mets Museum?". When listening what advertising people from South-Eastern Europe say to explain incredibly low number of Lions won by agencies from this part of Europe, one could almost expect a "Does a Creative Have to Be From Western Europe or Brazil to Win a Lion?" poster to go viral one of these days. According to dominant opinions, it is more likely for a creative from this region to be hit by a bus driven by a pink giraffe then to triumph in Cannes, so why even bother? Few Lions that roar from the presentation rooms of agencies in Belgrade, Skopje or Zagreb are considered to be just exceptions that confirm the rule.
Well, here is the news. Winning Cannes Lions is incredibly difficult for any creative, even for those who work in the most awarded agencies, on most prestigious brands, in the most developed markets. So, what is in the core of these deeply rooted beliefs? And how do they stand when contrasted with some of the Cannes Lions 2012 winners?

THE BUDGET ISSUE
Creatives in the area around the Adriatic Sea all seem to agree about one thing: how can you compete with, for example, a print ad that was produced with a budget you averagely spend on a TVC.
Let's take a look at this years' Grand Prix winning Coca Cola poster by Ogilvy Shangai. As Tony Granger shared at his lecture - there was a lot of discussion in the jury room when it made to the shortlist. But once you get over the fact that the ad looks like something any good graphic design student could do for an evening (and in fact it was made by student Jonathan Mak Long), its brilliant simplicity and delicate emotional story take the stage. And lets not forget the fact that it looked completely different from the rest of the shortlisted entries. Sancta Simplicitas.



THE CLIENTS ISSUE
According to this belief, the clients here are different from the ones in the West. Western Client "gets" great ideas and his or her hearts mellows when he or she is presented a game-changing, ground-braking, never-seen-before ideas. In reality, clients are the same everywhere, at least your average Brand Manager. They prefer tried and tested solutions. They push hard-sell approach. They want numbers, not fame. And it takes the same amount of work to come up with a great idea and to sell it just about everywhere. I remember a few years ago meeting a guy behind the Egyptian Panda cheese campaign and asked him how on Earth did they sell this idea to the client. His answer? By putting his job online. I mean, he literally said he would resign if the campaign failed.
Guys from Y&R Amsterdam had to pay for the production of this viral video that just won Promo and Activation Golden and it was only after seeing it done and testing the first online response (the campaign went viral in a couple of days) that the client was finally assured to buy it. Oh, and by the way - it was made for a budget of 5 000 Euros.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EYX5fFxcXWU

THE QUANTITY ISSUE
This belief is based on what seems to be a perfect logic: the more you enter, the better chances you have. And agencies from the East will always loose in this game of numbers from Western, richer competitors, with bigger festival budgets. But, of course you know that each idea is judged individually. Juries do not say "Oh, we buried their other 1000 ideas, let's give these poor guys at least one Lion to soothe their rejection pains". Statistically, each entry has exactly the same chance. Winning a Lion is not based on how much you enter, but on WHAT you enter. It takes just. One. Great. Idea.

There are many good reasons to attend Cannes Lions and for the agencies from this region, there is even one more: a chance to get rid of these and similar misconceptions. Getting rid of them, means dropping the defeatism. And there is no glory with a defeatist attitude.

More then 11000 delegates gathered this year at Croisette to attended this years' Cannes Lions Festival, which took place 17-23 June. Here are the Grand Prix winners:

1. Film Lions and Branded Content & Entertainment Grand Prix:
Chiptole's Back to the Start by Creative Artists Agency, Los Angeles.
Click here to see the video

2. Press Lions Grand Prix:
Unhate campaign for Benetton by Fabrica, Treviso.


3. Outdoor Lions Grand Prix:
Coke-Hands by Ogilvy & Mather, Shanghai.


4. Outdoor Lions Grand Prix:
Invisible drive for Mercedes-Benz by Jung von Matt, Hamburg.
Click here to see the video

5. Titanium Lions and Cyber Lions Grand Prix:
Nike Fuelband by R/GA, New York.
Click here to see the video

6. Promo & Activations Lions and Direct Lions Grand Prix:
Small Business Gets an Official Day for American Express, by Crispin Porter + Bogusky, Boulder, Colo, and Digitas, New York.
Click here to see the video

7. Film Craft Lions Grand Prix:
Bear for Canal+ by BETC, Paris.
Click here to see the video

8. Mobile Lions Grand Prix:
Grow Interactive, Norfolk, and Va., and Johannes Leonardo, New York for Google.
Click here to see the video

9. Cyber Lions Grand Prix:
Visit Sweden by Volotaire, Stockholm.
Click here to see the video

10. Design Lions Grand Prix:
Solar Annual Report by Serviceplan, Munich.
Click here to see the video

11. Media Lions Grand Prix:
Manning Gottlieb OMD, London for Google.
Click here to see the video

12. PR Lions Grand Prix:
The Most Popular Song by JWT, Puerto Rico.
Click here to see the video

13. Creative Effectiveness Lions Grand Prix:
Angels Will Fall by BHH, London.
Click here to see the video

14. Radio Lions Grand Prix:
Mosquito repelling ad for Go Outside magazine by Talent, Sao Paolo.
Click here to see the video

What does Balkan Spirit mean to you? Show us your work, your ideas, or your statement!
The best video will become part of the “Balkan Spirit” film by Hermann Vaske and will be premiered on European Cultural TV channel ARTE.



You have got one minute to show your Balkan Spirit. Online submission until 31 May 2012. More info on www.arte.tv/balkanspirit.