Cannes Lions Grand Prix Spotlight: How PENNY turned price into packaging - and won big
A bold packaging move by German retailer PENNY turned price transparency into a creative statement - and clinched the top Print & Publishing honour at Cannes. Read in our Cannes Lions Grand Prix Spotlight column.
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In a year when brands tried to scream louder, German discount chain PENNY chose to whisper one thing: "This is the price. It won't change." And it printed that promise - literally - right on its products.
The "Price Packs" campaign, developed by Serviceplan, walked away with the Print and Publishing Grand Prix at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
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But, it also walked into shoppers' hearts, wallets, and pantry shelves - selling over 1.4 million items in just four weeks.
Let's unpack the genius behind the minimal, bold, and brutally honest campaign.
A masterstroke in simplicity
At a time when inflation inflated everything - from prices to marketing buzzwords - PENNY cut through the noise with design minimalism and messaging precision.
They printed fixed prices directly onto packaging of their own-brand essentials: bread, oats, salt, chips, mayo. No taglines, No flashy deals. Just big, bold numbers saying: This is what it costs. And it won't change.
A campaign for real people
Targeted at the everyman consumer, PENNY's idea hit the sweet spot for shoppers anxious about volatile food costs. This wasn't a premium brand solving a problem for a niche audience. This was mass-market empathy executed with design restraint and operational bravery.
Changing packaging isn't cheap or easy - especially for 2,150 stores across Germany.
But that was the point. PENNY wanted to show commitment, not just campaign cleverness. Printing the price right on the pack meant putting their money where their mayo was.
From store shelves to street signs
The campaign didn't just live on store shelves. PENNY rolled out an out-of-home (OOH) campaign with the same visual DNA: stripped-down, price-centric, and unmissable.
The result? Buzz. Demand. Sellouts!
Within four weeks of launch, 1.4 million products had been sold, some lines even briefly selling out. And as for brand perception - PENNY's credibility as a price-stable discounter reportedly jumped 2200%. That's not a typo. That's a mic drop.
The award run
The judges at Cannes weren't the only ones impressed.
- Cannes Lions 2025: Print & Publishing Grand Prix
- Clio Awards: Grand Clio for Creative Effectiveness
- The One Show: Gold in Product Packaging
- And a shelf full of Gold, Silver, and Bronze at the Clio Awards
But perhaps the biggest win? $120 million worth of free media buzz, generated organically because people were talking - and not just shopping.
Why it worked
“Price Packs” succeeded because it was brutally relevant. It didn’t create a need. It addressed a pain. It wasn’t a gimmick. It was a promise. And in an era where trust is the most expensive commodity, PENNY found a way to sell it - for 1.79 euros, printed right on a pack of oats.
In a sea of purpose-driven campaigns, this one was purpose-lived.
