Heineken and LePub Shine at Cannes Lions

Heineken has achieved remarkable success at this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, with numerous marketing campaigns receiving accolades at this  esteemed event. Heineken earned a total of six gold, eight silver and eight bronze Lions across 11 categories, being ranked first alcohol brand in the Festival. Showcasing the quality of its creativity, the brand secured the second spot in the Festival's Brand of the Year ranking. 

A total of 10 Heineken campaigns have been acknowledged throughout the Festival this week, including the outstanding Pub Museums campaign, aiming to transform historical Irish pubs into museums, spotlighting the need for their preservation. Thanks to its credibility and in brand-led awareness, the campaign received multiple acclaims, including a gold and a silver Lion in the Outdoor category, a gold one in Creative B2B with another gold in the Direct category, along with a silver Lion within the Audio & Radio category. Additionally, honouring creative, comprehensive brand building  through experience and immersive customer engagement, the project won a Gold and Silver Lion within the Brand Experience & Activation category. The campaign, amplified by PR agencies ThinkHouse and Edelman, has been also awarded with a Silver Lion within the PR category. 

Another campaign which received wins is the iconic 150th Anniversary, securing prestigious awards for Heineken and its creative partner LePub, as well as to PR agency Edelman. Unveiling an unconventional campaign that celebrates all the ways people have misspelt, adapted and enjoyed Heineken beer, the operation has been awarded with a gold and a silver Lion within the Direct category, celebrating targeted and response-driven creativity, as well as a bronze within the Creative Strategy section. 

Heineken’s Laundromatch represented another bold move into the realm of socialising that was recognised by the jury. The insightful creativity turned 24-hour laundromats into all-night sports bars so that South Korea’s most hardcore football fans could have a place to watch the UEFA Champions League. Resonating within the Outdoor category, celebrating creativity experienced out of home, the campaign granted Heineken and LePub a bronze Lion. 

Within the field of gaming and innovations, Heineken Gaming Fridge has been applauded by the jury. The project produced a custom-made PC integrated with a Heineken beer fridge, designed to cool down both the PC hardware and the bottles inside, and provide gamers the opportunity to enjoy a cold Heineken while playing their favourite game. The campaign celebrates creative work that connects people to brands through gameplay, and it has been awarded with a silver and a bronze Lion within the Entertainment Lions for Gaming category. 

Regarding the Media category, the Out of Home Matches campaign - turning Heineken's media budget into visibility for the UEFA Women's Champions League, received a silver Lion. 

Heineken and LePub succeeded to hit also the Creative B2B category, celebrating game-changing creative work in the B2B space. With Backing the Bars campaign, Heineken secured a bronze Lion. The idea was brought to life through a communications platform to help keep bars open during the covid-19 lockdowns. Continuing to leverage the importance of bars in our society, Bar Experience, an on-trade platform integrated campaign ideated by LePub and amplified by Edelman, won a gold Lion within the PR category, which honours strategic and creative communication and enhances storytelling at its core. Moreover, it also received a silver Lion within the Brand Experience & Activation, as well as a bronze one in the Creative Strategy section. 

Finally, Heineken’s renowned Social Swap experiment co-created by LePub and Edelman, seeing ex player and pundits Jill Scott MBE and Gary Neville tackle online sexism by swapping social media accounts in secret highlighting how people are unfairly judged on their football opinions due to their gender, won the brand a bronze Lion in the Social & Influencer category. 

Nabil Nasser, global head of Heineken & Amstel, said, “Creativity has always been ingrained in Heineken's DNA and showcasing this in campaigns is a passion the brand looks forward to perpetuating. These recent accolades at Cannes Lions highlight Heineken's ongoing commitment to invest in great work and to differentiate itself from competitor; establishing a benchmark for innovative creative campaigns moving forward”. 

Bruno Bertelli, global CEO of LePub and CCO of Publicis Worldwide, added, “The fruitful and constructive relationship between Heineken and LePub is dedicated to deeply connecting with popular culture for seamless, relentless and integrated interactions. Our creativity, powered by data, fosters authentic engagement, and I'm proud of our teams who innovate and drive this mission courageously every day and our Client who is bold enough to embrace this challenging path.”