Craig Chester’s Cannes Diary: Day Five

Craig Chester, CD, Saatchi & Saatchi Health is Australia’s representative on the Health & Wellness Lions jury. Chester, along with most of the Australian and NZ jurors, is reporting exclusively for CB.

Day four of jury duty has just finished and metal winning work has been selected. Over the coming days heavy little lions will be enhancing various airlines’ profit margins as luggage is checked in and deemed overweight. Those stomping up the cash will be giving each other high fives as they do it. And so they should.

Today’s judging session went very slowly as jury members discussed work teetering on the edge. Bronze, silver or gold? Is it really worthy? The idea is great but the execution could be better – is it great enough? What an amazing use of technology – but is that all it really amounts to? It’s very clever but did it move me? I liked that idea as an activation piece but as a stand alone outdoor piece I’m not so sure? I love the originality of this idea but…?

The job is now done and tomorrow night the results will be shared. To all those who win a lion, no matter what the colour, a big well done from me. Celebrate hard. And I hope you are as inspired by all winning work as much as I was.

To those who didn’t quite make it there’s always next year. And thank goodness. Because Lions Health may be only two years old, but it’s brilliant. And it should set the standards in health and wellness and pharma advertising for years to come. And with luck, help make Qantas a profitable organisation as Australian agencies show the world how it’s done.

@cchestercd