Cannes Lions: Outdoor Winners 2022 /

Adidas has won the Grand Prix in the Outdoor category during the 2022 Cannes Lions ceremony for its Liquid Billboard campaign.

Created by agency Havas Middle East, Dubai and production company Jack Morton Worldwide, the July 2021 campaign was released to coincide with the brand’s new inclusive swimwear collection in the United Arab Emirates.

Initially launched with a film called ‘Beyond the Surface’ – a provocative 60-second spot about how water accepts everyone unconditionally – the Liquid Billboard portion of the campaign featured a 5-metre high and 3-metre-deep swimming pool at one of Dubai’s most popular beaches.

Women were encouraged to dive into the pool, where a live feed filmed the swimming and broadcast it real time onto digital screens across Dubai, including at the brand’s flagship store and above an ice-rink at Dubai’s mall. The insight behind the campaign and the product being that 32% of women feel uncomfortable in their swimsuits, while in the Middle East, that number jumps to 89%.

With this single billboard, Adidas reported reached 300 million people in over 50 countries.

Outdoor jury president and Chief Creative Officer at DDB Asia Eugene Cheong said during the Cannes press conference that he’d ‘Like to congratulate and welcome Adidas back to the game.’ Adding that, ‘For too long the brand has been napping on the side-lines while its chief competitor Nike has run rings around it’.

Cheong pointed to the Grand Prix winning work as a fresh resurgence for the apparel brand. ‘The Liquid Billboard is Adidas waking up, taking a megaphone and telling the world that Impossible is Nothing’ said Cheong. The other larger trend Cheong pointed towards was the role of purpose in advertising, but claimed that ‘All of us can spot bullshit from 100 paces. Brands must not do good for appearances sake, just to meet their CSR quotas. Consumers can tell if you’re sincere and authentic, or if you’re just another phoney bandwagoner jumper.’

Gold Lions were also awarded to:

Pepsi / Better With Pepsi / Alma DDB, Miami

AB InBev Corona / Plastic Fishing Tournament / We Believers, Brooklyn

Netflix / The Art of Stealing / Gong, Gliwice

Activision / Scratchboards / David, Miami

Institutional / The Refugee Jatoba / Africa DDB, São Paulo

MACMA / The Art of Self Examination / David, Buenos Aires

Burger King / Nonartificial Mexico / We Believers, Brooklyn

Starmed Healthcare / Wilmore Funeral Home / BooneOakley, Charlotte

Cadbury / Flags of Generosity / Ogilvy, Singapore and Kuala Lumpur