After taking a photo with friends in the morning, yesterday afternoon I met Manolo Gavilán (VP and GM of Ogilvy Costa Rica) at the exit of the Palais. We were both frustrated, as everything seemed to indicate that we Ticos were going to return to the country without Lions. We agreed to propose a general review meeting to assess what had happened and make amends for 2013.
The usual ratio is that 3% of the entries of a country gets a metal. Had we returned without Lions, it would have implied that everything submitted was either completely under the bar or had suffered from politics, forced judging and so much more that happens in the pressure of competition.
We said goodbye and agreed to see each other later. Manolo went his own way and decided not to even go to the awards ceremony that night, given the circumstances, it would be better to have dinner at his sister’s house in Nice with his wife, brother-in-law and friends. I went to a noisy and not very pleasant cocktail party, and then returned to the awards ceremony at 7:00 pm.
The only awards given out on the Cannes stage are the Golds, Grand Prix, Agency of the Year, Young Lions, Palme d’Or, Advertiser of the Year, Media Person of the Year and the like. The Silvers and Bronzes are announced for a few seconds on screen, and then sent by Federal Express to each country. In fact, last year’s Tribu DDB’s arrived to us almost three months later.
Between the fatigue, the time change and the frustration of total defeat, that is, that of my agency and that of the country, Big Bang! Costa Rica and Ogilvy appeared on the screen with a Bronze! And even more joy came when a couple of minutes later Costa Rica appeared again in the list of Platas, and again Ogilvy Costa Rica. Wonderful!
I immediately put the notification on Twitter and sent a message to Manuel. Within minutes Jennifer Caldwell appeared to ask me if it was true, which even made me doubt if it had been a hallucination. I checked with my wife and since we had indeed seen it on screen, I confirmed it.
Today, fortunately, everything was ratified and there is no doubt: Ogilvy Costa Rica has won a Silver Lion and a Bronze Lion at Cannes! Although there is still news for the entries of jotabeqú in Film and McCann-Erickson in Titanium, we can now celebrate for everyone at Ogilvy Costa Rica!
Congratulations, standing ovation!
