Cannes Countdown: 3 Video Ads That Would Win At Cannes Lions If Consumers Were The Judges

It’s only 30 days till Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity kicks off. Yay!

That’s right, the ad industry’s moment in the sun is almost upon us, where the glitterati of AdLand will drink their bodyweight in rosé, wear slightly ill-fitting clothes and celebrate all things creative by attending a host of parties on luxurious super yachts and sun-drenched rooftop seminars in the south of France.

Unruly will be there, of course, with plenty of wine, parties and Future Video Lab tours to make sure you come away from Cannes with more than just a hangover and sunburn! Contact cannes@unrulygroup.com to find out more.

And then there’s the awards. Last year we saw two slightly surprising winners take the rostrum on the French Riviera, with Leica’s beautifully-made ad “100” and Geico’s brilliant pre-roll ad “Unskippable” campaign walking away with the top gongs in the Film Lions category.

But what can we expect this year? Just like the Cannes Film Festival, the awards are decided by a jury of ad industry experts and ex-winners, which can lead to some rather eclectic choices.
However, what if the process was a little more democratic? Instead of the stand-out creatives of the year being chosen by a small group of experts in vapour-filled rooms, what if the winners were chosen by the people?

Well, at Unruly, we have been tracking the most popular videos of the last decade. So we thought it would be fun to go through the most shared ads released after March 1, 2015 to find out which ads the public has already decided are the winners of Cannes Lions 2016, ranked by the number of times they have been shared on social media.

Here are the Top 3:

1. Brand: EDEKA Weihnachtsclip

Campaign: #heimkommen (Homecoming)

Shares: 3,949,172

The German supermarket’s Xmas ad campaign left people unsure whether to laugh or cry. Bit like most of my Christmasses, to be honest. The ad stars a rather lonely old man who, after being repeatedly forgotten by his extended family, decides to get his own back in a very inventive way.

2. Brand: Purina

Campaign: Puppyhood

Shares: 3,145,255

Purina managed to bound its way into the hearts of the internet last year with this unbelievably adorable ad about one man and his very, very cute dog. Created by Buzzfeed, the video, which focused on the friendship between a guy and his newly-adopted puppy, was among the top 5 ads of 2015 overall – and it’s easy to see why.

3. Brand: Roc by Ronaldo/Monster

Campaign: Cristiano Ronaldo In Disguise

Shares: 2,971,477

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8H_DSErYUZk

Dribbling his way into the top of the viral charts last year was everyone’s favourite supermodel, diver and sometime footballer, Cristiano Ronaldo, supporting his new line of headphones from Monster. Taking a cue from Pepsi Max’s brilliant ‘Uncle Drew’ series, the spot finds the Real Madrid player donning a cunning disguise to play a busker. The only difference being that Kyrie Irving’s disguise in ‘Uncle Drew’ involved layers of prosthetics and some decent acting chops, while Ronaldo’s disguise is essentially a costume shop beard.