Squeezing the Cannes Sponge

I had no idea what to expect going into Cannes, after earning a spot through Dentsu’s Young Innovator competition. I wanted to go into this and be the magic sponge everyone talks about, soaking up all there is to see at Cannes. Go to every talk, tour of the work, branded event, networking lunch… Every hour of every day. But I learnt my first lesson straight away: doing everything is just impossible. As tempting as it is to make sure you get your money’s worth, you can’t do it all, so you have to reserve your 30,000 steps for your personal faves and return home a refreshed and inspired creative.

Once I had this game-changing epiphany, I planned my time and made it into some very interesting spaces.

Cannes really was like the world’s longest ad break - which in this context is a good thing. Constantly playing case study films, the festival was complete with a maze of work to walk through and people to talk you through the work too. If there’s one thing I learnt from seeing all the work laid out, it’s that simple is good, and you should be able to get the work without reading the description of the left side of the presentation board (side note: why are they all set out exactly the same??). For the best ideas, there’s no need to Cannes-splain. So “keep it simple” will definitely be my new mantra going forward. I won’t preach what work was best and why, because there’s a whole panel of experts for that, but it definitely felt like the work that won weren’t your typical 30 second spots. Every idea had a huge ambition, and most brands wanted to take action - not just sell things. This is the kind of work I’ll point people to when I next have to explain why being a creative in advertising is actually a very necessary job.

The biggest thing I learnt from the talks wasn’t actually from the talks themselves, but by the presenters. Every speaker that was invited to speak at Cannes was so eloquent and confident, and that really can make or break the work you’re trying to show. They could have said ANYTHING and I would have been sold. Not saying I’ll be up on a stage anytime soon, but as a junior there’s always a small element of uncertainty when presenting… So this has given me a push to stick to my guns from now on.

The theme of AI was carried through into a lot of the talks too, and I wouldn’t be surprised if next year it’s an AI creative writing this. But my favourite talks are still the ones that felt the most human. The talk where Michael Johnson (a VERY fast Olympian) told us about the power of brands, and how they have the power to change the game and protect athletes when they decide to speak up in sport. The talk where Jameela Jamil spoke about why recognising your 'twat era' is a step in the right direction to learning from it. Where if sticking to your guns is the wrong decision, you have the open mindedness to step back and say “actually, I made a mistake there”. And considering how much Cannes is about bigging yourself up, talking about mistakes was not something I’d have expected to see.

So much of Cannes was not what I expected, but getting a foot (and many many steps) through the door was definitely worth it. And not just because I can name drop Jameela Jamil into every conversation for the next week. Sure, no one can do it all, nor should you try to, but it means everyone comes away with a completely unique experience - and that’s the beauty of it.