“Refurb Editions – Better Than New” for Philips bags Grand Prix at Cannes Lions.

What does it take to be among the top 0.07% of all submitted campaigns? Who would have thought it is even possible? The chances seem unreal, but that’s the reality—the actual probability of winning a Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. To quote a popular song, “If you don’t know, now you know.” Read on to find out “how-to”—no clickbait here.

The festival taking place annually in Cannes, is the pinnacle of creativity and innovation in advertising and design, making it a must-attend for those seeking to showcase their campaigns. Thousands of participants over the course of five super-busy days make the most of the networking opportunities, get inspired by numerous expert talks, attend dozens of industry-related special events and most of all witness the coveted Lions awards being given every evening to those creative heads who not only worked hard enough to make their way as far as to the festival’s shortlist but also smart enough to be perceived as the most creative ones by accomplished grand jury. 

Cannes Lions awards are the highest accolade in the creative industry. Bronze, Silver, Gold, are rare, with only 1% of the submitted 27000 works able to bag any, but Grand Prix are like unicorns, except they are to be seen or even held, but still by only 0,07% of the crowd. Yet, we are thrilled to announce that our studio made it! The campaign we collaborated on with Amsterdam-based agency LePub won the Grand Prix Lion in the Creative Business Transformation Category and had one shortlisted entry. Let’s see what it takes to make such a significant step in the world of advertising!

As online shopping has reached unprecedented levels, millions of returned gifts end up in landfills each year. Philips aims to address and raise awareness about this hidden e-waste issue. Unlike many other companies, for whom it is often more cost-effective to produce new items rather than open, inspect, repackage, and resell returned ones, Philips has decided to act differently. By positioning itself as part of the solution, the brand closed its website for selling new products on Earth Day and launched the “Better than New” campaign promoting refurbished products and sustainable consumption. 

The campaign, ideated by the creative agency LePub Amsterdam and brought to life by Ambassadors Amsterdam, aimed at “bringing back” the returned gifts that ended up in landfills to cities in a really dramatic and memorable way. But how could the 10 million wasted gifts be brought to any city? That’s precisely where the creative minds from our studio had the opportunity to engage and make the agency’s vision a reality, an augmented one. This innovative campaign featured a compelling film and an AR activation which took place in Berlin. 

During the week beginning on Earth Day, passers-by near the iconic TV tower on Alexanderplatz could scan a QR code to reveal a scarily immersive scene featuring virtual heaps of discarded gifts, representing the enormous amount of waste produced each year. This AR experience was designed as a shock therapy aimed at making people reconsider their buying habits. And so, instead of ending up in a landfill, these gifts were transformed into an interactive digital store where you could purchase Philips Refurb Gifts. This approach made it enjoyable and simple for people to make better choices, thereby reducing potential landfill waste, one gift at a time. 

Did it work? It did, and it did exceptionally well. Thanks to the initiative, Philips ensured zero products ended up in landfills. Selling their returned products became Philips’ fastest promotion ever, with 52,000 items sold. This prevented 185 tons of e-waste and an estimated 277 tons of CO2 emissions.

The complete list of awards:

  • GRAND PRIX:

Experience: Creative Business Transformation – Experience Transformation – Grand Prix

  • 1 SHORTLISTED ENTRY

Campaign Credits:

  • Brand: Philips
  • Head of Marketing Philips Personal Health: Claudia Calori
  • Global Sr. Director Marketing Communications Philips Personal Health: Josefien Olij
  • Sr. Integrated Producer Philips Personal Health: Gustavo Velho
  • Senior Marketing Director Philips Personal Health DACH: Damla Saricoban
  • Shopper Activation Manager Philips Personal Health DACH: Annika Behrndt
  • Media Manager Philips Personal Health DACH: Irene Hornung
  • PR & Influencer Manager Philips Personal Health DACH: Ariadna Blicharski
  • Creative Agency: LePub Amsterdam
  • Global CEO LePub, CCO Publicis Worldwide: Bruno Bertelli
  • Global Chief Creative Officer: Cristiana Boccassini
  • Chief Creative Officer: Mihnea Gheorghiu
  • Chief Creative Officer: Milos Obradovic
  • Executive Creative Director: Sandrine Le Goff
  • Executive Creative Director: Jessica Kersten
  • Global Head of Creative Technology: Mauro Mazzei
  • Associate Creative Director: Livio Gerosa
  • Coordination Creative Director: Guy Lewis
  • Junior Digital Art Director: Alejandro Gutierrez
  • Junior Digital Copywriter: Nikolay Malchev
  • Communications Planning Director: Adam Lotz

Learn more about the other Cannes Lions awarded campaign our studio took part in by visiting Heineken’s “Pub Museums” by LePub, Publicis, Thinkhouse and Lens That article on our blog.