Cannes Lions: Craft winners 2023 /

The Grand Prix for Digital Craft at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity went to Nike’s Never Done Evolving feat. Serena Williams, by AKQA São Paulo, Portland, and Melbourne.

This year’s entries were whittled down from 600 entries, said jury president Resh Sidhu (global director of Arcadia Creative Studio, Snap Inc, global), who commented on the ‘phenomenal breadth’ of content and territories among the work. In particular, Sidhu praised the winners’ ability to platform unheard stories and communities. ‘There was a vibrant tapestry of untold narratives, giving voice to cultural topics that are really important right now,’ she said.

Sidhu said the work also represented ‘a return to pure digital craft’, and offered a word of caution to next year’s entrants: ‘Using ChatGPT alone is not enough.’ AI and generative technology ‘took centre stage’ among this year’s work, said Sidhu. ‘We saw it in probably more than 50% of [submissions] we looked at, which meant we had to look at that work with rigour. Often you get dazzled by the technology, but what is it actually doing? Is that actually design? Is it good design? Is it digital craft or the use of a tool? The use of a tool with creativity and with purpose is what is going to drive great work.’

With regard to the Grand Prix winner, Sidhu commented: ‘We’re in the age of ubiquitous technology, and great digital craft for us is not just about mastering those tools, it’s about connecting on a human level.’ Of the Gold winners, she added that the Transparency Card campaign (by AKQA São Paulo for Congresso em Foco) was also considered for the Grand Prix, because it sent ‘a message about what creativity can do and where we are in the world today.’

In the Film Craft category, the jury awarded the Grand Prix to We Cry Together - A Short Film by PgLang, the entertainment company founded by Kendrick Lamar and Dave Free. The six-minute music video for the spoken word song stars rapper Lamar and actor Taylour Paige and depicts a tumultuous moment in a couple’s relationship.

This year’s Film Craft jury president, acclaimed director Kim Gehrig, said that the jury believed the campaign exemplified a ‘transcendent’ piece of work. The film, she said,  showed various aspects of craft working together: from the impeccable direction, the cast and performances, the lighting and the production design and the choice of a single, continuous take. ‘All these crafts came together to make something that is brave, that is shocking, that makes you feel,’ said Gehrig. ‘I wanted the Grand Prix winner to make us feel, to challenge us.’

When it came to making their selection, the jury was keen to ensure that the winners represented the best of ‘film craft’, rather than just ‘film’. The question Gehrig kept asking her fellow jurors was ‘How does the film craft make the idea extraordinary?’

To guide their selection, the jurors awarded Bronze Lions to work that they felt was ‘faultless’, Silver Lions to work that was ‘inspired’ and Gold Lions to ‘trailblazing work’.

One of these ‘trailblazing’ campaigns that won a Gold Lion was Apple’s The Greatest, directed by Gehrig herself, and though the campaign did not nab the Grand Prix, the jury cited it as a possible contender.

The Grand Prix for Industry Craft went to the Japan Railways Group for My Japan Railway, a digital stamp collecting experience. To celebrate its 150th anniversary, the train network operator created stamps for its stations inspired by each location and encouraged people to travel across the country to collect them all.

The campaign was created with Dentsu Inc, Tokyo. Since the Industry Craft jury president Yoshihiro Yagi is executive creative director at Dentsu, he had to recuse himself from the jury deliberation about the campaign. However, Natasha Romariz Maasri, one of the jurors, said that the decision to award My Japan Railway was ‘absolutely unanimous’ and was met with very little debate. ‘It rose above every other piece of work,’ she added.

Yagi described Industry Craft as ‘where business and craft meet’, and explained that when it came to selecting the winners the jury had three things in mind: ‘enrichment over convenience’; ‘emotion over function’ and ‘dreams over efficiency’.

Digital Craft Gold Lions Winners /

Wrapped On Platform Experience, for Spotify, by Spotify

Transparency Card, for Congresso em Foco, by AKQA São Paulo

Gorillaz Presents, for Gorillaz, by Google, New York, Nexus Studios, London, Gorillaz, London

Film Craft Gold Winners /

The Greatest for Apple, by Apple and Somesuch, Los Angeles

Shout for Telfonica, by VMLY&R Mexico, Mexico City

A Train of Memories for Sotetsu, by Six Inc, Tokyo; Good Design Company, Tokyo, Hakuhodo Inc, Tokyo; Hakuhodo Kettle inc, Tokyo

We Cry Together – A Short Film, by PgLang

Cash In Cash Out for I am Other, by Pharrell Williams, 21 Savage and Tyler, the Creator

Industry Craft Gold Winners /

ADLaM – An Alphabet to Preserve a Culture, for Microsoft, by McCann, New York

Untangling the Politics of Hair, for Stir, by FCB India, Gurugram

My Japan Railway, for JR Group, by Dentsu Inc, Tokyo

The Beautiful Fail, for Honda Moto France, by DDB, Paris

Phone it In, for Skinny, by Colenso BBDO, Auckland

A British Original, for British Airways, by Uncommon Creative Studio, London

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