The Dublin-based agency Rothco, now part of Accenture Interactive, was the toast of Cannes this week as it bagged no fewer than seven Cannes Lions awards, including a highly coveted Grand Prix and a Gold lion for its AI-powered campaign JFK Unsilenced for The Times/News UK & Ireland.
The agency won the Grand Prix in the Creative Data category while the Gold came in the Radio & Audio category- in addition to a Silver and Bronze. In the Digital Craft category, meanwhile, the agency won Silver and Bronze Lions while another Silver was awarded in the Digital Craft category.
Rothco’s haul of awards was the largest by far of any Irish agency ever at the advertising festival in the South of France. The latest awards also mark the first-ever Grand Prix, Gold and Silver Lions for Accenture Interactive, which has strategically bolstered its creative capabilities over the past few years as it boosts its end-to-end customer experience offering to clients.
“Winning a Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions puts you among the world’s elite, and I believe our best work is still ahead of us. I’d like to thank our team and our partners at The Times / News UK & Ireland for their contributions to making history and bringing the voice of one of the world’s most beloved orators to a new generation.”It was a real pleasure to work with the team in The Times on this fantastic work. Their ambition for the work was fantastic and contributed greatly to our collective success,” says Patrick Hickey, CEO of Rothco.
’JFK Unsilenced’ celebrates data aggregation as an art and science. In most cases, data sharpens a story; however, in this case, it made it possible to tell it. Fifty-five years later, through advanced sound technology, JFK’s unspoken speech captivates a new generation. We’re thrilled to have this work recognized with a Grand Prix for its ability to combine data, creativity and technology to deliver profound human impact,” says Hickey.
“We’re delighted that the Lions judges have again recognized our contributions as part of the new fabric of the industry,” said Anatoly Roytman, head of Europe, Africa, Middle East, Latin America, Accenture Interactive.
“The award wins this week are a testament that our new breed of agency model – which melds creativity with business consulting and technology — is coming to life in the service of delivering breakthrough customer experiences. We look forward to celebrating many more successes across the Accenture Interactive family,” says Roytman.
Meanwhile Richard Oakley, editor of The Times, Ireland Edition, who worked closely with the agency in creating the campaign, adds: “JFK Unsilenced was a unique collaboration as it combined both creative and editorial endeavour. The project was covered by other media outlets around the world, meaning The Times was making the news as well as breaking it. Working with Rothco was a rewarding experience and I am delighted their creative talent has been recognised in such spectacular fashion.”
The haul of awards at the Cannes Lions are the latest industry accolades for ‘JFK Unsilenced.’ Last month, Rothco picked up two Gold Pencils at the One Show in New York and, in April, the campaign garnered three coveted D&AD Pencils in London.
Launched earlier this year, the ‘JFK Unsilenced’ film generated more than 4,500 registrations to The Times & The Sunday Times, as well as a 51 million Twitter reach and one billion media impressions globally. Many of The Times’ competitors covered the campaign, including The Guardian, Daily Mail, The Sun, The Daily Mirror, The Washington Post, The Independent and The Evening Standard. The campaign was also picked up in many other international newspapers and magazines.
Over the course of eight weeks Rothco, working with The Times / News UK & Ireland and CereProc, reviewed 831 JFK speeches and interviews and, through an intricate process of sound engineering, they were able to recreate the so-called Dallas Trade Mart speech which President Kennedy was due to deliver before his assassination.
