Ogilvy becomes third agency network to hand back Cannes Lion for scam work

Ogilvy APAC has become the third major agency network to hand back Cannes Lions this year, after admitting it overreached with its claims in a case study video for a charity aimed at limiting the importation of rhino horn into Vietnam.

In a statement shared with Mumbrella Asia yesterday, Ogilvy’s regional headquarters conceded that there were some elements presented in the case study video for the project ‘Saving Africa’s Last Wild Rhinos, By Poisoning Them’ that did not actually run in-market, and the agency was “deeply regretful” of the embarrassment that errors may have caused to the client, Rhino Rescue Project, and the Cannes Lions festival.

The agency has since handed back the Silver Direct Lion and Bronze PR Lion it won for the campaign for the Rhino Rescue Project.

Grey Singapore returned the Bronze Lion it won for the ‘I Sea’ app after it was exposed as a fake by a group of tech writers, albeit with a terse statement that did not concede any wrongdoing. Grey has also deleted its supporting case study video for that campaign.