Created to market an instant noodle brand produced by Tainan City-based Uni-President Enterprise Corp., the production was one of eight gold winners selected from 1,843 entrants worldwide. It also collected silver two days before in the festival’s Media Lions competition.
Set in a fictional noodle shop, the series portrays the owner creating dishes inspired by the moods of the customers. The movies, which were broadcast online and promoted with teasers on TV, garnered over 8.7 million YouTube views in three months on the strength of their emotional appeal.
Richard Yu, chief creative officer at ADK Global Taiwan, said he hopes the award marks the beginning of more strong showings for Taiwan at the festival. “This Lion will energize and inspire us to keep pushing the envelope of creativity.”
Kristin Patrick, global chief marketer for PepsiCo. Inc. and a member of the competition’s jury, described the production as “beautifully done and articulated,” adding that the judges loved its artistry and production quality. “It is actually one of our favorites and we cannot say enough about it,” she said.
Founded in 1954, Cannes Lions is an eight-day festival of creative inspiration, education and networking for branded communications professionals worldwide. The 24 categories at this year’s event attracted 43,101 submissions from more than 13,500 participants worldwide, including 144 from Taiwan.
Two other Taiwan teams also took part in the festival’s Young Lions Competitions with the sponsorship from Ministry of Foreign Affairs. They were the two top winners of a social video competition staged last December by the MOFA. “To know about Taiwan (roughly) in 2.5 mins” and “Essential Taiwanese Kung Fu” received NT$250,000 (US$7,685) and NT$100,000 respectively. (SFC-E)
Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw