The “Targeted and Response-Driven” Creativity that Pancho Cassis is Looking for

Pancho> I think that it's gonna be fun because Direct is probably one of those categories where most of the big campaigns end up going because most of the campaigns today have interaction with consumers. So it's gonna be a fun week and also a week of fine tuning with the jury – what ideas have the direct element in the core, and what ideas have just a call to action, which is fine but it's not part of the idea?

Pancho> When you go actually to the rules of the category it says "targeted and response-driven creativity". That is the basics of the category. Of course, direct has evolved from what it used to be – physical stuff that you sent out for a specific audience and you got something back. Right now with all the media and different channels we have, almost everything can have that. So I think we will be looking for those ideas that actually build a relationship, ideas that actually target one specific audience also. I think that just a call to action in a big campaign that targets everyone could be a good idea, but shouldn't be the best of the best in Direct. Also I think that this response, this action from the consumer should add up to the idea – ideas should get bigger because of what people were doing with this thing we gave them. Again, it will be hard because most of the campaigns usually have a direct element. But we will try to look for those gems where a straight connection with a very specific target and the response making the idea bigger is actually a core element. 

And we have great examples from the past. I'm a nerd. So I also told my juries to be a nerd, to watch the previous winners because I think there have been really good examples in this category in the past couple of years. And of course, we look for the fresh, we're going to look for the new, but when you're on a jury in Cannes you have the responsibility of also coming up with a set of winners that will inspire brands and agencies for years to come.

Pancho> For example, from ourselves I think of 'Stevenage Challenge' as a good example of something that was super targeted, that was asking people to do something. What people did, which was sharing the goals on FIFA, also triggered something else. So just using one example from the house, I think that this is a good example. From the last few years, there are many, many good campaigns.

'The Whopper Detour' was also something in which you could clearly see the direct element. And last year, I think ‘World Cup Delivery’ was also put out there. There are a lot of good elements where you promote something, the target audience needs to do something back and then it gets bigger.

Pancho> Honestly, I haven't seen an idea where AI was at the core of it, and it really created something interesting for direct. I think it will happen. I think AI will have an impact on the industry, different from the metaverse. I remember I've been saying for the last four years that word is bullshit. That thing you will forget in two minutes. And remember a couple of years ago everyone was talking about the metaverse, everyone in Cannes, there were books about the metaverse. Now, no one talks about the metaverse because it wasn't useful. But AI will be useful. 

If you're an agency that puts creativity and strategy in the centre you shouldn't be afraid. AI won't take away your jobs, but AI will help you. And I think that right now probably what's happening is that because AI is so fresh and so new, people are trying to put it into the idea as a gimmick instead of using it to make human-made ideas bigger. I think as a tool, it will be amazing for us to use it, to brainstorm with it, to bounce ideas, insights, and ask questions. Also to take away parts of the job that no one likes doing. But I think AI in the centre of the idea will take a bit more time. I think that we will be learning in the process. It's so fresh and it changes so quickly. Now you've seen the stuff they can do in video. So everything is a bit overwhelming, but let’s learn and see what will happen with it.

One of the conversations that I've heard while being president of the Art Directors Club in Europe was on how we can also make it obvious when a campaign has AI as a tool. Because also we should protect our artists in the industry, and working around the industry – photographers, illustrators, typographers. It's fine to use AI but we should make the distinction. It will be unfair if we start awarding AI work compared to a photographer's work. Maybe our children are doing it right now but I think more and more in the craft categories we're gonna see this differentiation between AI and real artists.

Pancho> I like the fact that we as an industry are worried about bringing joy back to this industry because it's communication. It's not about humour itself. It's about people having fun with what we put out there. I think that for the last couple of years, especially with the purpose-driven work, we have become too serious. We have become too world-changing. And I think that there's a space for both. Of course if you have a brand that can have a positive impact in the world and you can reduce whatever carbon footprint or change a product and take away the plastic or you can help a community, that's amazing. But there's also communication that should be entertaining. 

So it's good that we're putting the focus there. It should have been a natural thing, but it's good that we reward that so more and more people think about it as an option. And in Direct I think that of course you don't have the classical comedy script. It's probably harder than a TV film, or even print. But I think that we will find funny ways of connecting with people. I can think of a couple of examples we saw in previous award shows and I think it's going to be fun to see how humour is applied to selling soap, ketchup, burgers. Most of our clients are like that – fast consumer goods. We shouldn't be so serious, right? Not all brands in the world need to change the world. We're selling products here.

Pancho> Honestly, I’m a huge nerd. This will be my 21st time in Cannes – 20th in a row. I came to Spain from Chile when I was 23. And I was lucky enough in my first year as a trainee to win a Gold Lion. So when I came to Spain, I needed to go because I thought I’d probably go back to Chile the next year or someone would realise I wasn’t good, and they’d fire me and I’d have to go back home. So if I'm in Spain, and it's only an hour away, 50 euros on an easyJet flight to Nice, I'm gonna go every year. Luckily I stayed in Spain, no one fired me, and I've been going every year because I truly think it's an opportunity to learn and to grow. 

That's why at DAVID we make the big effort and the big investment to take a lot of people. Last year we took over 30 people, the previous year the same. We usually do something that is interesting, we take the winners from the previous year. We make that effort because honestly besides the parties and the rosé and the beach, if you go to the sessions, if you look at the work and you give your time just to walk around the Palais reading all the boards and understanding the strategy behind the idea, I think it's a master's [degree]. 

Cannes, at least for us as the grown ups has become more and more of a working week. That's good news – clients are going to Cannes. And in DAVID's case we have even more special clients, more creative ones – they all go so we use that to talk about the year, to talk about the work, to talk about the challenges coming. But we also use that week to review the work and we do a couple of sessions in the Palais with different clients. We walk around, we look at what other brands in their categories are doing. But we also check specific things like Experience or Direct. We check Print with the clients that do more print. So I'm expecting to have a great week. Hopefully my jury ends at the beginning of the week, so I'm gonna have time to get lost in the Palais and go to as many sessions as I can. 

For me the most important thing is to save time just to walk around the ideas. That's the best because even though now we have the internet, I think it's different watching it on your computer than standing in front of the board, looking at it, reading, watching. It has this little thing like when you go to the movies. And that's why I still go a lot to the cinema because I love the experience of watching a film with other people and love to see how other people react. That is a beautiful experience that you don't get watching a film at home alone. In that sense when you go to the Palais, even though you can see all of the work on the Cannes website, it allows you to see people’s reactions. Someone doesn't care and keeps going – why did they skip this idea? Or people are laughing at the board. I love the community experience of looking at the work while other people do their thing.