The Gunn Report has today released Cases for Creativity 2016, a round-up of the campaigns that have achieved the highest accolade in advertising by winning both a Cannes Gold Lion for creativity and a Gold Effie award for effectiveness. Cases for Creativity is an annual study by James Hurman, author and founder of innovation consultancy ‘Previously Unavailable’.
Representing the ultimate industry achievement, 15 campaigns have accomplished such a feat in 2016. Six of the fifteen Cases are for commercial brands. The others are not-for-profit or corporate social responsibility campaigns.
James Hurman, author of Cases for Creativity, candidly comments, “Two of this year’s group are retrospective effectiveness awards, acknowledging the success, over many years, of Old Spice and John Lewis. These feel like proper creative advertising. Campaigns that have taken two brands that by rights should have been as dull as dishwater, and made them transcend their natural order. Made leaders of them.
“But looking at the other, more recent campaigns, I worry that we’re losing the ability to do that. We’re in danger of becoming overly seduced by anything that’s trying to save the world. And our commercial campaigns look less like efforts to make brands transcendent and more like attempts to follow a fashion of being so real and authentic that we actually kind of avoid creativity.”
Hurman adds, “Whilst these campaigns can be disarming to the consumer, I’m not sure it’s really creative. Most troubling, these campaigns all feel just a bit too similar. Like we’ve stopped awarding work that’s different, and started awarding work that’s the same. As the gold Effies prove, these campaigns are effective, but we musn’t lose the ability to set brands apart with big shiny ideas as we are in danger of losing the magic that creative agencies can add to brands.”
The Cases for Creativity 2016 are:
1. #whoistheking for Burger King by Buzzman, France
2. Breast Cream for New Zealand Breast Cancer Foundation by Colenso BBDO, New Zealand
3. Groceries Not Guns for Moms Demand Action for Gun Sense in America by Grey Toronto, Canada
4. Last Words for Indian Association of Palliative Care by Medulla Communications, India
5. Lifepaint for Volvo by Grey London, United Kingdom
6. Manboobs for MACMA by David Buenos Aires, Argentina
7. Multiple campaigns for John Lewis by adam&eveDDB, United Kingdom
8. Multiple campaigns for Old Spice by Wieden+Kennedy Portland, USA
9. Radiometries, for Exito Foundation by Sancho BBDO, Colombia
10. Save our Songbirds for Natura 2000 NGO Coalition by Jazz, Romania
11. Share the Load for Ariel by BBDO Mumbai, India
12. The 6-Pack Band for Brooke Bond Red Label by Mindshare Mumbai, India
13. The Bulletpen for Ministry of National Education by McCann Bogotá, Colombia
14. The Madden Giferator for EA Sports by Heat, USA
15. World Gallery for Apple by TBWAMedia Arts Lab Los Angeles, USA
The number of Cases for Creativity in 2016 (15) dropped by two compared to 2015 (17). In 2014 and 2013 there were 12 apiece and in 2012, when the first study launched, there were just nine.