Booth and Stilitz on Their Cannes Triumph

Last Saturday night [June 25] the Cannes Film Grand Prix was announced as Harvery Nichols' Shoplifters.

The creatives on the spot, Ben Stilitz [above left] and Colin Booth [above right] of adam&eveDDB London, here react to the win and reflect on their time in Cannes.

Congratulations on the win; what does it feel like to have picked up the Film Grand Prix last week?

We’re thrilled. So many great things have won it in the past, so to be in that company is fantastic.

When did you find out that you’d won and how did you react to that information?

We were told the night before and immediately ordered the largest lobsters available in the restaurant we were in.

Shoplifters won a slew of awards pre-Cannes; did that raise your hopes for winning a Lion?

Winning the other awards definitely made us hopeful that we’d pick something up, but we didn’t assume anything. All juries are different and we didn’t expect to get the Grand Prix.

How important would you say winning awards is to a creative’s career these days?

They’re still important and still open doors. Nothing else puts you in the spotlight in quite the same way.

How (and how long) did you celebrate on Saturday night?

We went for dinner. It was a lot of fun, if not particularly rock and roll.

Booth and Stilitz on stage in Cannes with ECDs Ben Tollett [fourth from left], Rick Brim [fourth from right] and Film jury president, Joe Alexander [far right].

When you came up with the idea for the spot, then when you had finished making it, did you realise that it was something special?

Yeah, it’s one of the few pieces that we all felt really good about as soon as we saw the first edit. Also, the reaction we got when it first went out was way beyond anything else we’ve every done. Complete strangers were getting in contact to tell us they loved it.

How long were you in Cannes for and, before the ceremony on Saturday, how did you spend your time?

We were there for a couple of days before the ceremony and generally spent our time nobbing about, drinking rose and catching up with mates.

Apart from a Film Grand Prix, what have you taken away from this year’s festival?

Very mild liver damage.