• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, July 18, 2017

FCB Canada has launched a campaign to celebrate the 10 — count ’em — 10 Cannes Lions it won at this year’s festival.

It’s quite a campaign — every one of its 240 employees is mentioned by name via seeded posts on social media that give a shoutout to individual agency employees. Each employee is credited with being the “winner of 10 Cannes Lions.”

I’m not sure the paperwork behind those 10 Lions credits all 240 employees — which could be problematic for those claiming credit on resumes — but it’s an interesting and thoughtful gesture on the part of the agency.

Kind of like the way U.S. soccer teams for 6-year-olds award everyone a medal, no matter how well they did or didn’t do. 

The agency also took out a full-page ad in the Canadian newspaper The Globe and Mail to commemorate the agency’s Championship Season — winningest Canadian agency at Cannes this year. There is a microsite showcasing all the employees, along with clips of the Lion-winning creative work.

Wait, there’s more.

Everyone at the agency received a little keepsake in recognition of the big year. I wonder if they all received a little something extra in their paychecks, as well.

Imagine what the agency will do when it wins 20 Cannes Lions — nearly as many McCann’s “Fearless Girl” won this year at the festival, including four Grand Prix. (And that’s just for one campaign. A chunk of metal really, albeit beautifully sculpted.)

They’ll probably throw an evening gala. In Ottawa, maybe. The Prime Minister will be invited, of course.

You don’t see U.S. agencies doing that. McCann had to hire a cargo plane to ship back all of its Cannes hardware — 115 Lions in all.

But then awards aren’t everything. McCann just got booted out of the U.S. Army review, though under protest by the shop. And FCB Canada just won the BMW account.

Awards and recognition are nice. But new business is nicer. Yeah, that’s more likely to put a little something extra in everybody’s paycheck.