Art Director Marina Andreoli and Designer Sonia Dearling from Johannesburg-
based creative agency, Joe Public, are the winners of the 2014 Cinemark Young
Lions Competition, a massively prestigious challenge which affords media
creatives the opportunity to represent South Africa at the 61st Cannes Lions
Festival in France.
An overwhelming 117 talented creatives were given 48 hours to come up with a
60-second television commercial with a powerful message to motivate and
inspire South African audiences to vote in the 2014 national elections. Bearing in
mind that the winning entry would be screened across the Ster-Kinekor cinema
network, Andreoli and Dearling began to carefully construct an impactful
cinematic experience suited to the campaign.
Andreoli and Dearling say: “We knew it would be a challenge to make an ad that
people actually wanted to see. By its very nature, the brief required that we
reach and affect an audience who are apathetic and jaded. It is an important
time for South Africans right now and we are excited to contribute and make a
difference.’
Aiming to create an activation that went beyond just talking about voting, the
dynamic duo focused on encouraging audiences to consider how it might be to
live with the consequences of not voting. Their interactive campaign involved
inviting cinema goers to download an app which would allow them to vote for
their preferred movie experience, knowing that the majority of people would
ignore the offering. Once inside the cinema and faced with the possibility to
watch a film in another language and in a less than comfortable environment,
this became a tangible and brilliant parallel of how audiences’ passive attitude
could negatively affect their experience.
“The emotional impact on the audience is what makes it so effective. When the
audience is forced to deal with other people’s choices they are aware of what
voting means and the consequences of not voting become very real,’ explain
Andreoli and Dearling, who hope that the advert will spark an emotive chain
reaction in audiences.
“To be honest, we are hoping for a reaction of confusion then frustration then
anger then injustice then relief then guilt and then clarity, which will hopefully
drive the audience to vote,’ they explain.
The two young creatives will be flying to Cannes for the festival, which takes
place from 15 to 21 June, and though excited and grateful to be going, they are
also nervous to be competing against talented creatives from around the world.
Yvonne Diogo, Marketing Manager for Cinemark, the local representative for the
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, comments that the company is
thrilled for the winning team and that their submission really depicted creative
execution. “There is no doubt that they will be South African representatives of
a very high calibre at Cannes this year and will do us all proud,’ says Diogo.
“We are really excited to go to Cannes. It’s going to be amazing. Visiting the
south of France is unreal. Meeting creatives from around the world and seeing
great work is going to be really inspiring,’ Andreoli and Dearling conclude.
