Earlier this month, knowing not everyone could make it to the renowned Cannes Lions festival, Fishbowl, the professional social network, opened up the voting pool to their larger Advertising community as a way to celebrate the industry. Creatives from top ad agencies like WPP, BBDO, and Publicis, among others, became judges, nominating and voting on their favorite pieces of work from the year for a chance to win the first-ever Fishes’ Choice Award.
The company opened up The Fishes’ Choice Award bowl on the app, acting as an open forum for verified professionals to discuss and nominate the best of the best. Hundreds of submissions were shared on the bowl, agencies touting their own work and the work of their peers. The nominations were narrowed down to five and voting began.
More than 10,000 people voted and “It’s a Tide Ad” by Saatchi & Saatchi New York emerged as the winner. The ad was a Super Bowl favorite and Cannes winner this year. The P&G spot left the French Riviera winning a Titanium Lion and shared the top spot in the high-profile Film category with “The Talk.” The ad features one of our favorites, David Harbour of Stranger Things. David borrowed recognizable creative commercial concepts in the spot, such as driving in a fast, new car, went to a bar for a beer, and even showed up on an infomercial. He cleverly reveals the ads being for the P&G brand because all featured stain-free, clean clothing.
The runners up included Apple’s “HomePod – Welcome Home,” directed by Spike Jonze and starring FKA Twigs; KFC’s “FCK” from Mother London, P&G’s “The Talk” from BBDO New York and Nike’s “Nothing Beats a Londoner from Wieden + Kennedy London and Riff Raff directors Megaforce.
COO and Fishbowl Co-Founder, Loren Appin, revealed the winner of the award at the Le Gout de Cannes – a yacht party in NYC hosted by Reprise Digital. The event was an inclusive advertising industry Cannes-inspired celebration for those unable to make it to the French Riviera this year. The event, Le Gout de Cannes, which means ‘the taste of Cannes’ in French, featured hallmarks of Cannes itself, including a yacht cruise, awards, schmoozing, and, of course, rosé.
Fishbowl is a social network that connects professionals within the same industry to have candid and relevant conversations about workplace topics. To date, 30% of U.S. ad industry professionals at the top agencies are active on the platform. The app is currently open to the Advertising, Consulting, Accounting, and Finance industries with plans to expand to other industries in the near future. Every day professionals come to Fishbowl to discuss industry news and get career advice from both peers and senior leadership in an open, positive, and supportive environment.