THE WINNER of the 2024 Media Grand Prix is ‘Handshake Hunt’, an innovative campaign for Mercado Libre created by GUT, Sao Paulo.
It used the retailer’s handshake logo to cut through the marketing noise of Black Friday, crafting discounts tied to moments where people shook hands during shows on TV channel Globo.
In a week, more than 50 million discount vouchers were given away, helping Mercado Libre to its most successful Black Friday ever.
Jury President Prerna Mehrotra, of Dentsu, APAC, said that the campaign was seen by jurors as pointing to the future of media.
“The idea really proves that a strong insight can lead technology to really reinvent what television would look like,” Mehrotra said.
“Black Friday is a really cluttered environment, and we thought it was a really smart use of insight and technology, and a great way to drive participation.”
Technology was a big trend across this year’s entries in the Media Lions, but it was not a dominant force.
“Technology was invisible, but it delivered visible delight,” Mehrotra said. “We didn’t see technology, but we could feel it, and that for me was beautiful.”
The Jury also awarded Gold Lions to two more campaigns from Brazil, as well as the US (2), Germany, the UK, France, Canada, Peru and a joint Germany/US project.
Mehrotra said that the judging process highlighted the trend for brands to loosen up in their approach to their audiences.
“Consumers do expect brands to have a voice,” she said, citing projects where “brands had the confidence to spark a very light-hearted moment, make it so meaningful, and respond to consumers in real-time with that.”
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