Though challenging, the regulations and constraints that guardrail the pharma industry can be a catalyst for creativity. And according to dentsu, in 2025, marketers will have increased ad spend (+5.8%) at their disposal as consumer needs evolve.
Read on to see the work that triumphed in 2024 and hear what the Jury will be looking for from the pharma industry in this year's Cannes Lions Awards.
You need to be more creative in pharma than ever before. Creativity is the core of everything we do in pharma now. And it’s a very different industry than it was 24 years ago. You see more creatives wanting to enter this industry because it has the potential to change lives.
Colette Douaihy
Global Chief Creative Officer
Dentsu Health
Jury President, Pharma Lions 2024
What did Lion-winning creativity look like in the pharma industry in 2024?
Mis[s]diagnosed
Entrant: MullenLowe MENA, Dubai Brand: Organon Award: Bronze, Pharma Lions
Objective: To raise awareness of and help close the medical gender data gap and encourage women in the region to share their data for clinical trials that will help in cardiovascular research. Impact: A total of 28 million people reached and a 17% increase in the clinical trials during the month of the campaign.
Not A Lonely Journey
Entrant: VML, Milan Brand: Biogen Award: Bronze, Pharma Lions
Objective: Increase brand awareness as the world leader in spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) care by highlighting the improvements SMA patients have made over the years since the advent of new and better therapies. Impact: A thousand people reached among healthcare professionals, researchers and patient organisations.
Spikevax That Body
Entrant: TBWA\Health Collective, New York Brand: Moderna, Inc. Award: Shortlisted, Pharma Lions
Objective: Officially launch Moderna’s Covid-19 vaccine brand and increase market share at a time when no one wanted to hear about Covid-19 anymore. Impact: Moderna’s position in the market was cemented, with brand awareness increasing 66%, reaching twice that of competitor Pfizer. The total market share increased by 30%, contributing to vaccinating more than 22 million people in the second half of 2023.
FeNOMENA
Entrant: Havas Lynx, New York Brand: Sanofi Aventis Award: Shortlisted, Pharma Lions
Objective: Increase screenings for the FeNO biomarker and generate awareness in specific regions across patients and physicians. Impact: The campaign gathered more than 500 direct participants and achieved over 257m impressions across 110 publications globally. In all, 17% of people who participated in FeNOMENAL events learnt they were at risk of an asthma attack.
Watch last year’s Jury outline what they are hoping to see in this year’s winners
“It’s the basics of what we do and what we should be doing.”
Roberta Raduan Managing Director LATAM, Klick Juror, 2024 Pharma Lions
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