Twenty years ago The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity awarded its first Titanium Lion.
The award was Dan Wieden’s idea. The Wieden + Kennedy co-founder had approached the festival in 2002 about creating a new Lion to recognise boundary-breaking work after Fallon’s lauded long-form films for BMW were only able to win one Grand Prix (in Cyber) because they fell outside the scope of the other categories.
Simon Cook, the CEO of Cannes Lions, says he does not know who came up with the ‘Titanium’ name but suspects it came from Wieden himself. Either way, the festival introduced the Titanium Lion in 2003 and gave the inaugural award to Fallon and BMW for the campaign that inspired the category’s creation.
There are no Golds, Silvers and Bronze awards in the Titanium category, just Titanium Lions and Grands Prix, but no jury has awarded more than one Grand Prix in a single year so far.
Unlike in many other categories, agencies and advertisers may only enter a campaign once in the Titanium category, and shortlisted entrants are required to present their case in person to the jury in Cannes, a requirement borrowed from the Innovation Lion category.
Since the category was introduced, 76 Titanium Lions have been awarded, including 14 Grands Prix. Over two decades, the category has recognised campaigns that harness media and technology in new ways, raise awareness of political issues, give voice to social justice movements or just flat-out entertain.
Crispin Porter + Bogusky has had the most success of any agency in the Titanium category, winning six awards, including three Grands Prix. Droga5 is the next most successful agency, with six awards but no Grands Prix. Wieden’s agency, Wieden + Kennedy, has won four awards but never a Grand Prix.
Burger King is the most awarded brand in the Titanium category, with five awards, including two Grands Prix. Nike is close behind with five awards, including one Grand Prix.
The big tech companies have not had as much of a presence among the Titanium winners as you might expect. Neither Facebook, Amazon, nor Google has ever won a Titanium Lion. Apple has only won one (for Today At Apple in 2018), Samsung has won two (for Bridge of Life and The Safety Truck), and Microsoft’s Xbox has won one (for Changing the Game in 2019).
In November 2022, the festival announced that it was renaming the category the ‘Dan Wieden Titanium Lions’ in honour of the man who inspired the awards after he died in September.
Cook says that the festival still briefs its Titanium jury using Wieden’s definition of work that ‘causes the industry to stop in its tracks and reconsider the way forward.’
But has the category served its purpose and lighted the way forward for the rest of the industry?
‘I would say that it has,’ said Cook. ‘It’s definitely one that the global creative community looks at as a beacon for what’s coming next. Over its history, you’ve got the channels narrative [originally, to be eligible for a Titanium Lion, entries had to span at least three media channels], the introduction of integrated [for a while, the Titanium category was combined with the Integrated category], and then the rise of data and technology that can be reflected in the work that you see. And then also, we've moved more recently into work that doesn’t just grow business but also contributes something positive to the world.’
And Cook dismisses the idea that, as the festival expands to include more categories, the Titanium Lions will be rendered obsolete.
‘There will always be game-changing work because the industry is constantly evolving and shifting, and that's just the nature of the industry,’ said Cook, who also pointed out that the festival retires categories as well as introduces them.
As for a Titanium winner that has been especially influential or prophetic of the industry’s future, Cook said: ‘There was this piece of work that won a few years ago now, Domino’s [Emoji Ordering], which was quite controversial and divisive. But in some ways, it was the precursor for the industry’s move towards commerce and creating a frictionless experience. In that sense, it was probably ahead of its time.’
