Here is good news for all those who hate scams! The Cannes Lions has decided to take back the bronze lion which was awarded to TBWA Paris' Amnesty press campaign. The campaign created an uproar in China, at the onset of the Olympics, for its depiction of human right abuses in that country. This step was taken after an investigation revealed that the entry did not appear in media during the entry period (1 March 2007 to 30 April 2008), as stipulated by the festival rules.
TBWA "concurred with the Festival that this is the correct course of action", according to the official release on the Cannes Lions website. Terry Savage, chairman of the festival, said, "Whilst it is not our policy to discuss specific cases, if we have doubts about a specific entry for whatever reason we will fully investigate the matter to its conclusion. To be clear, some ads were withdrawn during the judging process whilst other entries are going through a similar checking process. It is important for the advertising and the awards industry that entries made comply fully with the rules and spirit of the Festival."
