Titanium and two Gold wins for J. Walter Thompson on final day of Cannes Lions

On the final day of Cannes Lions 2015, J. Walter Thompson Company showed up strong on the stage with one Titanium and two Gold Lions.

J. Walter Thompson Cairo was awarded the Titanium Lion for Abla Fahita – a witty Egyptian puppet, created for advertising, who grew into an icon in the Middle East and North Africa region. Abla Fahita has changed the face of advertising in Egypt and, along the way, created an entirely new business model. She evolved from being a puppet that advertises brands into an entertainment brand in her own right with enormous business equity. From her witty live commentary on Egyptian issues, to a hit single with one of Egypt’s leading musicians, Abla Fahita is breaking new ground. She even transcended the small screen, taking part in an official speaking event at the Dubai Lynx Festival of Creativity. But her biggest break yet was earlier this year, when she launched her own prime time TV chat show El Duplex, on Egyptian TV. After five episodes, El Duplex was ranked #1 in CBC’s channel ratings, and is currently #2 in Egypt’s nationwide TV ratings. Her remarkable journey from brand character to one of Egypt’s biggest entertainment brands is unprecedented

J. Walter Thompson Brazil also brought home a Gold Lion in Branded Entertainment for Coca-Cola, “Coke Thirst.” In celebration of the the iconic contour bottle’s centennial anniversary, Coca-Cola partnered with Dolby and J. Walter Thompson Brazil to create a sensory cinema experience for the iconic brand. Using the powerful Dolby Surround Sound system of theaters, the team delivered a cinematic trailer that brought to the Coke experience to life — the heightened sounds of a bottle cap twisting off, fizzing soda, and cracking ice.

Read more about the campaign here.

The second Gold Lion of the night went to Santo Buenos Aires, who accepted the award in Film Craft for Diageo, “Piano.”