My favourite Cannes Grand Prix: Sonal Dabral

With the 2012 Cannes International Festival Of Creativity scheduled to begin on Sunday, Campaign India asks Indian adlanders to pick their favoutrite Grand Grix winners from the festival.

Sonal Dabral, chairman and chief creative officer, DDB Mudra Group, chose to go with the Nissin Cup Noodles 'Hungry' campaign that won in Film Lions in 1993.

  

Dabral explained his choice: "There have been some outstanding Grand Prix winners in the last six decades of Cannes Lions. Some that amazed, some that dazzled with the quality of thinking and their craft, some that left everyone speechless by their sheer audacity of epic thinking. Amidst all these big winners there have been some Grand Prix that came from nowhere and tickled not just everyone's imagination, but every available funny bone in their bodies. Campaigns that were so surprising in their approach and idea that their impact lasted years after they won their place in the riviera sun.

"Much before everyone was going 'Wassup' in Cannes after watching the brilliant campaign by DDB Chicago for Budweiser, there was one such campaign that had everyone roaring in laughter and shouting 'Hungry' on the Croisette in Cannes from Palais to Gutter bar and beyond. The campaign, a set of really funny stop motion animation films, was created by Hakuhodo for Nissin Cup Noodles and the two spots from this campaign namely 'Moa Ostrich' and 'Synthetoceras' were the joint Grand Prix winners at Cannes Lions way back in 1993. For many reasons, this is one of my all time favourite Grand Prix winner. The first time I attended Cannes was just a year after, in 1994, and such was the impact of this campaign that even a full year after the campaign had won the Grand Prix, I could still see many fellow delegates in Cannes remembering these films and shouting 'Hungry' at any given opportunity. I truly believe that this campaign influenced much of the humour that came after it not just from Japan, but in some way even the work that came from Thailand. A little bizarre but quirky and intelligent humour. Notice the style in which the VO is delivered and you will see the influence even in some of the work we produced in India in the years that followed this campaign's win at Cannes. Even after all these years and many Cannes Lions later, I still find my self smiling every time I watch the pathetic tribe of primitive men in search of food chasing the Moa bird or the smart Synthetoceras exhausting the same hungry tribe by popping its head from different holes. And I can't help but mimic, 'Hungry? Nissin Cup Noodles!'"

Credits (courtesy www.canneslions.com)

Advertiser: Nissin

Product: Cup Noodles
Entrant Company: Hakuhodo
Country: JAPAN
Year: 1993

Award: Grand Prix