This year, total entries at this Cannes International Advertising Festival grew 10.2% to more than 28,000. Every category is up, and the new design Lions attracted about twice as many entries as expected — 1,126 — so the festival had to scramble to add more judges to the jury.
Americans aren’t deterred by the weak dollar that has pushed delegate fees above $3,000 and room rates at the beachfront hotels such as the Majestic and Carlton to close to $500 a night. It’s estimated up to 800 of this year’s 9,000 or so attendees will be from the U.S., up from almost 700 last year.
Apart from the beach, the ads and the parties, Cannes has evolved into a major business opportunity. That’s why the company that sends the most people to Cannes isn’t an agency like TBWA (175 festival goers) but Microsoft (which won’t give a number but is believed to be sending at least 300).
[via Ad Age]
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Adweek is running an interesting piece on Cannes, wherein we learn that Avenue A/Razorfish, after downplaying the significance of Cannes for years, is coming this year with a 25-person contingent.
Imaginative experiences, a.k.a. stories. And to become great storytellers one needs to back away from the computer screen and live it up a bit.
Mark Tutssel, CCO of Leo Burnett and president of the Titanium & Integrated jury at Cannes, says, “Advertising shows have been, and will remain, a barometer of the health of our industry. More importantly, they serve as a compass for the industry to follow into the future.”
I couldn’t disagree more with those sentiments.
“To become great storytellers one needs to back away from the computer screen and live it up a bit.” Very true. But is socializing with other advertising professionals in a hermetically sealed conclave the best way to expose oneself to the full range of influences and emotions needed to produce “imaginative experiences?” How does rubbing shoulders with fellow ad execs and creative directors give you the kind of insight to communicate on a meaningful level with, say, a housewife in Des Moines or a retiree in Duluth?
With these kind of incestuous industry gatherings, it’s no wonder that much of even the best work these days seems so similar, so derivative.
Perhaps the more adventuresome attendees can escape the festival for a day and do something unexpected.