Watch this year’s best commercials in Montreal on November 29

Most commercials are an excuse for you to pull out your phone and take a breather in between whatever you were watching.

However, every once in a while, there are commercials that put you on the edge of your seat and mesmerize you with a sweet story, stunning visuals or a hearty laugh, all jammed into two minutes or less.

And, that deserves recognition — it’s not easy to do. Imagine, trying to sell something, be entertaining and informative while you know nobody’s watching?

The creators of these ads get their much-deserved kudos at the Cannes Lions International Festival for Creativity (Projection des Lions de Cannes 2018), a festival known as the Oscars for commercials.

Projection des Lions de Cannes 2018 (Submitted)

The National Advertising Benevolent Society (NABS) West, in partnership with The Globe and Mail, is hosting a screening of the Cannes Lions 2018 award winners at Montreal’s Musitechnic on Thursday, November 29.

Viewers will have the chance to take in the short — though no less sweet — works of the advertising industry from the comfort of movie theatre seats, with 112 minutes of international and award-winning advertisements played on the big screen.

It’s essentially everybody’s favourite part of the Super Bowl, without all the football.

Some of these commercials include the famous “It’s a Tide Ad” from Tide, “Appocalypse” from Apple, Taco Bell’s “Web of Fries” and those quirky Skittles ads.

The screening will be bookended by a cocktail social both before and after, giving attendees the opportunity to network with professionals from the advertising, media, and broadcast industries.

All of the festival’s profits will go towards the bec charity foundation.

A panel of judges from Adviso, Rad, SID LEE and FCB Montréal will be on site to comment on the screening’s creativity.

The doors open at 5:30 pm for the cocktail and the commercial-festival starts screening at 7 pm.

Cannes Lions award-winning commercial screening (nabs)

Projection des Lions de Cannes

When: Thursday, November 29
Time: 5:30 pm to 9:30 pm
Where: Musitechnic, 1088 rue Clark
Tickets: $30 to $35, available online

Daily Hive is a proud sponsor of nabs and the Cannes Lions screening