Joe Public’s Sonia Dearling and Marina Andreoli, winners of the 2014 Cinemark
Young Lions Competition, share their favourite moments from the world’s
premiere creative communications event, Cannes Lions.
Sir John Hegarty spoke on behalf of today’s audience when he said:
“It’s probably the most exciting time to be in the industry, but I’m confused by
the fact that I’m not seeing more and more great work. With all this technology
we should be getting better but we seem to be getting worse.’
This is a hard truth. It is also a theme that ran throughout the talks at the
Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity this year. How do we get people to like us
again?
Not only that, how do we get us to like us again? There is a great emphasis on
mobilising the communication troops to work towards a cause greater than our
own. Bono said it well when he said: “there is something about pulling punches
for a voice that is not your own.’ Not only would you be safer if the world held
retrenchments based on what you have done for it, but you’d also find greater
joy in your daily output.
Each speaker shared their thoughts. Common trends were emotive storytelling
versus story doing, communicating without advertising and being a solution-
driven brand.
As young women, we are also happy to say that another big theme was gender
equality, specifically concerning women in senior positions. We attended a
refreshing seminar by SheSays, which discussed the need for women to become
better at being sisters, because after all “there is a special place in hell for
women who don’t help other women.’
It’s difficult to pinpoint just one highlight from the festival. It was a kaleidoscope
of experiences. Focus on one spot; there are a million others in your periphery.
A fantastic element of the festival was being able to feel completely submersed,
and yet also having a bird’s-eye view of what this industry is capable of.
There are so many ways to get involved: press, film, direct marketing, activation
and innovation. Pick up a pencil and draw, pick up a pen and write. You’re an
engineer? Great! Let’s invent. Are you a quick thinker with know-how on
finance? We need you! Bono and Johnny Ive opened up their conversation to
the audience in the spirit of just this. They recognise that obstacles are
overcome when you draw in people from different areas of expertise. The result
was great ideas on tap, much like the rose served all over the festival.
Throughout the festival we found many of the smaller seminars more creative,
intimate and much more rewarding. We enjoyed talks by Tim Wagner on the
lifeline of a great idea and by Keith Reinhard on passion. Another session that
stood out was The Naked Truth. Tim Leake flawlessly crafted his
presentation around achieving successful client/agency relationships through
nudity, which certainly kept everyone’s attention (#GetNakedAtCannes).
At the festival brands triumphantly demonstrated what it is to create an
experience and connection with a customer. The Google Creative Sandbox was
a perfect example of a successfully implemented brand culture. Design your own
T-shirt on the spot, code your own free cocktail, try out Google Glasses, attend a
Lego workshop and watch a live talk from the comfort of a beanbag on the
beach.
Together with a crew of intrepid adventurers from Joe Public, we danced all
night with many other South African representatives at the notorious Egg Films
SA party. Along with some great names from the SA creative industry, other
international players in attendance at the festival were: David Droga, Sheryl
Sandberg, Marissa Mayer, Marcello Serpa, Scott Belsky, Yves Behar, PJ Pereira,
Sir Patrick Stewart, Sarah Jessica Parker, Neil de Grasse Tyson, Ralph Fiennes,
Kayne West, Spyke Jones, Courtney Love, Dynamo and Jared Leto… to name a
few.
Simply said, Cannes equips you with drive, instills passion and proves the power
of a good idea. This mix inspires one to dive full force into their next brief. We
are so oiled to get working.
