Beyond eye candy: A Cannes Lions Creative Data Special: BE Extraordinary

Time of India

19-06-2025

At the
Cannes Lions
International Festival of Creativity, a wide spectrum of creative work is recognised, extending beyond Grand Prix winners to include notable campaigns that earn silvers and bronzes. In "
BE Extraordinary
," a series collaborating with
Harsh Kapadia, CCO, Grey India
, we highlight work that warrants discussion for its execution and results. This segment focuses on campaigns that effectively utilised data to drive their creative strategy and generate significant outcomes.
Acko - Acko Tailor Test - Leo India
Acko, a digital insurance company in India, utilised a unique insight into local health behaviors for its "Acko Tailor Test" campaign, developed in collaboration with Leo India. The core premise was based on the medical insight that the difference between a person's waistline and hipline can serve as an indicator of potential heart conditions.
Recognising a prevalent cultural behavior in India, particularly among lower-income segments, where regular visits to tailors for clothing adjustments are common, but doctor visits might be avoided due to cost or access, Acko integrated a preventative health screening into this existing routine. The campaign involved training tailors across the country to use a specific chart to accurately measure clients' waist and hip ratios.
Based on these measurements, tailors were empowered to advise individuals if their ratios suggested a potential heart condition, recommending a consultation with a doctor for further assessment. This grassroots approach effectively leveraged an accessible and trusted community point of contact to deliver crucial health information, demonstrating a data-driven strategy for promoting preventative health and early detection.
Efficient Way To Pay - Consul Appliances, DM9 São Paulo
In Brazil, a common challenge faced by many households is their reliance on outdated and inefficient electronic appliances. While often a result of financial constraints, these older models paradoxically lead to higher electricity bills, hindering their ability to save for newer, more efficient replacements. Consul Appliances, in collaboration with DM9 São Paulo, developed the "Efficient Way To Pay" program to address this economic cycle.
The campaign leveraged data on energy consumption to directly demonstrate that replacing older electronics with new, energy-efficient Consul appliances would result in tangible savings on monthly electricity bills. Consul then designed an innovative payment plan: these verified electricity bill savings could be directly allocated to pay off the cost of the new appliances. This initiative effectively established a novel ecosystem for appliance purchasing.
By creating a clear, data-driven economic model, Consul Appliances empowered consumers to upgrade their household electronics, turning their ongoing energy expenses into a means of financing more sustainable and cost-effective solutions.
So Many Dicks - ELF Beauty, New York
ELF Beauty, an American beauty brand, utilised compelling data to drive its "So Many Dicks" campaign, focusing on corporate diversity. The campaign stemmed from research that revealed a significant majority of corporate board members were white men. Strikingly, the data further highlighted that more men named "Dick" held board positions than entire groups of underrepresented people combined.
As a company that itself boasts a board composed of 78 per cent women and 44 per cent diverse individuals, ELF Beauty leveraged this data to create a viral campaign that directly called attention to the lack of diversity in corporate boardrooms. The campaign's aim was to spark conversations and actively promote change.
ELF directly linked diversity to profitability through a "not so white paper" they released, and collaborated with organisations like the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD) to facilitate the successful placement of diverse candidates on corporate boards. This data-driven approach allowed ELF Beauty to advocate for tangible change in corporate governance, grounded in both ethical considerations and demonstrated business success.
Ikea Hidden Tags - Ikea (Portugal), Uzina
Ikea in Portugal, in collaboration with Uzina, embarked on a campaign titled "Ikea Hidden Tags" to address a common perception among consumers that its furniture is not built for durability. The brand ingeniously utilised an existing, yet often overlooked, piece of internal product data: a small, hidden tag on every Ikea furniture item that indicates its precise manufacturing date.
To directly counter the misconception about product longevity, Ikea launched a country-wide "Tag Hunt." This initiative invited customers to actively participate by locating these hidden tags on their Ikea furniture to determine its age. A significant prize was offered for the oldest piece of Ikea furniture found in Portugal.
This campaign effectively transformed a simple internal product detail into an engaging, interactive contest. By encouraging customers to physically examine their furniture and discover its actual age, Ikea leveraged existing customer ownership and direct interaction with the furniture's embedded data to demonstrate the unexpected durability and longevity of its products firsthand.
(At BE Extraordinary, a series about the winners at Cannes Lions in collaboration with Harsh Kapadia, CCO, Grey India, we peer outside the Grand Prix, and look at clutter breaking work that picked the silvers and the bronzes, but don't often get discussed.)