Grey Singapore grudgingly hands back Bronze Lion won at Cannes for controversial ‘I Sea’ App
After weeks of controversy, and without admitting any wrongdoing, Grey Singapore has reluctantly handed back its Bronze Lion won at Cannes last month for its ‘I Sea’ App.
The agency released this short statement overnight: “During Cannes we said the app was real and its creator, Grey for Good in Singapore, is a highly respected philanthropic unit that has helped numerous non-profit organizations. Moreover, Grey is one of the most creatively awarded agencies in the world with the highest ethical standards. We won over 90 Cannes Lions this year alone so there is no need for scam projects.
“However, given the unwarranted, unfair, unrelenting attacks by unnamed bloggers, we are putting an end to this and returning the Bronze Lion so there is not even the hint of impropriety or a question of our integrity. The saying no good deed goes unpunished is apt in this case.”
Grey Group Singapore’s Bronze Lion win in the Promo + Activation Lions came under fire following Apple iTunes decision to pull the app from their store. The ‘I Sea’ app came under investigation following criticism of the app first raised by @SwiftOnSecurity, who tested the app.
The App won a Bronze Lion in Cannes but when it won media reports called the app a “fake” and “bogus”
The Gawker reported that the app was a fake. Mashable, who were a media outlet to first cover the launch of the app, also reported that Apple had pulled the app. The Register, a UK IT blog covered the story with the headline: “Sea of outrage after ‘migrant-spotting app’ turned out to be bogus”.
Criticism of the agency intensified this week when Ali Bullock, a Hong Kong-based marketer wrote an open letter to Grey Group, saying he would never hire the network.
In response at the time Grey posted a statement on their website saying that the app is in “testing mode”.
Grey’s statement was as follows: “On World Refugee Day, Grey for Good wants to thank all those who are helping us develop the I SEA app. I SEA – an app developed by Grey for Good in support of MOAS – aims to bring humanitarian and technological efforts together in order to have a concrete impact on the continued refugee crisis at sea. Currently in its testing period, the app is a tool which crowdsources the ability to scan the sea for migrant vessels in distress. With global forced displacement having reached an all-time high (65.3 million people at the end of 2015), any efforts to help those fleeing war and persecution are greatly welcomed.
“The I SEA App is currently in a testing mode. At this time it is loading and mapping satellite images to its GPS coordinates and users are able to report an anomaly in their plot of sea. The report function is sending out an alert whenever a user flags something in the plot of sea they are watching. During this testing period, the satellite images available are not in real-time. Grey for Good are still working to optimise the technology, but we are proud of what we have achieved so far and are grateful to all those who have shown interest in helping to improve the app further. The continued interest and suggestions from people who have already tried it around the world, especially on this, World Refugee Day, are all valued opinions which will be incorporated into the final product.”
Perhaps the most damning was a statement released by a client spokesperson, The Migrant Offshore Aid Network:
“The Migrant Offshore Aid Network did not develop the app with Grey for Good nor do we feel that there [are] any advantages to having the public scan old sat images for potential disasters that in reality unfold in seconds.”
“MOAS has performed life and death rescues in real time using two ships, commercial drones and Search and Rescue Crews in the Central Mediterranean since 2014. The majority of our rescues are coordinated in real time from the Rome Rescue Coordination Center in which MOAS often takes the lead. Saving lives is a serious business, with serious consequences for not maintaining the highest standards of professionalism.
“All we can say on the developers’ behalf is that the App probably sounded interesting in concept form but failed miserably in execution. We were asked to support the launch of the app in concept only. So we were included in a press release,” added the spokesperson.
The client further added this quote in a story in The Guardian: “We were dismayed to discover that real time images were not being used. We have since discontinued our relationship with Grey for Good and spoken candidly about our disappointment to the media.”
@SwiftOnSecurity, who first started questioning the app, tweeted about the failures of the app since she started testing it. She also tweeted about Grey’s Lion win.
30 Comments
One cursory glance at the ‘Grey For Good’ website lists numerous projects. (Interestingly enough, you can sort them by ‘most awarded.’)
I clicked a random project.
