J. Walter Thompson Cannes 2015: Promo & Activation

On Monday, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity had its second awards ceremony of the week. A J. Walter Thompson team from San Juan made Puerto Rico proud with Gold and Silver wins for two campaigns for Puerto Rico Tourism Company. The moment was made even more special as Matt Eastwood, J. Walter Thompson Company’s Worldwide CCO and Promo & Activation Jury President, presented the team with their awards.

Find pictures from the ceremony and more details on J. Walter Thompson Puerto Rico’s award-winning campaigns below.

Gold Lion Winner: J. Walter Thompson Puerto Rico’s “Miserable in Puerto Rico”

Is it possible to be miserable in paradise? Well, yes, if you look at Kevin Blandford who posted a series of photos on Reddit, documenting how miserable he was when he couldn’t bring his family on a free trip to Puerto Rico. When the photos went viral, J. Walter Thompson San Juan and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company saw an opportunity to give Kevin another chance to enjoy Puerto Rico, this time with his wife and baby by his side. Each of the solemn photos from his first trip was reshot with his family – this time with a big grin on his face. These photos also went viral and received organic media coverage from over 30 outlets from all over the world. This excellent example of real-time marketing from J. Walter Thompson San Juan and Puerto Rico Tourism Company was awarded the Gold Lion in the Promo & Activation category.

Read more about the campaign here.

Silver Lion winner: J. Walter Thompson Puerto Rico’s “#BostonBlizzardChallenge”

In January of this year, a heavy snowstorm buried the city of Boston, Massachusetts under almost three feet of snow. Residents across the city, perhaps driven a bit mad by the overwhelming amount of snow, began leaping out of windows, roofs and porches into the snow, tagging the soon-to-be viral phenomenon under #BostonBlizzardChallenge across social media. J. Walter Thompson Puerto Rico and the Puerto Rico Tourism Company decided to give three brave #BostonBlizzardChallenge leapers the chance to jump into something much warmer: an all-expenses-paid trip to Puerto Rico. The three daredevils toured the island’s most beautiful beaches and waterfalls and jumped…this time into Puerto Rico’s warm waters. This campaign was awarded the Silver Lion in the Promo & Activation category.

Read more about the campaign here.

— View more pictures from the night on our Facebook page here. Stay tuned to the J. Walter Thompson Worldwide LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram for more insights, highlights and news from Cannes 2015. View all of our Cannes 2015 content here.