Cannes: ophef over Grand Prix-winnaar Lucky Iron Fish

In reactie op meldingen over de vermeende ongeldigheid van de inzending die leidde tot de Grand Prix-winst in Product Design voor 'Lucky Iron Fish' heeft de organisatie van Cannes Lions nader onderzoek ingelast. 'We have received prompt written confirmation from both Gavin Armstrong, President and CEO of the Lucky Iron Fish company and Dr Christopher Charles, who developed the original prototype, that they worked in close partnership with the agencies concerned', aldus de organisatoren. Die bevestiging blijkt volgens Cannes Lions uit de onderstaande verklaringen.

Gavin Armstrong, CEO van Lucky Iron Fish: 'Based on my understanding of the entry mechanism at the Cannes Lions festival, we gave Geometry Global approval to be the entrant for all Lucky Iron Fish entries, with full credit to Lucky Iron Fish and other participating entities. There has been no intention to misrepresent the role of Geometry Global or the campaign in the entry or any communications. I was present during the event and received each of the Lions award on stage. I also presented to the Judges for the Innovation award.'

Geometry Global kwam met een officiële persverklaring:

'Geometry Global Dubai and Memac Ogilvy MENA are proud to have partnered with the creators of the Lucky Iron Fish product to bring wider exposure and commercial success to this important public health innovation. We have been transparent in our award entries about the contributions of all the players including Gavin Armstrong, CEO of Lucky Iron Fish, Dr. Chris Charles, Director on the Board of Lucky Iron Fish, and all of the supporting agencies. The product design and prototype were created by Lucky Iron Fish; Geometry Global helped to introduce the product to a wider audience.

With the misunderstanding that there could only be a single entrant company across all categories, we entered the Product Design category on behalf of our client and were therefore named ‘entrant company’. Our approach was in full agreement with Lucky Iron Fish company and all partners were credited in the entry. We now understand that Product Design could have been entered directly by Lucky Iron Fish without Geometry Global and Memac Ogilvy as an 'entrant company.' Therefore, we have agreed with the Cannes Lions that Lucky Iron Fish should be the sole recipient of the Grand Prix in Product Design, as accepted by CEO Gavin Armstrong during the ceremony in Cannes on Wednesday night. It is an honour to be partners of Lucky Iron Fish, and we are pleased that it has garnered recognition by the Cannes Lions juries. We look forward to being part of the continued success of this project.'

Deze toelichting door de betrokken partijen heeft de organisatie van Cannes Lion doen besluiten dat de inzending van 'Lucky Iron Fish' aan de criteria van de competitie voldoet en dat de Grand Prix-toekenning dus niet wordt herroepen. 'Daarmee sluiten we deze kwestie', aldus de organisatoren. Vanavond worden de resterende awards uitgereikt, onder meer voor Film, Branded Content en Titanium & Integrated.