Cannes Lions 2024: How Does The Advertising World View AR?

Each year, Cannes Lions is a beacon of innovation, drawing the most creative minds from all over the world, fostering connections, encouraging ideas exchange, and celebrating the most innovative campaigns. And this year was no different. But where’s Augmented Reality standing amidst all the innovations?

AR is no stranger to Cannes Lions. The technology is celebrated for its ability to increase engagement, reach new audiences, and generate user-generated content (UGC) like no other medium. Consequently, the festival frequently rewards innovative AR campaigns, encouraging brands to leverage this powerful tool.

COCA-COLA AR VENDING MACHINE

Responding to customers’ growing demand for integrating digital experiences into their daily lives, Coca-Cola connected its marketing strategy with innovative technology, bringing the iconic beverage to life on screen. The brand joined forces with Arcadia, Snapchat’s AR Creative Studio, for cost-effective AR expertise on balancing the tradition of Coca-Cola with user entertainment.

As a result AR Vending Machines were introduced, transforming the conventional ‘grab-a-drink’ action into a dynamic experience with a great focus on user interaction. Integrating Snapchat features, such as gesture-based navigation, body tracking, games, digital content, virtual merchandise try-ons, and trending Snap AR lenses, allowed the brand to maintain iconic designs while revolutionising functionality and interaction.

The project was completed in just 12 weeks, launched at Snap’s Global Summit & Coca-Cola’s Innovation Summit and debuted at the Paris 2024 Olympics. It quickly gained customer popularity and transformed standard vending machine interactions into memorable brand experiences.

Credits: SNAPCHAT (Entrant Company, Production), ARCADIA CREATIVE STUDIO (Idea Creation, Production), THE COCA COLA COMPANY (Additional Company)

THE FONDLE FILTER

While the Fondle Filter initially makes us laugh, it touches on a deeper issue. Despite testicular cancer being the most diagnosed cancer in males aged 18-39, young men are still reluctant to self-check due to the awkwardness and stigma surrounding the process.

The mission of the Fondle Filter, launched on Snapchat during Testicular Cancer Awareness month, was to reduce the seriousness of the issue by replacing it with humour and playful, colourful features.

With the AR Lens, users can turn any round object into 3D testicles, reacting to the movement of their hand, promoting the idea of self-checking in a fun, interactive way. The campaign turned out to be a great success, reaching 3.2 million plays, 100.000 shares and beating the average interaction times by eightfold.

Credits: CLEMENGER BBDO (Entrant Company, Idea Creation), FLUX (Production), PAPER TRIANGLES (Production), MATCH ARTISTS (Additional Company)

THE ORIGINAL MOUTHFUL

Whether it’s Y2K fashion or 80s-themed TV shows, returning to the past remains a central focus of pop culture. In seeking new ways to interact with its customers, McDonald’s jumped on the nostalgia trend, bringing back the Big Mac jingle that captivated Australians in 1987.

The campaign aimed to reconnect with older customers and, more importantly, engage the younger generation, challenging the idea that the Big Mac is outdated for Gen Z.

To achieve this, McDonald’s used platforms close to the targeted audience’s hearts – Snapchat and TikTok – with gamified AR Experiences using AI and Machine Learning, essentially challenging users to sing the entire Big Mac jingle in 4 seconds.

The campaign generated over 41 million seconds of engagement time, reached 2.19 million users on social media, and led to a 60% sales increase in the Big Mac range, with 5% of participants completing the challenge.

Credits: DDB SYDNEY (Entrant Company, Idea Creation), adam&eveDDB (Idea Creation), REVOLVER (Production), SMITH & WESTERN (Post Production), ARC EDIT (Post Production), MANGO (PR), OMD (Media Placement)

PUB MUSEUMS

Faced with high running costs, taxes, and inflation, many pubs are at risk of closing down despite their sentimental and historical impact on local communities. Heineken’s campaign challenged the complicated economic situation, proving that traditional Irish watering holes are a significant part of the culture.

