The Cannes Lions festival is big. Like, stupidly big. Hundreds of millions of dollars are spent each year by advertising and media companies on awards entries, hotel suites, beach clubs, yachts and the company of Hollywood celebrities, all in an effort to win favour and woo clients.
For some, it has got too big – Sir Martin Sorrell has warned that WPP may “take a breath” and step back from Cannes, and is working out how to make the best of a “very expensive exercise”. And yet, with the likes of Procter & Gamble’s global brand chief Marc Pritchard easily spotted strolling up and down the Croisette, it is hard to imagine any major media business walking away.
We went out with our camera crew to speak to the key players in Cannes, and to find out how this one-time celebration of traditional advertising creativity has morphed into something far more complex.
Experts from agencies like Dentsu Aegis Network, MediaCom and PHD, digital media firms like Google, AOL and Twitter, and clients from Unilever, Microsoft and Deutsche Telekom all offered their view of the changing creative landscape.
Thank you also to those who joined us on the merry ‘Sea Squared’ for the M&M Global VIP international boat party, and a glass or two of rosé – a great time was had by all.