It was a night of celebrations for Asia-Pacific at the Cannes Lions final awards ceremony tonight, as the region emerged to claim Grand Prix glory, including the first-ever awarded for Singapore. The aptly-named Lion City secured the Grand Prix in the Glass: The Lion for Change category, with Ogilvy Singapore taking home the coveted prize for their impactful work for Vaseline Pro Derma Transition Body Lotion — the first product designed specifically for transgender women. Developed in collaboration with Thailand's transgender community, it addresses unique skin challenges experienced during and after transitioning. The lotion's ingredients combat common side effects of hormone therapy, including light sensitivity, dullness, irritation, uneven skin tone, and allergies. Launched in February 2024, the lotion is available exclusively at Watsons stores in Thailand and online.  

Jury President for the category, Cindy Gallop, founder and CEO of MakeLoveNotPorn global said of the win in a press release: “Vaseline’s 'Transition Body Lotion' impressed the entire Glass Lion jury with its demonstration of how driving social change is good business. The two-year R&D process conducted in close collaboration with the target customer on the principle of ‘nothing about us without us’, the innovation of isoflavones, and the delivery of product efficacy while making its customers feel seen, respected and included represent a holistic approach to gender equality at its finest and made it an easy unanimous decision to award Vaseline the Glass Grand Prix.” 

Speaking to Campaign on the ground at Cannes, Ogilvy Singapore's David Dahan managing director, WPP@Unilever and president and managing director, The&Partnership APAC expressed the team's excitement sharing, “We are so incredibly proud to bring home the first Grand Prix for Singapore, and hopefully there are many more for us all to come!" 

Ogilvy Singapore also took home the "Agency of the year — Good" metal by track.  Ogilvy Singapore took home its first-ever Grand Prix for the country.   

Two silver Lions were also awarded in this category to Asia, both going to India. Leo Burnett India received one for Lays' "Project farm equal" while TGTHR Mumbai won the other for Harpic Locator's "#BeFreeToPee." More widely, APAC excelled in other categories, including the Cannes LionHeart Award for 2024, which was awarded to Filipino-American journalist Maria Ressa. Renowned for her investigations into government corruption and disinformation campaigns in the Philippines, Ressa co-founded Rappler, an online news site, and has faced legal challenges and harassment for her critical reporting on the Duterte administration. She received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 for her efforts to safeguard freedom of expression. 

In an emotional address, Ressa urged advertisers to treat "facts and truth like a brand" and find creative ways to protect the sanctity and value of news, enabling journalists and media organisations worldwide to continue informing citizens. 

The Cannes LionHeart Award went to veteran journalist and advocate Maria Ressa. Asian talent also shone brightly in the Young Lions category, with India, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and China all winning metals. 

The Young Lions competition, aimed at young professionals in advertising, digital marketing, media, and communications, targets participants under 30, offering them a chance to showcase their creativity and skills globally. Teams develop innovative solutions to real-world briefs within a limited timeframe, serving as a stepping stone for emerging talents to gain recognition and advance their careers in the creative industry. Coming to the final award of the night, the coveted Film category, jury president Tom Myhren — vice president of marketing communications for Apple — highlighted the comeback of humour across the work in 2024, with a special mention for Thailand who Myhren shared "made us laugh a lot this year." And laugh they did, as Krungsri First Choice Credit Card's "What the fast!" campaign by Leo Burnett Bangkok took home a gold, alongside Thai agency Choojai and Friends for their much-lauded "Sammakorn not Sanpakorn" ad film for a local real estate company. Leo Burnett Bangkok's "What the fast!" campaign takes home gold. 

However, the big win of the night came for The Monkeys Sydney (part of Accenture Song) who picked up one of two Grands Prix awarded for the category for their "Play it safe" campaign for the Sydney Opera House. The honour was shared with Marcel Paris' much-celebrated film for Orange on women's football. The Monkeys' upbeat music video highlighted the distinctive architecture and bold creative spirit of Sydney's iconic landmark, accompanied by an original song that humorously advised the audience to avoid risks and 'play it safe' in life. Film Lions jury president Myhren praised the campaign in a press release, describing it as "a celebration of the creative spirit, of brave ideas and taking huge risks in the face of critics and controversy and cultural norms. Quite simply, it’s the best film of the year and makes you proud to be in this industry.” Australia was also home to one of five Palme d'Or special awards, won by production company Revolver for 2024. The Monkeys Sydney take home the Film Grand Prix.   

(Source: Campaign India)