Cannes was nothing short of amazing this year. No matter what the critics say, the festival is still the most powerful way to showcase the ability creativity has to transform the world. It is important to our industry, our people and the clients that we partner with. Yes, there are a lot of South of France distractions, but at its core, it’s still all about recognizing the best ideas on the planet and inspiring everyone to continue to raise the bar.
There is so much to take in when you are at the festival and it is pretty much impossible to keep track of it all if you are not there. With that in mind, I set out to put together some takeaways from what I experienced. I thought I’d have around 7 or 8 points…but I ended up with 48 (brevity seems to be an issue for me). Take a read. Click on the links. Enjoy.
1) The work was phenomenal and ridiculously inspiring. Coke got my vote for best in show this year. Courageous. World changing. ZERO paid media.
2) The Project Revoice case study made me cry no fewer than 6 times.
3) Google and Facebook’s makeup over 60% of digital ad spend but command 100% of the prime beach real estate at Cannes. If individual agencies can’t afford it, we should pool our money together and take back the beach (someone start a Kickstarter).
4) Long form spots were king again in the Film category. Would be great to see a :30 spot take home some hardware next year. It’s hard to compare Nike's 3-minute “Nothing Beats a Londoner” to a more traditional :30 spot.
5) Outside of the Theatre, things feel very CES-ish vs. about the work.
6) Accenture bought a lot of billboards.
7) The Panday brothers won the Lion of St. Mark and their speech will reignite your passion for the industry.
https://www.exchange4media.com/cannes-lions/piyush-and-prasoon-pandey-wear-india-on-their-hearts-as-they-receive-lion-of-st-mark_90687.html
8) The catacombs underneath the theatre showcase the most amazing stuff on the planet. There’s no easier way to take in the work. If you go to Cannes, make sure to walk the gallery and take in as much as you can.
9) The Cannes website is one of the worst on the planet and is impossible to navigate.
10) The Global Citizen hackathon produced world-changing ideas in less than 48 hours, completely challenging the notion that you need a lot of time to get to great stuff. Brands should do this more often with their agencies.
https://www.adweek.com/digital/amazon-and-huges-hackathon-helps-spur-social-good-ideas-at-cannes/
11) Magnums of rose will never be cool.
12) Snap made a good decision to leave the Ferris wheel behind this year.
13) Google won Marketer of the Year and took home a Silver in the “Best Beach Installation” category.
14) Print is alive and well. The Bud “Keywords” work masterfully demonstrates how to activate across media and create an interesting journey that pulls you in.
15) Someone needs to open a breakfast burrito food truck on the Palais.
16) A lot of the best ideas had zero paid media spend against them. KFC’s screw-up turned into their best marketing of the year.
17) The Grand Prix Data Lion is fascinating. You can now listen to the speech JFK’s was supposed to give in Dallas.
18) The show each night kind of feels like a mix between Hunger Games and Bladerunner. Apparently, there was extra budget this year for a smoke machine.
19) Gary V and Bob Isherwood’s Young Lion panel inspired the next generation to rethink how the game works.
20) Juan Senor speaks every human language and his pronunciation and overall stamina are otherworldly. He deserves a Lion.
21) “Think inside the F-ing box.” Watch Javier’s keynote for a master class on creativity. https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:activity:6420338347851472896/
22) The diversity of talent and thinking was remarkable. This spot from Thailand will make you smile.
23) It felt like every brand on Earth sent people this year. Wonderful to see so many companies realizing that creativity is the answer.
24) The Titanium presentations to the judges are must-see Cannes drama and need to be streamed. Front row seats into the inner workings of the most interesting work at Cannes. Judges should have to drink out of branded cups though (a la American Idol).
25) Sir Martin crashed the party.
26) Try not to laugh when watching this. Funniest ad of the festival.
27) The Martinez and Gutter Bar seem to be in merger talks, but not sure they can agree on an acquisition price.
28) Cannes could probably end one day earlier. It feels one day too long. Most people leave by Thursday.
29) Consultants have yachts too.
30) Rose ice pop stands are a thing.
31) Opel’s “Pay With View” was the most interesting thing done on YouTube this year.
32) There needs to be a cheaper version of the Lion trophies so people don’t have to take a loan out to buy one.
33) Lots of people take helicopters to St. Tropez.
34) Bon Jovi played Bon Jovi to Bon Jovi fans.
35) No one sleeps. Ad people may be vampires or extremely humanlike robots.
36) There are still too many categories. Scarcity will make Lions more special.
37) Seeing old friends is nice. Seeing old friends win Lions is even nicer. Big shout out to Luca & Luca for their DEISEL work.
38) Adtech was present, but not turned up to 11 like last year.
39) Burger King continues to mess with McDonald's. It’s one of the best Challenger Brand case studies out there.
40) Trump ideas weren’t as big as last year. These two were solid though.
41) Gluten-free is not an option on any menu.
42) Festivalgoers don’t wear enough sunscreen.
43) Marcel launched.
44) As consumer attention gets scarcer, brands are getting more courageous in order to earn attention. IKEA made an ad and they want you to pee on it.
45) Don’t have client meetings you could have had in a Hilton conference room in NJ.
46) This idea from Lacoste was sharp.
47) Our “It’s a Tide Ad” Super Bowl idea took home a bunch of Lions (including the Titanium and Film Grand Prix) and I couldn’t be prouder of the entire team. It took a massive amount of effort to pull it off and it was great to see it recognized by the juries.
48) The day after Cannes is the best. The clock resets. We all start over. A bit sleep deprived and sunburned, but inspired. I can already hear the Cannes deadline approaching. Time to dig in. Make it happen.
Thanks for your attention :)
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