Mark Hunter On the New Lions

Five years ago there were a little over 300 categories and sub-categories at Cannes. This year there will be nearly 500. In 2020 (if we carry on at this rate) that number will rise to somewhere in the region of 800.

The cynic in me wants to say this simply reflects the greed of awards shows, but really, what choice do they have? The truth is, the ever-expanding list of categories at Cannes and other shows is merely a reflection of how staggeringly huge the playing field for brands and channels for consumers has suddenly become.

Maybe it is here, rather than simply at the work, we should look if we want to gain the greatest insights into the changes our industry will have undergone between Cannes 2010 and 2020.

With that in mind, what follows is an imagined (and incomplete) list of some of the new Lions we may well be competing for a mere five years from now.

The Out-of-Body Lion

Virtual Reality is currently being touted as the Next Big Thing. Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus shows how great they see the opportunity to be. Currently VR remains largely confined to gaming, but experiments by the NHL and NBA into VR sports broadcasting show that it may not be too far from crossing over. If it does, agencies and brands will be sure to follow suit. Extra marks for anyone who can do it without the scuba gear headset.

The Astro Lion

Innovations within the burgeoning field of space tourism and commercial space exploration bring the stars closer than ever and along with them a whole new universe of product and marketing opportunities. We’ve already had stunts like Red Bull Stratos and the Toshiba Space Chair. As technology gradually brings space within reach we will need a category rewarding the products and agencies that most creatively take one giant leap for brandkind.

The Cheddar Lion

FinTech is huge in the start-up space. Cryptocurrencies like BitCoin and more conventional mobile-payment platforms like PayPal and Apple Pay are the tip of the iceberg. Who knows how technology will continue to re-shape our relationship with money? By 2020, perhaps our whole crisis-riddled, credit-based flat monetary system will have been re-booted with a technology-based solution developed by a Brazilian supermarket chain or an online gambling site.

The Bionic Lion

The logical progression of the current Wearables sub-category. While Google has gone back to the drawing board with Glass, and the world waits to see if the Apple Watch takes off, perhaps in five years’ time there’ll be a whole new category for ideas that successfully move us towards a state of brand-led technologically-augmented humanity. Don’t laugh.

The Incubator Lion

It could be (and has been) argued that more genuinely game-changing disruption currently comes from the tech sector than from adland. Whilst tech start-ups are perhaps less motivated by awards than they are by world domination, recognising breakthrough companies (and increasing the start-up presence at the Festival) would help further the cross-pollination of advertising and tech industries, to the benefit of both. Cannes X SXSW?

The Binge Lion

As the traditional studio model becomes a bloated thing of the past and the world’s water cooler conversations centre around shows financed and distributed by a company whose business model not so long ago was posting low-cost DVDs to your door, perhaps the time has finally arrived for brands to legitimately start competing with Hollywood? Why the hell not, I say.

And finally, a few new Lions we probably won’t see by 2020. Or will we?

The Pre-Roll Lion

A new addition to the Film category that gives recognition to pre-roll ads you don’t skip at exactly 5.00001 seconds.

The Addressable Lion

A category honouring any targeted MPU that doesn’t weird you out by appearing on your Facebook pages eight seconds after you searched for it on Google.

The Fe-Lion

A long overdue Effectiveness sub-category that properly recognises the best use of really, really cute cats in brand communication.

The Programmatic Lion

A new sub-category of Cyber rewarding the crème de la crème of ads that are created, placed and viewed solely by robots.

The Case Study Lion

And last but not least a new category honouring this brilliant new form of storytelling. Your original idea might not win, but your case study still can.