On Friday Cannes will announce the Dan Wieden Titanium Lion winner. The creative game-changer of the year will have impressed a star-studded jury with its “provocative, boundary-busting work.”  

But what if the accolade was a “People’s Choice”-type award? Who would win if the public was judging?  

That’s what the curious folks at ad-marketing research company System 1 asked themselves and they did a survey of how the English-language entrants competing for the award resonated with consumers. 

The winner was Apple, followed by Raid and Microsoft. 

Apple’s “The Greatest” montage of people with disabilities using Apple devices to beat expectations and limitations scored 4.1 stars. “It’s not only the best 2023 Titanium ad we tested, it’s the best Apple brand ad we’ve ever looked at,” said Jon Evans, Chief Customer Officer at System1. “Apple’s moody ads don’t always land with a wider audience. This one connects, because it’s human and the music sounds like it’s been a hit for ages.”  

Raid’s “Certified Care,” a two-minute case study on the brand’s work certifying Rwandan health practitioners, scored 3.7 stars. The ad focuses on the African women on the frontline of disease prevention. “This ad is purpose as it should be done,” said Evans. “Instead of a Western brand dropping in for a photo-op, we see the insect killer brand lend a helping hand to existing community efforts.”  

Microsoft scored 3.1 stars for “ADLAM – An Alphabet to Preserve a Culture,” another two-minute story about brothers who created an entire alphabet to preserve their native Fulani language – a previously oral dialect spoken by 25 million people in West Africa. Microsoft has gotten involved to make ADLAM usable on modern devices with simplified letters and new fonts.  

“There’s often a chasm between what juries award and what consumers respond to,” said Evans. “Cannes 2023 Titanium entries emphasize purpose and technology. The ads that will move markets center on people, not technology itself, and tie purpose back to the product in a story that leaves people smiling.”