A project for Malaysia Telekom. An umbrella that has an attachment that turns it into some sort of Dengue fever killing dispenser.
Of course, a tiny bit of digging and you realise that it’s just a submission to a website run by Telekom, where anyone can pitch an idea. The more votes it gets, Telekom will make it.
In this case, Telekom didn’t make it.
But I doubt it stopped Grey from entering it into shows.
In fact, they sent a PR release about the umbrella to almost every website on the planet.
So it wasn’t their client (even though the website claims that the ‘client’ is Telekom. It wasn’t a real project, just an idea submitted to a fun site where any Malaysian can enter.
So, to all intents and purposes, complete scam.
I’m sure with our combined resources we can unpick almost every project on there and expose it for what it is.
Have fun, go for it.
The audacity of that statement makes my blood boil. I’ve never been more ashamed of what we do as an industry. Exploiting an issue that has ruined the future of millions of kids, affected so many innocent lives. All for a piece of worthless metal that gives your impotent self a momentary hard-on is really comparable to the worst thing you can do as a human.
Wow…the creatives suddenly becoming scam busters after contributing to it since human civilisation! Biz must is rather bad.
Grey, your red dot iodine idea in India was a load of bollocks but this one crossed the line.
You haven’t got a leg to stand on. The app doesn’t work. You entered it saying it did. The outcry above it totally warranted.
If your motive was to do good, which everyone seriously doubts, why did you just not perfect the app and get it working and then, if you must, enter it next year or the year after when it had already saved lives. Any award you then won would be well deserved.
But your motives here were a lion hunt, not a refugee hunt. Sad.
“During Cannes we said the app was real and its creator, Grey for Good in Singapore, is a highly respected philanthropic unit that has helped numerous non-profit organizations. Moreover, Grey is one of the most creatively awarded agencies in the world with the highest ethical standards. We won over 90 Cannes Lions this year alone so there is no need for scam projects. However, given the unwarranted, unfair, unrelenting attacks by unnamed bloggers, we are putting an end to this and returning the Bronze Lion so there is not even the hint of impropriety or a question of our integrity. The saying no good deed goes unpunished is apt in this case.”
Pass the puke bucket, please. I’m retching already.
Let’s get real:
You did a non-working mock-up purely for award juries. It was never intended to work. (See July 7, 2016 8:59 AM above for more examples. And here’s hoping Malaysian Telecomms also pulls the award. You can’t just stick clients’ names on your awards poo-poo, Grey folks. Did Malaysian Telecomms sign off on it?)
Truth hurts, eh?
A client wrote recently that he’d never hire Grey.
Me? I’d never work there.
Ugh.
“The difference between life and death”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sclg_AfGzcE
Would be interesting to know if this is still being handed out in India. Or did it stop after the case study was shot. Anyone know?
Reaction to Grey’s statement:
“So clearly, the agency finally took a hard look at itself after receiving so much criticism, found some humility and admitted at least some level of fault. That’s great news.
Oh, wait. Here’s Grey’s statement on the matter, issued overnight…….
“Unwarranted, unfair, unrelenting attacks? No good deed goes unpunished?”
The mind reels.
We’ve seen lots of brands in trouble over the years, and we’ve seen some horrible crisis management, but Grey’s sanctimonious, argumentative, childish reactions throughout this story may take the cake.
It’s truly the proverbial textbook case of how not to manage such a situation.
With its obstinate and flighty reactions Grey has only prolonged discussion of this issue long after it should have been put to rest.
Worse, by defending work that by its own admission didn’t actually help any refugees, Grey has managed to make its name synonymous with scam and with winning awards “off the back” of genuine human suffering, as Ali Bullock put it in his blistering open letter yesterday.”
Read more at: http://www.campaignasia.com/article/greys-i-sea-saga-lessons-learned/427592
Not smart, guys……..
Time for Cannes to start refunding the entry fees of every other entrant in that particular category? Let’s face it, if the system is not robust enough to pick up the scam before it gets to festival week, it is not currently fit for purpose.
I won’t pour more gasoline on the fire suffice to say that Ali has been very, very quiet about the whole sordid affair. As CCO of Grey SEA you should have at least had the balls to come out with an apology. Your silence is deafening. Shame, shame, shame. You guys have tainted the whole of Singapore with your pathetic attempt to do good. i feel ashamed to work in this industry.
