I Went to Cannes and All I Got Was… an Awesome Time!
The rosé is slowly detoxing from my body and I’m re-energized at the amount of creativity and JOY at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival visiting on behalf of Squeak E. Clean Studios as the newly minted New York Executive Creative Producer. Typically, I am the one that runs around the MOST - getting into every party, every guest list, every concert - but this year, I kept it organic and relaxed and didn’t overexert my energy towards maxing out sought out guest lists. Instead, I attended events I knew would be a solid hang with key attendees and leaving the lines — for the birds. Because of this personal choice, my recap of Cannes Lions 2023 is one that allowed me to take in the festival for what it is truly at its core: a celebration of creativity and the incredibly talented people behind that work.
For me, the “festival of creativity” has always taken on multiple manifestations, and I try to get in a mix of inspiring conversations, gathering with industry compatriots over meals and bottles of rosé, parties with killer live music, and clocking as many (hot and humid) steps as I can take before my head hits the pillow. I caught two panels, one being “Celebrating 50 Years of Hip-Hop – How it Started, How it’s Going and its Influence on Culture and Brands” at the WPP Beach with Londell McMillan, CEO, The Source; Kevin Liles, Chairman and CEO, 300Elektra Entertainment; Cheryl Ryan, Global Head of Equity, Diversity & Inclusion, Hogarth; Dave Rolfe, Global Head of Production, WPP / Hogarth; and artist, producer and TikTok star Lady London, Def Jam Recordings. This was a fantastic panel on the evolution of hip hop and how we can do better as an industry. You could truly feel the pride in the room for this amazing culture born out of the Bronx, NY and then infiltrating all the airwaves.
I also was fortunate enough to hear the G.O.A.T, Spike Lee speak at “The Black Creative Dilemma presented by Black Executive CMO Alliance (BECA) & OPRG” panel prior to receiving the first honorary Creative Maker of the Year Award for the 70th edition of the festival, featuring speakers Chris Foster, CEO, OPRG, and Jerri Devard, Founder of BECA.
It also wouldn’t be a full Cannes Lions without an obligatory lineup of celebrity sightings. This year, I caught a glimpse of:
Rihanna
Kevin Hart
Spike Lee
Jay-Z, Beyoncé & Blue Ivy
Lizzo
Halle Berry
Paris Hilton
Cristo Férnandez
Issa Rae
Jameela Jamil
Lady London
A few of the best parties attended:
Spotify concerts, featuring A$AP Rocky (with Rihanna admiring him in VIP), Florence & the Machine, Foo Fighters, Jack Harlow, Uncle Waffles and more.
Amazon concerts (Honey Dijon and more)
TikTok concerts (emerging and up and coming artists soon to break the Billboard charts)
Club Quarantine with DJs D-Nice & Natasha Diggs (so much fun!)
SHOTS at LBB Beach (great for networking and taking a much needed dip in the sea)
Yahoo Beach with Deadmau5
A Summer Night in Tokyo
Reddit Drops (Each day at 1pm, 50 lucky people in line received amazing giveaways, such as: Chanel perfume, Apple AirPods, JBL Headphones and more!)
The Female quotient Lounge (Great panels, swag to buy/personalize, and free blowouts along with fighting for wage equality!)
A few of the standout restaurant experiences of the week included:
BoBo (get the truffle pizza…trust me)
Ladurée (get a pistachio macaron & a walnut croissant)
Le Maschou
Le Grain De Sel (get the duck)
Aperitiv Market (try any of the local cheeses, meats and baguettes along with some perfect additions to your personal charcuterie board)
Honorable mention: All the little sandwich stands along the beach (get a ham & butter sandwich)
While the parties and dinners bring together some of the most inspiring people that I’ve had the pleasure of working with, honoring the finest work of the year is truly what Cannes Lions is all about. I was really excited to see a well-deserved Entertainment Lions for Music Grand Prix for Apple’s “The Greatest.” The powerful spot features an original track that used Muhammad Ali’s words for lyrics performed by Spinifex and remixed by Coly Boyy, aka Matthew Urango, a disabled music artist and producer. The video was released ahead of International Day of Persons with Disabilities and, to me, just is such an amazing example of how music can be so perfectly and emotionally intertwined with the creative of an ad to make a spot that celebrates people with disabilities able to live their lives with ease and a powerful confidence .
Some of my other favorite Lion winners were:
“Proudly Second Best” campaign - IKEA, DAVID
“Action Mode” - Apple
“Traffic Stop” - NATIVE, M/H
“Apologize the Rainbow” - Skittles, DDB
“The Last Photo” - ITV x CALM, Adam&Eve DDB
“The Smart Legacy”, Let Your Partner Inherit, Even if They’re the Same Sex, PSA, DDB Centro & If Then Inc
Honorable mention: “Raise Your Arches” - McDonalds, Leo Burnett
Cannes Lions is always a whirlwind that leaves you exhausted, dehydrated, oddly sunburned, but most importantly: inspired. Thank you to the global ad industry for another amazing week of creativity by the beach. A bientôt! Until next time.
