The one-time special episode of 30 Rock that NBCUniversal put together for its 2020 upfront presentation won a Bronze award at the Cannes Lion Festival.
The 2020 upfront was disrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, cancelling the traditional live theater presentations NBCU made by and the other major television companies.
Other networks put together virtual presentation based on Zoom, but NBCU decided to put together a special episode of 30 Rock, the popular sitcom set at a dysfunctional TV network owned by a clueless cable company. The episodes actually aired on NBC’s TV stations in primetime.
“The 30 Rock Upfront special was a massive company-wide effort—from the incredible cast, to our amazing leadership team, to Studios to Distribution to Entertainment and so many more,” said Linda Yaccarino, NBCU chairman of global advertising and partnerships, in a post on LinkedIn talking about the award. “I still can’t believe it was all shot on iPhones during a pandemic!”
Yaccarino noted that an integration NBCU’s creative partnership team worked on, Laundry Night for Procter & Gamble’s Tide, also won a Bronze Lion.
“In such a competitive year, these honors are a complete testament to the power of innovation, collaboration, and creative storytelling. Congratulations to all of the teams on these one-of-a-kind collaborations,” she said.
