This from a series of blog posts by Karen Howe,  senior vice-president, creative director of One Advertising  in Toronto and Applied Arts Magazine advertising columnist. She is filing from France, where she is a Cannes Lions judge.

Our smartphones have become our computers, cameras, alarm clocks – the list goes on. There are now over a billion mobile users around the globe. To illustrate the point of how ubiquitous they’ve become, Rei Inamoto of AKQA had us turn on our phones and raise them in the darkened Palais, in Cannes. The hall glowed with thousands of pinpoints of light. It mirrored yesteryear’s brandishing of the lighter, concert-style. It was a remarkable demonstration to kick off the Mobile Lions. In China, kidnapping of children is an issue. An app that uses facial recognition to help locate missing children picked up a Lion. As did Score Cleaner Notes, an app that translates singing or humming into sheet music. Silver Line recycles and refurbishes smartphones for the elderly so they have effortless, simplified links to healthcare, and transportation. They can even order groceries and have them delivered. Just three more reasons to love mobile.

This from a series of blog posts by Karen Howe,  senior vice-president, creative director of One Advertising  in Toronto and Applied Arts Magazine advertising columnist. She is filing from France, where she is a Cannes Lions judge.

After 17 hours of deliberation, eight bottles of Evian and and fueled by late night sushi we arrived at the Grand Prix winner, and were freed from our meeting room. it was unanimous: Immortal Fans by Sport Club Recife by Ogilvy in Sao Paulo. This extraordinary campaign compelled fans to sign up for organ donation (Brazil has one of the lowest rates in the world) so they could continue to be fans, even in their afterlife. It pulled at the heart strings– quite literally–and was wildly successful. Go look at it. Fabulous. Organ donation is an issue in Canada too. Hey, can someone talk to the Leafs, please?

Back to the Croissette. This time in search of Lee Clow or Lou Reed. Whoever comes first.

From a June 4 post on the Canadian Royal Mint Facebook page, about a new logo design created by Cossette:

Have you noticed our new look?

The Mint brand has evolved over the course of its 105-year history and today, is synonymous with trust, pride and innovation. In our new logo, trust and pride are reflected in the iconic Canadian maple leaf, which has been preserved in a rich gold tone. The modernization of the maple leaf – made up of coins of various sizes, and circular shape of our name, is inspired by our core business. Together, these two elements represent innovation, a key component of the Mint’s story of success.

The Mint’s commitment to modernization in the competitive international market is one of the key ways that we are able to maintain our leadership position on a global scale.

Old logo

Yesterday we judged for 17 hours. I got in at 2:45 am.  I will file later today. It’s crazy here.

This is a second in a series of blog posts by Karen Howe,  senior vice-president, creative director of One Advertising  in Toronto and Applied Arts Magazine advertising columnist. She is filing from France, where she is a Cannes Lions judge.

Many wonder how one gets chosen to be a Cannes judge. You have to run the gauntlet and it’s not for the faint of heart. Looking around at the various juries here, I see that the median age is probably mid to late 40s. Here’s why. The process goes like this: you have to be nominated by a group of Canadians who are affiliated with the Cannes Lions. Then you make your submission. Your submission must include your biography, the work you are most proud of, your picture, and a list of shows you have previously judged … plus a list of the awards you’ve personally won. And by the way, if you haven’t won at Cannes before, you cannot judge it. So before the judges get to judge, they are judged. Ah, the circle is complete.

This is a first in a series of blog posts by Karen Howe,  senior vice-president, creative director of One Advertising  in Toronto and Applied Arts Magazine advertising columnist. She is filing from France, where she is a Cannes Lions judge.

I am a first-time Cannes Lions Judge. I’m thrilled to be one of the chosen carrying the flag here for Canada. As Terry Savage, CEO of Cannes Lions  put it,”Your role here is very important. Marketers are hanging by their fingernails to hear your results.  Careers swing on this.”

I am a member of the Promotions and Activations Jury.  When I met Sir John Hegarty last month at Future Flash, and he confided in me his envy. “It’s one of the most innovative categories these days.” He is judging television and had spent the last several weeks pre-judging. His eyeballs looked screen-shaped.

In my category there are over 3,000 entries.  The first few days are spent without debate, each judge privately assigning a mark from 1 to 9 on their personal tablet.  To have a chance at even making the shortlist you must score 4 or higher. Rob Schwartz, the Creative President of TBWA/Worldwide, heads up my jury. His directions were clear: recognize only the work you wished you’d done. The work that makes you feel something. We were also warned to flag “scam work” early in the judging. It’s not a witch-hunt by any means, but no one wants to discover a plagiarized idea two hours before the Grand Prix. We were also cautioned against “patriotic voting” – whether it be by nation or network, the system flags it. If we are judging much higher or much lower than fellow judges, we will also be flagged. And so it begins.

