How to win a Cannes Lion: Uncovering the emotional DNA of award-winning ads

Identifies the characteristics that are more likely to be in Cannes Lions winners' entries and looks at the dis-equilibrium that is causing many brands to rethink their strategies.
  • A recent Harvard Business Review article suggested that the supply of video advertising is at an all-time high, yet the demand for ads is at an all-time low, with various skipping, blocking and other ad-avoidant behavior becoming the norm.
  • The Film Lions celebrate the creativity of the moving image, so entries will need to demonstrate brilliant brand storytelling intended for a screen.
  • Cannes-winners are less focused on communicating positive brand attributes and are more in favor of creating strong emotional reactions in viewers.
  • Explains a model that shows how Cannes-winners have a specific emotional DNA, despite different...

WARC subscribers can sign in to keep reading

Not a subscriber?

Schedule your live demo with our team today

WARC helps you to plan, create and deliver more effective marketing

  • Prove your case and back-up your idea

  • Get expert guidance on strategic challenges

  • Tackle current and emerging marketing themes

We’re long-term subscribers to WARC and it’s a tool we use extensively. We use it to source case studies and best practice for the purposes of internal training, as well as for putting persuasive cases to clients. In compiling a recent case for long-term, sustained investment in brand, we were able to support key marketing principles with numerous case studies sourced from WARC. It helped bring what could have been a relatively dry deck to life with recognisable brand successes from across a broad number of categories. It’s incredibly efficient to have such a wealth of insight in one place.

Insights Team
Bray Leino

You’re in good company

We work with 80% of Forbes' most valuable brands* and 80% of the world's top top-of-the-class agencies.

* Top 10 brands