Ad campaign for 'the best job in the world' wins big at Cannes

CANNES, France -- It may be a sign of the times but an ad campaign that sought to fill "the best job in the world" as a caretaker of Hamilton Island in Queensland, Australia was the big winner Monday in the first day of awards at the 56th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival. Love not money, politics and hope were also big marketing themes for the day.

But the employment opportunity had the biggest haul. The clever approach to promote tourism for the Islands of the Great Barrier Reef took two top Grand Prix prizes and two Gold Lions in direct marketing and public relations.

A classified ad in newspapers around the world recruited applicants for the six-month assignment by sending them to islandreefjob.com. The site drew 4 million hits in one hour on the first day. During its six-week recruitment period the site received 3.4 million unique visitors. The tourism office had hoped to receive 16,000 applicants over a six-week period but received 34,684 applications from 201 countries. Ultimately, outdoorsman and thrill seeker Ben Southall, a project manager for a not-for-profit firm in the United Kingdom, won the job, which he begins July 1. The job will pay $8,800 a month for such tasks as writing a weekly blog and feeding the fish.

"This thing snowballed from a little place and created a phenomenon around the world," said David Sable, global vice chairman, chief operating officer, Wunderman, N.Y., and the jury president of the direct competition. The campaign won its first Grand Prix earlier in the day when it took the top spot for the public relations competition.

More than 22,600 entries in the ad industry's top award show are being critiqued through the lens of the economic downturn and sharp downturn in the ad business particularly. The downturn is showing up in entries, which are down 20%.

It's not a surprise that people have cut back how many ads they enter and how many people they send to the usually jam-packed but more subdued affair this year. Ad spending is expected to fall as much as 10% this year.

"This was a challenging year for everyone but we were excited to see some inspiring work," said William Rosen, president and chief creative officer, North America, for Arc Worldwide in Chicago.

Winners so far are being noted for marketing more around values and virtue rather than product promotion. And a continued push to have consumer participation be a measure of success.

"It's natural that some of the winners would address today's issues," says Joyce King Thomas, chief creative officer, McCann Erickson, N.Y. and a judge on the promotion panel. "Marketers are trying to address what we are dealing with today."

More winners:

•Yubari. The small, city in Japan that was $330 million in debt won a unanimous Grand Prix in the promotion category for its "love not money" marketing. The campaign, by Beacon Communications in Tokyo, was built on the discovery that the city, a former coal mining town, had the lowest divorce rate in the country. The premise laid the ground work for tourism as newlyweds flocked to the city to have their own marriage documents certified by the Department of Happily Married Couples, purchase CDs, plush toys and special edition beer. The efforts have generated $30 million to help the city pay down its debt.

"It showed the true potential of the promotion category," said Rosen. "It was a program that changed behavior and changed people's lives."

•Red Cross. The Red Cross in Lisbon opened up a temporary retail shop to sell "hope" through direct donations to the organization. The store, promoted through traditional ad mediums, sold little cards valued at 10 euros to raise funds for its local Red Cross during the holidays. The campaign, by Leo Burnett, Lisbon won six medals including a Gold Lion.

•Elect Obama. An offbeat Barack Obama election campaign by Droga5, N.Y., for the Jewish Council for Education and Research won a Gold Lion in the direct competition. The marketing included a video with comedian Sarah Silverman who encouraged young Jews to encourage their grandparents in Florida to vote for Obama. In a YouTube video she told people to visit the site, thegreatschlep.com, where they could donate, compare Barack Obama and John McCain and send videos that would address particular concerns among those voters including Israeli policy and social security. Visitors could also download talking points about Obama's campaign if voters called their grandparents. The campaign scored a Gold Lion in direct marketing and one Public Relations Lion.

The Great Schlep won two of the six medals for the U.S. It also won a Public Relations Lion along with ads for Procter & Gamble, Haagen-Dazs and Diageo USA for Guinness. A DeBeers diamonds campaign by agency JWT won a bronze in direct.