JCDecaux’s ‘Meet Marina Prieto’ is a great campaign, but is it the best example of B2B this year?
I’m not going to begrudge a delightful 100-year-old woman her moment in the sun, or say I don’t understand why the jury picked it, but I must admit that I was a little bit surprised that JCDecaux’s campaign was chosen as the Grand Prix winner in Cannes Lions’ Creative B2B category.
This is not to criticise JCD or their agency David Madrid, which has made the most of an under-utilised asset to make an emotional connection with its audience – something we’re always telling our clients to do.
And I know all the arguments in favour of it winning: it was a big idea on behalf of a B2B business, and it achieved what it set out to do, which was to demonstrate to advertisers that you can build online fame among Madrileños via JCDecaux’s subway posters.
In addition, the Creative B2B category is platform neutral, so no rules were broken by picking an out-of-home campaign to win. I can see the appeal. After flipping through several hundred pie charts and sales stats, getting to JCDecaux’s very well-made film about Marina was no doubt a sight for sore eyes.
But I’d love to have been a fly on the wall in the B2B jury room. What conversations were had about whether a campaign which boils down to a fairly simple outdoor strategy (after all, several journalists have described it as a stunt) was the best example of B2B marketing?
Because one thing that is interesting about the Meet Marina Prieto campaign is that instead of targeting JCD’s own audience, it targeted the audience’s audience.
The idea is reminiscent of other great B2B work done by media brands using their own medium. For instance, Thinkbox has done some brilliant TV work in the UK about how good TV ads are.
But while this approach might have delivered results for JCD (and Thinkbox), it’s a strategy that can’t be applied to B2B brands in sectors other than media.
These ads may challenge the idea of there being discreet B2B and B2C audiences, but I question how relevant this approach is for brands in other B2B sectors. Is an OOH campaign about OOH really the most creative campaign out of the whole bunch?
There are a lot of things the campaign did well, but in my mind it wasn’t the most original creative idea. For once I’d like to see some of the brilliant creative that is produced in the B2B space get the recognition it deserves.
Because if your creative isn’t actually that creative, then what’s the point? It won’t get the attention you are seeking.
You could look at it this way: creative is similar to the style and design of a great house. If it isn’t eye-catching, you won’t ohh and ahh. The interior styling and how much it feels like a home is the effectiveness and what probably puts you over the edge in terms of wanting to live there. But they both have to work in harmony. A house can be a beautiful home on the inside, but if it looks ugly on the outside, you’re probably not going to pay it much attention when you’re house hunting.
It was such a breakthrough moment for B2B when Cannes added the B2B category in 2021, but I can’t help but feel that I’m still waiting for a brilliantly creative B2B campaign to be awarded.
Instead of feeling disappointed, perhaps this should serve as a kick in the backside. It’s time for our collective creative work in the B2B community to get better to compete at Cannes.
Ed Davis is director international client relationships BBN.
