The 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is underway and several notable awards have been given out to the medical marketing community.

The Pharma Lions Grand Prix was awarded to Dentsu Creative for Scrolling Therapy, an app launched for Brazil-based pharma company Eurofarma that aims to help people with Parkinson’s slow down the progression of the disease while they scroll through social media.

Entered in the Non-Regulated Patient Engagement category, this experimental AI tool utilizes facial expression recognition to allow Parkinson’s patients to engage with social media using just their facial expressions.

Scrolling Therapy is currently available for free on Google Play and will soon be available on the Apple App Store. It’s available in three languages: English, Portuguese and Spanish.

For the second consecutive year, IPG Health was named Healthcare Network of the Year and the network’s Area 23 was named Healthcare Agency of the Year.

Joshua Prince, global CEO of Omnicom Health Group’s Professional Group, served as the Pharma Lions jury president this year. The full list of Pharma Lions winners and shortlisted work can be found here.

Special, an Auckland-based creative firm, also won the Health & Wellness Lions Grand Prix for The Last Performance campaign produced for Partners Life. The effort sought to challenge the preconceived notions that New Zealanders have regarding life insurance by way of talking corpses.

Mel Routhier, chief creative officer of VMLY&R Chicago, served as the Health & Wellness Lions jury president this year. The full list of Health & Wellness Lions winners and shortlisted work can be found here.

In addition to those two categories, Publicis Groupe won the Lions Health Grand Prix for Good for its Working with Cancer initiative.

The campaign, launched at the World Economic Forum this winter, has been a personal effort for Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun, who was diagnosed with and treated for human papilloma virus (HPV) related cancer in early 2022. 

While HPV is common, with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimating that nearly every American will get it at some point in their lives, Publicis is ensuring that the business world stands united against the disease and other chronic conditions.

More than 600 businesses, including 30 of the largest companies in the world, have signed up for the Working with Cancer pledge to de-stigmatize employees afflicted with cancer in the workplace. Familiar names that have stepped up include AbbVie, Disney, Google, Haleon, Haymarket, L’Oréal, McDonald’s, Meta, Microsoft, MSD, Nestlé, Omnicom, Pepsico, Reckitt, Renault Group, Sanofi, Verizon and Walmart. 

“On behalf of the 600 companies that have already pledged, I would like to sincerely thank the jury for elevating Working with Cancer to another level of global awareness,” Sadoun said in a statement. “Receiving the esteemed Grand Prix for Good recognition further demonstrates what is possible when we come together for positive change. As an industry, there are not that many causes or social initiatives that we can wholly affect. Erasing the stigma of cancer in the workplace is one we can take on and change forever.”

Publicis Groupe generated widespread support among industry players to raise awareness of HPV and even brought the effort to the Super Bowl in February as part of a regional advertisement associated with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. That ad received a Gold Lion from the Health & Wellness jury as well. 

Beyond the campaign itself, Publicis also enlisted Academy Award-winning actor Michael Douglas as well as The Minions to participate in the company’s annual holiday-themed Useful Wishes video in December.

The Working with Cancer campaign not only captivated executives in the business community but the medical marketing panel judging creative work in the south of France, too.

“Working with Cancer stopped us in our tracks. We not only saw a brilliantly creative idea, but we also saw a globally impactful one—with scale, inclusivity and the real potential to change employee care forever, Routhier said in a statement. “To think that this point in time could mark the beginning of what will one day be seen as table stakes for how companies support their employees is exceptionally powerful. And most deserving of the ultimate recognition in the Grand Prix For Good.”

This story has been updated.