Reprising 2007’s sovereignty, Brazil shines again in the 2008 Press area, winning the largest number of Lions among the awarded competing countries. Represented by Luiz Sanches, creative director of AlmapBBDO, in the judging committee, Brazilians celebrated in Côte d’Azur the awards won by Marcello Serpa, granted to a series of two pieces signed by Cia de Bolso (Cia das Letras), entitled “Roman Empire” and “Experimentation”. The agency also won 3 Silver Lions and 3 Bronze ones. In total, Brazil received 14 Lions, that is, besides AlmapBBDO’s 7, a Silver Lion was awarded to Agência 3, one for Y&R and another one for Euro RSCG, and one Bronze Lion for each of the following agencies: JWT, Leo Burnett, Lew Lara e Y&R.

Nevertheless, la vie en rose for the Brazilian judge only begun during the Lions definition, according to the creative’s own words, in 2008 it wasn’t easy to go from the long to the shortlist. In spite of the rigid criteria employed by the Press judging committee, instead of having the chance to include more Brazilian pieces among the finalists, Sanchez saw a total collapse – many competitors were eliminated by the majority’s decisions, in a way that the list of finalists diminished and only excellent level pieces were passed.

After this behavior from the judges, Sanches actually got a fright when he summed up our finalists: 71 against last year’s 90. But it was only a fright really, because as we did the math, there could be verified that within 71 finalists our country had 32 chances of being awarded a Lion (single pieces are gathered into their respective campaigns), the area’s biggest competitive advantage, while France, in second, according to this method, was aiming to 30 trophies at the most. AlmapBBDO on the other hand, entered the final runway with 8 Lion opportunities, which were almost fully achieved, conquering 7 Lions.

Although Brazil took 3 Gold Lions home in 2007, this year’s one and only Gold Lion is worthy of celebration for the facts described above, including the judging committee’s strict criteria, who granted only India the privilege of stepping onto the stage in the Press area’s gala night to receive 2 Gold Lions of the 9 awarded.

In compensation, if we kept only one Silver Lion and three Bronze last year, this year we feasted upon the 6 out of 29 Silver Lions granted, and 7 in the most numerous award, the Bronze, whose total sum in 2008 reached 54.

Regarding the rank, Brazil is the most awarded country, with 97 points (1 Gold Lion, 6 Silver, 7 Bronze and 39 Finalists). France comes in second, with 73 (1 Gold Lion, 2 Silver, 8 Bronze and 32 Finalists); Thailand is the third, with 52 (1 Gold Lion, 3 Silver, 1 Bronze and 27 Finalists); and India in fourth, with 49 (2 Gold Lions, 2 Silver, 2 Bronze and 19 Finalists).

The United States figure in fifth thanks to their vast presence of pieces in the shortlist, since their 3 Bronze Lions gave them only nine points – a mark that reaches 47 with addition of their 38 finalists. South Africa, winner of the grand Prix appears in the sixth position, with 27 points (1 GP, 1 Silver, 3 Bronze and 13 Finalists), while the United Kingdom, with no Lions in the Press area, is in the bottom part of the chart, with 16 points coming from their Finalists.

The Grand Prix abducted the judges’ mind and heart. It’s a South Africa DDB work for Energizer Batteries, whose announcement messages, besides promoting the product, transmit hints of well behavior to mommies and daddies, and therefore, hitting two bunnies with a single shot, with our apologies from shooting the bunny, that in this case, has been a cheering element in the brand’s ads for years.

Translation from portuguese to english by Eduardo Bonatto.