Heineken gets creative... wins seven awards at Cannes Festival

Heineken scooped seven prestigious awards at the 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with Gold, Silver and Bronze Lions for the first two films of its new global 'Legends' brand campaign, its revolutionary Star-Player game and for its cutting-edge UV Black Light STR bottle.

Within the Film category, The Entrance won a coveted overall Gold Lion award and a Bronze Lion in the Interactive Films division. Within the Film Craft category, The Entrance also won one of only two Gold Lions in the Direction division and a Silver Lion in the Best Use of Music division. The Date took home Bronze in the Film category.

StarPlayer was awarded the only Gold Lion award in the mobile division of the Cyber category. The STR bottle completed Heineken's awards haul with a Silver Lion in the Special Editions and Promotional Packaging division of the Design category.

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the world's biggest and most respected celebration of creativity in communications. At this year's event, more than 24,000 entries from all over the world were showcased and judged.

Leading brand

Bob Sprengers, Heineken country manager in Jamaica, commented: "Winning seven awards across the film, design and mobile categories is testament to the leading creative work that Heineken is delivering to its consumers. It is precisely this sort of creativity and desire to surprise our consumers that helps us to generate affinity among our consumers and this same creativity and innovation will be seen across Jamaica in the coming months. Our vision, which was recognised in Cannes with these successes, is to ignite the conversation, not just be part of it.

"Persons who'd like to see The Entrance, The Date or StarPlayer can visit www.facebook.com/heineken or visit the YouTube channel at youtube.com/heineken."

The Date and The Entrance films are the first instalments in Heineken's new creative brand campaign built around inspiring and enabling its drinkers to be Men of the World. The Date officially premiered on the Heineken YouTube channel and Facebook page in May and followed on from the Clio award-winning film The Entrance, which was launched globally in December 2010.

The Entrance received more than four million hits on YouTube in the first three weeks of its release.

Heineken's innovative STR bottle is the brand's newest high-end aluminium packaging and is a fusion of design and innovation. Embedded within the silver portions of the STR bottle is an intricate pattern of spot-UV ink, invisible in daylight, which flares up under black light to reveal a bright glowing design of stars, swirls and trails on the bottle's surface.