The project “One BIC, One Book, Two Classics” combines technology and tradition by rewriting Romeo and Juliet using just one pen, earning recognition across multiple categories at the world’s largest creativity festival.

BIC Brazil, in partnership with the agency VML, celebrates an outstanding achievement at the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, winning three Lions with the innovative campaign “One BIC, One Book, Two Classics,” which honors the 75th anniversary of the iconic BIC Cristal pen. The project rewrote William Shakespeare’s Romeo and Juliet using a single BIC Cristal Dura+ pen, combining artificial intelligence with a robotic arm to replicate the English author’s handwriting.

The campaign received a Bronze Lion in the Art Direction: Print & Publishing category, as well as two Silver Lions—one in Special Editions & Bespoke Items and another in Innovative and Adapted Use of Print & Publishing.

In addition to the awards won, the campaign was also shortlisted in several other categories, highlighting the project’s breadth and innovation. Among the categories in which BIC and VML were nominated are:

Industry Craft

• Shortlisted in Illustration: Print & Publishing

Digital Craft

• Shortlisted in Data & AI: Curation of Data
• Shortlisted in Technology: Innovative Use of Technology

Design

• Shortlisted in Brand Design: Books
• Shortlisted in Transformative Design: Innovation in Design

The BIC Shakespeare campaign showcases BIC’s commitment to blending tradition and innovation by bringing a classic literary work into the modern world through technology combined with the simplicity of an everyday product. This fusion reinforces BIC’s image as a brand that inspires creativity, connects with culture, and values the power of handwriting.

Campaign: "One BIC, One Book, Two Classics"

This project, created to celebrate the 75th anniversary of the iconic BIC Cristal pen, rewrote William Shakespeare’s classic Romeo and Juliet. Using a single BIC Cristal Dura+ pen and combining artificial intelligence with a robotic arm to replicate Shakespeare’s handwriting, a 212-page manuscript was recreated in 20 days (and there was still ink left in the pen!). Artificial intelligence was key to bringing the historic essence of Shakespeare’s writing to life in a completely new and technologically advanced way. The result not only showcased the durability of the BIC pen (which can write up to 3 kilometers!) but also sparked global conversations about the fusion of tradition and innovation.

A robot designed to mimic William Shakespeare’s handwriting was used to produce the Romeo and Juliet manuscript. The 212-page book was written with a single BIC Cristal Dura+ pen. (Photo and Direction: Felipe Julian; Photo: Júlia Machado)

This fusion of cutting-edge technology with the simplicity of an everyday product captivated consumers by sparking curiosity, strengthening BIC’s image as a brand that inspires creativity, and connecting audiences to a historic narrative in a surprising and modern way. The rewritten manuscript was even donated to the Real Gabinete Português de Leitura in Rio de Janeiro, leaving a lasting cultural legacy.

Crowning the campaign’s global presence, BIC presented an original copy of Romeo and Juliet—written with a single BIC Cristal pen and featuring Shakespeare’s handwriting recreated through artificial intelligence—to the Royal Shakespeare Company, one of the world’s most renowned theater companies located in Stratford-upon-Avon, England, Shakespeare’s birthplace. The book was personally delivered to Jacqui O’Hanlon, Executive Deputy Director and Creative Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, at the company’s headquarters.

Rodrigo Iasi, Marketing Director for BIC Brazil and Argentina (Photo: Renata Santos / BIC Brazil)

“Being recognized at Cannes with a campaign celebrating the BIC Cristal pen is a tremendous source of pride for all of us. This achievement reaffirms that, even after 75 years, our brand remains relevant, creative, and connected to new ways of storytelling. Rewriting Romeo and Juliet with a single pen is more than a technical feat—it’s a statement about the enduring power of writing and human imagination,” says Rodrigo Iasi, Marketing Director for BIC Brazil and Argentina.

Created by the agency VML, the campaign breathes new life into the literary classic Romeo and Juliet by recreating what William Shakespeare’s handwriting might look like if written with a single BIC Cristal Dura+ pen.

Watch the project film here. For more information, visit the special landing page here.