Grey got caught and shamed. Deservedly.
But they are no different from the dozens of other agencies who create ‘pro bono’ work merely to win awards.
They all exploit the misery of others for shiny metal.
And all should be ashamed.
Cannes should stop giving awards to charity work.
But they won’t.
There is a Grey Area.
SINGAPORE!
That whole place needs regime change and a swift boot up the arse.
Every agency at some point in time has submitted fake entries. Majorly because a lot of breathtaking and wow-worthy ideas don’t see the light of day.
At awards, agencies get a chance to showcase their creative brilliance.
The moving gears in this story are the cause followed by the statement by the agency.
Had it been some other cause, people wouldn’t have even bothered to raise a point.
Don’t touch a sensitive topic if you can’t handle it. Grey should have realised it.
And yes, their statement is leaving a taste worse than a rotten baked Pomfret served on a bed of sprouts.
Hope they learn and surprise the world soon with a new creative masterpiece that can actually work, help people and issue apologetic statements as needed.
When you go hunting for lions for the wrong reasons…you’ll end up getting monkeys. Very distasteful…but I hear the creative advertising industry has been awards crazy for years, just that its crossing the line these days, like the Leo Burnett Malaysia incident that’s ongoing.
Lots of Grey employees trying to spin this around here.
Give it up, using the ‘everyone does it’ argument makes you look even shabbier.
This whole fiasco is tarnishing Singapore’s reputation. Funny thing is, most of Grey is made up of foreigners. The most important one of them all – Ali Shabaz needs to have some balls. No respect for you. I will never let Singapore sink like your app did.
So, did Cannes check if the bronze Lion is real or maybe the switched it with a fake one too.
I’m surprised Grey haven’t claimed the VW dieselgate scandal as their own idea, and tried to enter it into some pro-petrol engine campaign.
Seriously, how the hell does this shit get signed off by so many people in an company like Grey? The amount of money they must be spending on entries, and no one bats an eyelid.
Then of course, there’s the award shows. Come on, are their no checks and balances, just nice big entry cheques so it’s all sweet?
@Jason,
Yep, the umbrella idea was entered several times into Cannes this year too.
So what does the Cannes Lions money machine have to say?
You wanted to wait till it was over. OK, it’s over. You guys have had about 2 weeks worth of six-Martini lunches with your fat entry fee profits, by now.
How goes the internal investigation?
What’s the verdict, amigos?
Or is this the pattern for the future:
Get caught, issue non-apology, give back award with the petulance of a 6-year-old, and Cannes Lions just looks the other way?
All you are encouraging is better-crafted fakes in the future, Mr Savage.
And you still get your fat profits, so you don’t care.
Funny how these types of things are still deemed acceptable at Cannes…what kind of rubbish award show is this? I think the blame shld also be on Cannes Lions as an organisation, it seems that entry fees are far more important than original creative work that you’re suppose to celebrate. I don’t hear them coming out and making a statement. Almost every year that’s some sort of scandalous entry. What the hell? Let’s see if any more clients are going to touch Grey Singapore, not without a yard stick I imagine.
totally agree with the observer, i think we need to think of where the source of these issues are? How did it drive agencies to this desperation…. End of the day, is Cannes doing anything about these or busy counting the money? Its always easy to point all fingers at the terrorists, but still no one does a thing about the security…
Think about it. What goes around comes around.
@ Good Deed, Ha Ha…..
“You guys have had about 2 weeks worth of six-Martini lunches with your fat entry fee profits, by now.”
You just answered your own question, mate.
You think the Cannes Lions cares about the integrity of the entries? LOL.
It’s all about the $$$$$$$, baby.
Sorry to burst your bubble.
Next year, you can enter your mother for all they care (pardon the expression).
Once your Euros are banked in, they couldn’t care less.
The following people need to also issue an apology to MOAS, the Cannes Festival and Syrian Refugees for this incident…. and to the advertising community for all the negative global publicity that has followed.
