Festival Intelligence: FMCG brands master the art of culture | M&M Global

Festival Intelligence: FMCG brands master the art of culture

FMCG brands came out on top at this year’s M&M Global Awards 2018, taking home almost a third (30%) of award trophies available, followed by media, sports and entertainment (17%), tourism, travel & leisure (13%) and food & beverage (13%). Fashion, beauty & retail, telecoms and technology, finance/utilities and automotive brands also scooped a top prize.

By geographical location, the US and Israel led the charge (17% each), followed by India (13%). Entries from Australia, Canada, China, New Zealand and the UK accounted for two wins per country, with Mexico and South Africa taking home one award win each.  

Of all the winners, three campaigns were awarded across more than one category. For this week’s Festival Intelligence, we turn the focus to these three entries to reveal the key trends and themes from the M&M Global Awards 2018 winners.

I Don’t Roll on Shabbos

Gillette’s ‘I Don’t Roll on Shabbos’ by MediaCom scooped the ‘Campaign of the Year’ prize in addition to ‘Best Integration Campaign’, ‘Best Campaign led by Ambient / Traditional Media’ and ‘FMCG’. It was also Highly Commended in the ‘Best Local Execution of a Global Brand’ category – giving the campaign a full sweep across all categories in which it was shortlisted.

In a world first, MediaCom recruited Israel’s rabbinical authority – the most influential leaders of Judaism across the country – to get their consent to raise awareness of the forgotten Biblical decree that malodour can affect the effectiveness of prayer. Once the community leaders had advocated stronger deodorant, the agency used media channels like no one has done before to target the community and physically get Gillette into their hands. This included branding official Sabbath preparation checklists in the only newspapers read by the target audience and even taking over the siren that sounds just before Sabbath comes in.

Also see here: Festival intelligence: When communications and culture converge.

“To me this was a very surprising project that shows the power of deeply knowing your audience and its culture,” said Rogério Colantuono, Strategy Director for Grey. “They took over the orthodox culture in a relevant and educating way, putting the product as a true enabler of the target’s faith. It’s a benchmark for any multicultural project. Everything is just in its right place.”

Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home

Tourism Australia’s ‘Dundee: The Son of a Legend Returns Home’ by UM Worldwide also made a significant impression amongst the judges. It was awarded a win for ‘Best Campaign led by the Creative Idea’ and ‘Tourism, Travel & Leisure’.

The campaign, which was implemented in the US, saw the return of the iconic Crocodile Dundee film franchise with DUNDEE: THE SON OF A LEGEND RETURNS HOME. Presented as a buddy comedy in which Danny McBride (Brian Dundee) teams up with Chris Hemsworth (Wally Jr.) to save Mick ‘Crocodile’ Dundee from danger, the duo runs into a star-studded Australian cast along the way. UM kicked off an integrated tourism campaign unlike any other with teaser films and a promotional campaign encouraged fans to tune-in to see the “official movie trailer” during Super Bowl LII. However, on the world’s biggest stage, it revealed there was no movie: it was just an elaborate tourism ad for Australia.

The Prison Rat That Stole No. 1

Keeping the focus on Australia, Foxtel’s ‘The Prison Rat That Stole No. 1’ by Mindshare took home the awards for ‘Best Campaign led by Mobile’ and ‘Best Campaign led by Technology’. It was also Highly Commended in the ‘Media, Entertainment & Sports’ category.

Wentworth is an Australian TV series set in a female prison. It turns out that TV and prison have one thing in common: no one likes solitary. Watching Wentworth demanded company, and the agency created a new character within the plot to act as fan’s viewing companion inside Wentworth. She was an anonymous ‘prison rat’ who could smuggle out secrets, prison gossip and exclusive content. She would become a conduit, confidant and co-conspirator for every scene – and you’d only get the goss if you watched live. The media strategy was driven by two key considerations: where fans formed their social viewing groups and what could theoretically be smuggled into prison. Every episode would be won where the group decided what to watch: in messaging apps, feeds and forums far from traditional media.

Also see here: Festival Intelligence: Australasia steps up on the global stage.

From mastering local cultures to addressing the themes of feminism and beyond, the M&M Global Awards 2018 has shown that creativity in media and marketing across the globe is, arguably, stronger than it has ever been as brands and agencies take leaps of faith in being more bold and courageous in their work, tackling sensitive issues without generating conflict.

“It was inspiring to see markets that I wasn’t acquainted with doing bold and courageous work; work that made me surprised and uncomfortable because they were so much on the verge, right between sensibility and controversy. And that is a very good thing,” added Colantuono.

Check out the full list of M&M Global Awards 2018 winners and highlights here.

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