Heineken’s strategy involved converting pubs into virtual museums through the Irish Heritage Council, which provides protected status and financial benefits to historical sites. The initiative included creating an online tutorial to guide pub owners on achieving museum status and generating awareness to support the campaign for UNESCO’s protection of Ireland’s historic pubs.

LePub, Milan-based creative agency working on behalf of the brand, joined forces with Lens That XR studio to create AR experiences allowing customers to interact with 3D artefacts and audio guides. Right at the entrance visitors used their phones to scan a QR code on a plaque, triggering an AR overlay. By integrating indoor navigation with each pub’s geolocation, digital 3D models of numerous historical objects inside the pubs were created and brought back to life! The campaign launched at Dublin’s Toners pub with a media event and expanded to other locations like Sean’s Bar and Mother Macs.

Pub Museums led to a 20% tax cut on maintenance, economic evaluations, protection from buyouts, increased tourism, and a notable rise in pub footfall. Additionally, the campaign successfully raised awareness, with over 134 hours of audio guides listened to and over €200,000 in pending funding, while supporting a submission to the Irish Department of Culture for UNESCO protection.

The campaign got incredible recognition at the festival and was awarded with 4 x Gold Lions, 4 x Silver Lions and 10 Shortlist entries, including the most prestigious one, the Titanium.

Credits: LEPUB (Entrant Company, Idea Creation), PUBLICIS (Idea Creation), LENS THAT – AR CREATIVE STUDIO (Post Production), THINKHOUSE (PR), LEGARAGE (Additional Company)

REFURB

Each year, 10 million returned gifts end up in landfills. 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.

Aiming to raise awareness about e-waste, the brand offered solutions not only to educate but also to combat pollution. Challenging the belief that new products are better, the brand promoted returned products as Refurb Editions with upgraded warranties and changed the e-commerce model to sell refurbished products exclusively until they were sold out.

To help users visualise the scale of e-waste, Philips, in collaboration with Lens That, designed an AR Experience in Berlin, showcasing the size of the landfill through a digital pile of cumulative returns.

The initiative prevented 185 tons of e-waste and an estimated 277 tons of CO2 emissions. It was also the fastest promotion in Philips history, with 52,000 returned products sold and no Philips products ending up in landfills. The campaign was rewarded with the Grand Prix Cannes Lions for the Creative Business Transformation category and received two other Shortlist entries.

Credits: LEPUB (Entrant Company, Idea Creation), SHOTZ (Production), AMBASSADORS (Production), LENS THAT – AR CREATIVE STUDIO (Post Production), KETCHUM (PR), OMD (Media Placement), LEGARAGE (Additional Company)

THE WORLD’S LARGEST AR MIRROR BY FFFACE.ME FOR MAYBELLINE NEW YORK

A good marketing strategy reflects customers’ needs — and those have significantly changed since we entered the digital age. With technology surrounding us constantly, we’re flooded with advertisements everywhere we look, whether on social media or in the physical world. Consequently, there is a growing demand for engaging campaigns that truly stand out and provide users with entertaining and interactive experiences.

This prompted Maybelline New York to seek more innovative advertising solutions and join forces with FFFACE.ME Agency to promote their new mascara. Utilising the potential of the constantly crowded Gulliver Mall in Kyiv, the brand enabled customers to try out the latest product through the AR Mirror displayed on the facade of the building.

Thanks to the personalised, immersive features, the campaign generated great excitement from customers, gaining over 3 million organic views and mentions, and providing the brand with increased visibility and media coverage.

Credits: FFFACE.ME (Entrant Company, Idea Creation, Production, Post Production, PR, Media Placement), MAYBELLINE NEW YORK (Idea Creation, PR, Media Placement)

The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity 2024 showcased the incredible potential of Augmented Reality in marketing, demonstrating how AR can revolutionise brand engagement and storytelling. These campaigns not only captivated audiences but also set new standards for innovation in the marketing industry, highlighting AR’s essential role in the future of brand communication and consumer interaction.

As AR technology continues to evolve, its ability to enhance engagement, preserve cultural heritage, and promote sustainability will undoubtedly shape the future of marketing, offering endless possibilities for creative minds worldwide.