1. Nirvik Singh – Chairnan & CEO Grey APAC
2. Subbaraju Alluri – CEO Grey Singapore
3. Ali Shabaz – CCO Grey SE Asia
4. Low Jun Jek – ECD, Grey Digital Singapore
5. Cinzi Crociani – Integrated Creative Director, Grey Singapore
6. Owen Dougherty, Chief PR Guy Grey
However, they should also be recognised for exposing the whole scam phenomenon that many clients only suspected, but did not fully understand the scale of until now.
Someone tells me there were several other ideas at Cannes that exploits the refugee issues that aren’t really solving anything but trying to win some lions….We need to start scrutinize these appalling acts…..Anyone else knows who they are? What did they make? Let’s not debate only after another awards show had given them trophies.
Yes, this year anything involving “OCEAN + TECHNOLOGY” seemed like good entry fodder (I guess they were piggybacking on Optus “Clever Buoy”.) I can recall at least 3-4 of those.
Emmmm, why is it called a “creative” department again?
The irony…..
ISea Bogus App
Credits & Description
Agency: Grey Group
Brand: Migrant Offshore Aid Station (Moas)
Country: Singapore
Advertising Agency: Grey Group, Singapore
Entrant Company: Grey Group, Singapore
Media Agency: Grey Group, Singapore
Pr Agency: Grey Group, Singapore
Production Company: Grey Group, Singapore
Creative Director: Nrusingha Choudhury (Grey Group Singapore)
Colourist: Egan Subramaniam (Greyworks)
Interactive Designer: Peng Lin Ang (Grey Group Singapore)
Producer: Joanne Wong (Greyworks)
Editor: Leon Lee (Greyworks)
Executive Assistant To Ceo: Lucia Moretti (Grey Group Singapore)
Production Manager: Sean Ching (Grey Group Singapore)
Chief Creative Officer: Ali Shabaz (Grey Group Singapore)
Editor: Bobby Aguila (Greyworks)
Editor: Aaron Tan (Greyworks)
Regional Director, Pr And Corporate Communications: Huma Qureshi (Grey Group Singapore)
Senior Account Manager: Madina Kalyayeva (Grey Group Singapore)
Regional Corporate Communications Executive: Pang Yanrong (Grey Group Singapore)
Editor: Sebastian Ting (Greyworks)
Personal Assistant To Cco: Kersmawati Hak (Grey Group Singapore)
Producer: Lavita Kala (Greyworks)
Executive Creative Director: Low Jun Jek (Grey Group Singapore)
Web Developer: Randell Quitain (Grey Group Singapore)
Developer: Balasubramaniyan Suruliraj (Grey Group Singapore)
Head Of Art: Shante Lee (Grey Group Singapore)
Senior Account Manager: Stephen Moran (Grey Group Singapore)
Art Director: Cinzia Crociani (Grey Group Singapore)
Associate Creative Director: James Dickinson (Grey Group Singapore)
Editor: Lohgaraj Ramasamy (Greyworks)
Sound Designer/Composer: Marco Iodice (Greyworks)
Art Director: Sandeep Bhardwaj (Grey Group Singapore)
Editor: Zhi Liang Soh (Greyworks)
Producer: Harie Herman (Greyworks)
No not just about ocean+technology. any submitted ideas about helping refugees that aren’t exactly effective needs public shaming from the world like this.
Nice. Humanitarians of Tinder (Agency Edition)!
Please.
Leave the humanitarian work to people who are actually on the ground tirelessly doing it for no award. And who have actual “insights” to these very serious problems.
Leave the innovation and tech work to people with the actual skills. And more importantly, the long term commitment to shipping something of this ambition that actually works.
You obviously have no business being in these respective spaces. And you’re probably better off spending your time working on paying client work.
Thanks.
“You obviously have no business being in these respective spaces. And you’re probably better off spending your time working on paying client work.”
Well, we live in hope.
With Cannes Lions’ lacklustre and wishy-washy response to the whole issue, the more likely scenario is that they will keep scamming away on client time but just try harder not to get caught.
HINT TO GREY SINGAPORE: Next time, pay someone to actually get your tech up and working just for that judging week, fellas.
Now, go off and save humanity.