Dive Brief:

• Cannes Lions kicks off this week with a record number of award submissions (43,000 total) and 18 of the 24 awards categories seeing increases in submissions this year, with the most popular category being Product Design, which had a 92% lift over last year.
• Three categories that declined over last year were Cyber Lions, Radio Lions, and Print and Publishing Lions.
• Some awards have already been announced: Ogilvy London took the Pharma Grand Prix award with its "Breathless Choir" ad campaign for Philips while FCB Inferno London won the Health & Wellness Grand Prix award with its "Project Literacy" campaign for Pearson.

Dive Insight:

Cannes Lions kicks off this week at a time when the advertising world is in turmoil. 

A recent Association of National Advertisers (ANA) report found rebates from media companies to agencies for purchased ad spots were rampant, while public flap over industry diversity emerged between the heads of WPP and Publicis. Meanwhile, the growing adoption of ad blocking technology by consumers has become a major challenge for agencies and advertisers. Against this backdrop comes Cannes Lions, an opportunity for the industry to look past these issues and celebrate itself.

While award submissions were up 7% over last year, a few categories declined. Unsurprisingly, two of those categories were print and radio, channels that have seen decreases in consumption from users. But as Philip Thomas, the chief executive of Lions Festivals, told PR Week, the awards submissions can be cyclical: The Outdoor Lions dropped 11% last year, but rebounded with a 7% increase this year.

"We are constantly evaluating every Lion, consulting with the industry to form a view on how they should be structured to reflect the creative landscape and remain relevant," Thomas said. "It’s important that the Lions remain a barometer for the industry, as well as an enduring creative benchmark.”