Philips wins yet another Grand Prix, this time in "Craft" Cannes Lions

Jon Kamen, jury president of the Craft jury; - "It was a great privlege for us to have the opportunity to judge the first Craft category of Cannes Lions. I think it's a very important recognition of the artistry that goes into our work. We were quite challenged and almost daunted by the task of choosing correctly and putting our focus on a very specific category of craft. I was very fortunate to have such a dedicated jury with each one having different perspectives on the craft."

-"Our industry is quite unique in that, we still make something and it's about craftsmanship."

- "Sometimes you look at commercials, ad they are seemingly perfect, from the perspective of just an idea. But if you then have to look at the very specific executions, you might see subtleties of change. Craftsmanship is a neccesity of life. It's in everything that we do, and we're very proud to look at this body of work and reward craft for the first time. Everything that we put on the shortlist, is superb. We really had a bit of a problem saying "but which thing is better than the other?"
- "There were certain things that rose to the top like cream."

Gary Raoucher, head of the integrated marketing communications at Phillips is very pleased to have won another Grand Prix, and particularly pleased that it is the Grand Prix in the new category "craft", the ultimate award in the craft of filmmaking.

The idea behind this years Phillips campaign, which follows up the Carousel, is to show that there's several ways to tell a story, but only one way to view it. The five films all had the same five lines but the films couldn't be more different. -"We asked the directors, all from RSA, to come up with their individual treatements"

-"It was an integrated online campaign. The reason we've done that is to promote our televisions. And rather than just talk about our features, we really want to be associated with cinema, because we believe that the Philips television is the most cinematic experience at home, and in order for people to truly understand how Philips can differentiate itself, they need to actually experience the television. The best way to experience our television if you don't already have one at home, is online. You can experience it with the ambi-light on or off, the picture quality as Philips picture quality or not, and the sound as Philips sound or not. So the things we were looking for from each director were great sound, great attention to detail, and great lighting so that people could experience all these features."

- "The world that our industry operates in has changed forever. We can no longer force messages down consumers throats. We have to develop engaging and relevant content, so that people choose to spend time with our brand. Our brand has to be driving creativity, because creativity is the surest way to acheive effectiveness. Creativity and effectiveness are not mutually exclusive. And I think that a lot of people think there's a choice, either being creative, or developing an effective campaign. I think now more than ever, you need creativity in order to be effective."

-"We entered all five films in different categories, we selected with RSA which ones they were best suited for, and we're really thrilled that the Gift as been selected for the Grand Prix, it's really a great honor. Especially for us that this is the second year in a row that Phillips has been selected."

-"We've developed a mantra: you can not develop creativity by committee. With that kind of freedom comes a lot of responsibility. If it goes well, I'm up here on stage answering questions, if it doesn't, we'll then I won't be here next year."

Calvin Soh, the only ad agency man on the Film Craft Jury agrees.

- "What Gary said is true, the consumer has changed, the consumer has changed very quickly. We look at a 30 second commercial as a monologue, and everyone of you [consumers] are looking to engage, to have a dialogue. So wheter the content is four minutes long, or not, it is only as long as you are interesting as we will watch it. So, the parameters have changed."