Clare Milner

Cream of Cannes Radio: A review of the festival’s best work

Clare Bowen has selected some highlights from this year’s Radio winners at Cannes Lions. We hope these inspire you with your radio writing. And while you’re thinking of Awards, we’re pleased to announce that that this year, Aerial Award winners will also receive free entry to the Campaign BIG Awards in November.

KFC “Repeat the Punchline” Ogilvy & Mather Johannesburg

Creative consistency is the key to effectiveness in radio advertising. This instalment in KFC’s tragicomic saga builds on the brand’s established sonic identity and delivers a tactical message in an entertaining way.

The Tate “Gin Lane” Grey London

With Tracy Emin on the writing credits and Imelda Staunton as the voiceover, this radio ad blurs the boundaries of art and commerce: very fitting for The Tate, an art gallery named after a sugar magnate. The ad imagines the tragic story of the woman featured in William Hogarth’s famous etching ‘Gin Lane’. The ad showcases radio’s storytelling potential and provides an emotional performance too. Like Dove’s award-winning ads in recent years, it proves that radio can be a powerful  and subversive advertising medium for a visually-led brand.

Mills & Boon “Erotica for the Ears” Global

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A masterclass in binaural recording for the steamy publisher. It was the only campaign to be awarded for sound design this year. Put on your headphones to enjoy the incredible 3D audio effect in your head.

Vida Mujer Organisation “Love song written by a murderer” Circus Grey Peru

Music has the power to move our emotions like nothing else, which is one of the reasons why radio is such an effective way to advertise. There is a shock revelation in this campaign when we discover that this song, released as a single by a Diego Dibus, a famous Peruvian crooner, was in fact written by a man who abused and eventually murdered his wife. Hundreds of women are killed at the hands of abusive partners each year in Peru. Through radio, this song became part of the nation’s cultural fabric, drawing attention to a significant social problem.

Radiocentre “Craig Inglis” Lucky Generals

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We are thrilled to bits that Lucky Generals scooped a Bronze Lion for our own ad so we simply had to include this. The ad is a serenade to Craig Inglis, Customer Director of John Lewis, imploring him to increase his spend on radio in a style that parodies the breathy styles of his own celebrated John Lewis Christmas campaigns.

Duracell “Harry” Grey Africa

A trip down memory lane to 2007. It’s a beautifully written piece of cultural nostalgia which demonstrates Duracell’s longevity.

Random Corps “Pepperoni Pizza”  SA Grey South Argentina

A clever example of sound design for a South American dental floss brand. The word ‘Pepperoni Pizza’ is spoken then played back and forth in ever shorter lengths, until the word is gone. A neat little product demonstration in audio.