• by Richard Whitman , Columnist, June 18, 2018

I was watching a live stream of the Cannes Lions awards ceremony earlier today and for a minute I thought I was tuned in to the Cannes Film Festival.

A 48-minute film won the grand prix award in the health and wellness category. The film was called “Corazon” and told the story of a young woman whose heart was rapidly failing. 

If you haven’t guessed already, yes, the basic pitch is to consider organ donation.

The film was made by John X Hannes USA (along with several partners), a New York-based creative collective on behalf of Montefiore Hospital. There was a tie-in with the Tribeca Film Festival.

Jury president R. John Fidelino, executive creative director at InterbrandHealth, told the awards ceremony attendees that the film “pushes the level of creativity in the health and wellness category." 

Well, it’s certainly not an elevator pitch, but the film's trailer was moving, and it is a great cause. And what the heck, it’s not like you’re going to need your organs once you head to that great storyboard in the sky.

The health grand prix for good went to an “eye language” called “Blink To Speak,” created by TBWA/India for a brain and spine institute there.

FBC Health won the award for healthcare network of the year and Havas Lynx Europe (Manchester office) won healthcare agency of the year.

And once again, no grand prix in the pharma category.

I’m guessing part of the problem there is all the regulatory hoops the pharma ads have to jump. Most of those ads consist of about 15 seconds of smiling, happy and active takers of name-your-prescription-drug, followed by 45 seconds or so of potential side effects ranging from rash to nausea to death.

If any category needs to target audiences precisely, it’s that one. Because if you don’t need the drug, watching the ad is pure agony.