And The Winners Are...

The Cannes Lions winners have been posted. Turns out it wasn't the best year for Canada, but there are some pretty amazing ads being produced all over the world. Design Barcode won the Titanium Lion for a small shop in Japan. They came up with the idea and then shopped it around to different manufacturers. It is a simple and brilliant idea. The best ads usually are. Forget high production values and the eye candy appeal. Usually it is a simple singleminded concept that makes for a truly breakthrough ad. Here are some examples:

March of the Emperors is a great concept, it won a gold.

Bangkok Insurance also had a brilliant concept behind this campaign. They took golds as well.

Amora Hot Ketchup had a series of three bizarre Ed Wood type ads that took silvers. They are hilarious. If you ask me, TBWA\Paris is one of the hottest shops around right now.

I absolutely love this Starburst ad, although it is rather silly. It took a silver.

The 'What Your Mom Would Feed You If Your Mom Were A Man' Campaign took five silvers, personally, I love it.

The 30 second movies that won silver for Volkswagon are fun, but I felt a bit cheated, as these were up and running on the Internet before VW bought them...

This is very cool. Nike circulated this viral campaign over the Internet...is it real or is it staged? It won them a silver.

This ad blew my mind. What an amazing rebranding ad. The Gap

Another brilliant concept: Take two soccer stars, give them two hours to put together a team and have them play. It's all made documentary style. Adidas - England vs France

Brilliant strategy. Vodafone wanted people to use their cell phones for long calls, as opposed to their landlines. This series reminds us of those long talks instantly. Pregnant

This ad is incredible. It is one of the smartest ads I have ever seen. Truth

Simple, singleminded concept. This singular idea won a bronze for Halls. Halls Vapours

This is one of the smartest, most cunning media buys I have ever heard of. Last summer during the final ashes test (in cricket) Kit Kat bought the only spot between overs. They made it seem as though the camera crews just happened to leave the cameras running...while the players shared a Kit Kat.

This ad is funny. Taxi

So is this one. Energizer - Beard

Anyone who has ever run will love this ad. Nike Reincarnate

Not as good as the 'Girlfriend' ad, but I love how Tacoma use alternative media sources such as hand-cams and in this case, a web-cam.

This ad is twisted. But it taps into bored youth. Family Function

Another smart ad by National Geographic. Words

This ad made me howl. Photographer

Here's a dead simple drinking and driving ad. Optical Illusion

And three twisted spots that really drive the point home for the the safety and well-being of humanity. Innocence in Danger, Win a TV drives our desensitization home and Blackwater Springs spells out the problems in Africa in black and white.

Check out this year's winners, there are some great ideas here. This is what makes advertising so interesting, powerful and fun.