One of the most best boosts for a graphic design student is industry recognition. In this vein, the GCD has announced the winners of its 2013 National Scholarship Awards Program. Fifteen winners and 21 projects were chosen from 185 entries from 130 graphic design students.  The national sponsors — Adobe Canada, Applied Arts Magazine, Canada Type, Veer, and the GDC Foundation — helped provide cash prizes for the winners. The scholarship winners represent all levels of design education from students with only one year of design education to those with more than five. 

The panel of judges, all CGD certified GDC members from throughout Canada, included practitioners, educators and industry leaders: Adrian Jean CGD, GDC National President, Principal of Adrian Jean Creative Ltd., Ottawa; Brenda Sanderson CGD, IxDA Executive Director; Toby Bartlett CGD, GDC Events Chair, Manitoba Chapter, Big Fizz, Director of Communication, Gurevich Fine Art, Communication Design, Winnipeg; Segun Olude CGD, Principal of Indigo Ink Studios, Sessional Instructor, University of Manitoba; and Matt Warburton CGD, FGDC, GDC National VP Communications, GDC BC Chapter Ethics Chair, Design Manager, University of British Columbia, Principal, Emdoubleyu Design, Vancouver.

Judging took place in two phases. The submissions were initially reviewed online and the shortlisted entries were then assessed in person at Tétro Design in Winnipeg. The entire process was overseen by Karin Jager, CGD, GDC National VP Education. This year, the scholarship opportunities were expanded with the new Canada Type Scholarship for typography, and the GDC Foundation Marc Brisbourne scholarship for students embarking on graduate studies. This latter award ($500) was given to GDC student member Maryam Mobini, a graduate student at Simon Fraser University, Surrey, BC, for her “Design Principles for Mobile Applications for Chronic Pain Patients.”

$1000 Adobe Award Recipient: Marissa Korda, 3rd year student, York University + Sheridan College, Toronto ON

$1000 Adobe Award Recipients: Alex Bakker and James Cook, 2nd year students, Capilano University, North Vancouver BC

$1000 Applied Arts Magazine Award Recipient: Kaytee Davis, 1st year student, Vancouver Island University, Nanaimo BC

$1000 Canada Type Award Recipient: Alex Bakker, 2nd year student, Capilano University, North Vancouver BC

$500 Canada Type Award Recipient: Bernice Liu, 3rd year student, Ontario College of Art and Design University, Toronto ON

$250 Canada Type Award Recipient: Christopher Winters, 2nd year student, Capilano University, North Vancouver BC

$250 Canada Type Award Recipient: James Cook, 2nd year student, Capilano University, North Vancouver BC

$500 Veer Award Recipient: David Nighbor, 3rd year student, York University + Sheridan College, Toronto ON

$500 Veer Award Recipient: Mustaali Raj, 2nd year student, Capilano University, North Vancouver BC

Ray Hrynkow Scholarship: $500 Award Recipient: Aaron Campbell, 2nd year student, Capilano University, North Vancouver BC

RJ Brewers chose lg2boutique, of Montreal and Quebec City, to update the packaging for the Tremblay brand. Created in 1992 the Quebec brewer took advantage of the arrival of a new format, the 355 ml can, to review all of its packaging. Because Tremblay was already the best seller for RJ Brewers, it was decided the renewal of the cornerstone of the portfolio would be an evolution rather than a revolution. This was done to retain current fans while attracting new followers.

As a result, lg2boutique freshened up the logo and modernized the packaging. The result is a cleaner look that maintains the beer’s personality.

The advertising movie “Alma” (in English, Soul), produced by award-winning Brazilian production company Sentimental Filme, tells the story of the legendary war photographer Robert Capa (this year marks the 100th anniversary of his birth). Narrated in German, it is told from the point the of view of his own photographic camera, as if slung around his neck or held in in his hand.

Filmed in Havana and Bejucal, with Brazilian and Cuban actors, the movie is the first campaign of the German camera maker in Brazil, and uses a documentary style to convey its story in under two minutes.

Directed by Vellas (Felipe Vellasco), the film has already won 10 awards and aspires to win new ones at the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival in France, and D & AD, in the U.K., this month. The agency is F/Nazca Saatchi & Saatchi.

Toys“R”Us Canada has collaborated with Toronto-based advertising agency Open to create a brand new store concept that celebrates the ‘aha’ moments that happen during play. On Saturday, June 1, the toy store chain opened its first learning concept store in North Vancouver.  Named ‘Wonderlab, this new concept store offers products that promote learning, discovery, creativity, exploration and role-play.

“Our mandate on Wonderlab included developing the complete identity for the new store, from its name and logo to in-store design elements. To spread the word, we also created a launch campaign comprised of radio, print and Facebook advertising” said Martin Beauvais, partner, creative at Open.