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Two brand campaigns—one about empowering customers in the real world and the other a clever marketing workaround in the virtual gaming world—today won top honors in Cannes’ 2021 Brand Experience and Activation Lions.
Mastercard’s “True Name,” developed by agency McCann, and Burger King’s “Stevenage Challenge” from agency David shared top honors in the category, continuing a week of strong wins for both campaigns.
‘True Name’: Bridging purpose and product
Largely expected to be a jury favorite at this year’s Cannes Lions Live virtual festival, Mastercard’s “True Name” today took home its first Grand Prix, the top prize awarded by the Brand Experience and Activation Jury.
Developed in partnership with agency McCann, True Name credit cards allow trans and nonbinary customers to use their chosen names rather than the names on their birth certificates or driver’s licenses. The financial brand launched the card line directly rather than through a major bank partner, though institutions like Citi came on board as it expanded.
Launched in 2019 and recent expanded globally, True Name also won a coveted Black Pencil at this year’s D&AD Awards.
‘Stevenage Challenge’: Minimum cost, maximum visibility
The second Grand Prix in this year’s Brand Experience and Activation Lions went to Burger King’s “Stevenage Challenge,” in which agency David’s Madrid and Miami offices found a clever way to generate massive visibility from a low-cost sponsorship.
By sponsoring England’s bottom-ranked Stevenage Football Club and appearing on team jerseys, Burger King was able to get its logo into the globally popular EA FIFA 20 video game. The brand then rewarded fans who played as the team and used its Career Mode to recruit some of the world’s top players—and outfit them in Burger King-emblazoned kit.
The clever sponsorship workaround generated strong fan engagement and publicity—both from sports and gaming press alike—without the multi-million dollar price tag of most high-profile team sponsorships.
The campaign has already been a big winner at Cannes this week. It previously won Grand Prix honors in Direct and the Social and Influencer Lions.
This year’s gold winners:
• Diesel’s “Enjoy Before Returning” from Publicis Italy (Italy)
• H&M’s “One/Second/Suit” from Uncommon London (U.K.)
• Chevrolet’s “Lost Roads” from Commonwealth//McCann Bogota (Colombia)
• Color of Change’s “Pedestal Project” from BBDO New York (U.S.)
• Známkamaráda’s “Anticorruption Hackathon” from WMC|Grey Prague (Czech Republic)
• Microsoft Xbox’s “The Birth Of Gaming Tourism” from McCann London (U.K.)
• WWF Germany’s “Eurythenes Plasticus” from BBDO Düsseldorf (Germany)
• Go Equal Movement’s “#GoEqual” from Africa DDB São Paulo (Brazil)
• An Nahar Newspaper’s “The New National Anthem Edition” from Impact BBDO Dubai (UAE)
• Samsung’s “Tallk” from Cheil Worldwide Madrid (Spain)
• City of Chicago’s “Boards Of Change” from FCB Chicago (U.S.)
Be sure to read all of Adweek’s coverage from this year’s Cannes Lions Live virtual festival.
