In front of great ideas even
the greatest are small

This year`s 55th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival showed discrete signs of the looming recession.  The credit crisis in America has had a double-whammy effect: with new media becoming cheaper, there was more of a focus on the possibilities contributing to the sales effect. At the same time, creativity has retained its importance as it directly contributes to better sales of ideas, goods, or whatever is on display. So, we’ve mentioned sales now – just remember that. We won’t say anything more on the matter. Everyone pays lip service to a better world, a better life for consumers, social responsibility… saving the planet. We advertisers (the creative industry) believe in it… We also believe, a bit naively, that multinationals want to save the planet, feed the hungry, and stamp out abuse… Maybe they don’t want to, but they have to. The law functions, especially the unwritten one. You know exactly what you need to do to be accepted as a brand that is loved and trusted. Social responsibility and good advertising identify a brand with a target group’s characteristics and feelings. At the heart of the world`s best videos, the world`s greatest advertisers or clients, where billions of dollars are pumped into the advertising industry, I am absolutely certain that there is no substitute for a message and its delivery. Everything is simple.  

GORILA

When you analyse this year’s Cannes winners, you see that that is exactly what ingenious ideas are – simple. The gorilla playing the drums in the Cadbury chocolate ad doesn’t say “Buy chocolate” or anything stereotypical that would humiliate the modern consumer. Apparently without a care in the world, the gorilla plays the drums to a Phil Collins` hit, exuding energy. We, like the panel of judges, were blown away by the fun and unpretentiousness of it all. Good fun is the key. Microsoft`s “Halo 3” computer game broke the mould and brought the award for Best Integrated Campaign (Integrated Lion) to the McCan San Francisco agency because, instead of puppets and cartoons, the commercial featured walking, talking real-life people. So, a mixture of two worlds: actors acting in a computer game about a futuristic war. Teasers featuring veterans were shown on TV, inspiring viewers to follow up online. Uniqlock, which combines video and dance routines, presents a round-the-clock (24/7) presentation of Uniqlock garments on the web. Not long after its launch, the campaign featuring screensavers and shop installations had spread to 209 countries, attracting 68 million viewers. Uniqlock also won the Cyber Grand Prize. The Advertiser of the Year award went to Proctor and Gamble, whose CEO A.G. Lafley visited the festival with around forty members of his senior management. He, of course, accepted the award in person and, in his acceptance speech, told the audience that even with the crisis looming, his company had no desire to cut its marketing budget. On the contrary, he said, they relied on creativity, especially now that P&G had jazzed up its former unadventurous marketing style, and was now winning Lions at the Cannes Advertising Festival. Of course, conventional media, such as print, outdoor promotion and direct marketing have also taken up their positions – and sometimes those of others too. The media knows no bounds, mixing and merging, vying for our attention.

MOVING EAST

What will make this year and the 55th Cannes Lions Advertising Festival memorable is the gathering of all the legends in one place: Rupert Murdoch discussed numerous new media forms and the subscription-funded Wall Street Journal website. Irish multi-billionaire and media magnate Sir Anthony O`Reilly stopped by Cannes to pick up the Media Person of the Year award. O`Reilly, whom Henry Kissinger once described as a “renaissance man”, has spread his media empire from his native Ireland to four continents and 22 countries. O`Reilly is not worried about the future of newspapers since, as he puts it, a good newspaper is the best “browser” since finding something there takes half an hour, whereas on the internet it takes 3-5 hours.  This year`s Cannes Lions was certainly the biggest to date with 28,000 submitted entries and 10,000 delegates. Festival boss Phil Thomas said: “The lines between categories are being erased, only creativity matters.” Creativity is also moving from its “epicentre” to the East. Each year’s festival brings new star nations, and in 2008 it was China’s turn, closely followed by some brilliant entries from India. The numbers quoted at the advertising seminar in Russia took our breath away, but the same could not be said for the creativity.  This discrepancy leaves our agencies a lot of scope. Yuri Grimov explained that EUR 10 to 13bn was spent on advertising in Russia every year. This was another example of money not necessarily meaning creativity. China is cementing its position in Asia and in the world... Next year we will see how far everyone else has come. What about us?

EKCHAI DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM CO, BBDO Bangkok, Gold Lion OLYMPUS, JWT Sydney, Gold Lion

This year’s Cannes Lions featured an official representative from Serbia for the first time – RTV B92.  Regular visitors to the festival include director Miloš Đukelić – whose brother Vlada (also a director) was the only nominee in the Young Lions competition – people from Telenor, Jaffa, the Leo Burnett agency... and, last but not least, Serbian and international legend Dragan Sakan and New Moment. 

ITAL ASIA GROUP Leo Burnett, Silver Lion

CREATIVE SERBIA We are taking part in ever greater numbers, but now it’s time to be more creative domestically – showing it off abroad is the easy bit. It’s time for outstanding young people to have their five minutes of fame – to the joy of all those fighting for a creative and successful Serbia. Nor would it be fair to leave out the fantastic guys from the Croatian Briketa and Žinić agency. We kissed and hugged each other as if they were our own, and discussed renting out a big house for all us ex-Yugoslav representatives next year. Joking aside, the world is huge and we, as individuals, are small. Combined we stand out that bit more. And that’s one of the possibilities. I must admit that a friend`s joke really made me laugh the other day: “Do you know why there aren`t more people from Serbian agencies? They daren`t come. Intellectual property laws are really strict here...” I don’t know if they’d be penalised, but awards are not handed out for copies. At least not in Cannes. What scores most highly is originality, and then political correctness. Brands that dominate the world dominate the Cannes Lions too. Fortunately, they are aware of the originality that carries the greatest energy and the ability to inspire people. That’s why the Cannes Advertising Festival makes sense.

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