Ignition by Razorfish and Acura Earn Silver Lion at 2016 Cannes Festival of Creativity

LOS ANGELES, July 7, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Los Angeles-based digital shop Ignition by Razorfish and Acura were awarded a Silver Lion at the 2016 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the innovative 2015 "Race Your Heart Out" holiday campaign, winning in the Mobile sub-category for "Connected Experience Games."

In this award-winning idea, Acura teamed up with Ignition to reinvent a holiday tradition and launch the first ever, multi-broadcast social event, allowing a new audience to experience the exhilaration of driving an Acura TLX on Periscope. Tapping into the holiday nostalgia of the Gen X and Millennial demographics, Acura drove awareness of its Winter Sales Event by complementing the "Oh What Fun it is to Drive" TV spot and drawing on the emotional connection to the classic slot cars holiday gift.

Entry: http://www.canneslionsarchive.com/winners/entry/774281/raceyourheartout

"With a saturated social landscape, standing out can be hard – especially around holiday sales events. We wanted to help Acura engage with a new demographic and widen their audience by doing something that had never been done before: create a live, multi-broadcast event that would drive loyalty and encourage engagement through holiday nostalgia," said Mike Frank, group creative director, Ignition by Razorfish. "It was a huge success made possible by the genius and partnership of our teams, and we're incredibly proud of the opportunity to work with Acura on ground-breaking campaigns."

Participants of the live event controlled the TLX acceleration remotely with their smart phones by pressing the Periscope "heart" button to power the racing Acura TLXs around the track. Ryan Eversley, Acura factory racecar driver, served as part of the event's commentary team and, in spirit of the holidays, Acura donated race winnings to the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. 

The effort resulted in two hours and twenty races, more than 60,000 "hearts" generated and $10,000 raised. In total, users watched 75 hours of races and Acura brand media. 

About Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

Cannes Lions, The International Festival of Creativity, has been the home of great ideas since 1954. Over 62 years, it's grown into an eight-day programme of inspiration, celebration, learning and networking, driven by the belief that creativity is a force for business, for change and for good. With more than 15,000 delegates from nearly 100 countries now attending the Festival each year, it's a global meeting place where branded communications professionals can connect, share and discover. The world's most coveted creative accolades, The Lions, are judged and presented at the Festival. More than 40,000 submissions across 23 categories are rigorously assessed by respected industry representatives, exhibited onsite and then awarded during a number of ceremonies. During the Festival week, selected programme content and awards are also channelled into 3 specialist events-Lions Health, Lions Innovation and Lions Entertainment-catering to industry sectors.

About Acura

Acura is a leading automotive luxury nameplate that delivers Precision Crafted Performance, an original approach to technology and design that creates a new driving experience. On March 27, 2016, Acura celebrated the 30th anniversary of its launch as the first luxury nameplate from a Japanese automaker.

The Acura lineup features five distinctive models – the RLX luxury flagship sedan, the TLX performance luxury sedan, the ILX sport sedan, the 5-passenger RDX luxury crossover SUV, and the seven-passenger Acura MDX, America's all-time best-selling three-row luxury SUV. This spring, Acura launched its next-generation, electrified NSX supercar as a new and pinnacle expression of Acura Precision Crafted Performance. The NSX is built in Marysville, Ohio using domestic and globally sourced parts.

About Ignition by Razorfish

Based in Los Angeles, Ignition by Razorfish is a dedicated unit within Razorfish, custom-built to bring together the agency's best-in-class capabilities to deliver transformational work on behalf of American Honda Motor Company. Motivated and inspired by what's next, Razorfish helps its clients navigate the unknown, drive change and transform business through a unique blend of technology, creativity and media at its core.

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SOURCE Ignition by Razorfish