Cannes Day #5
A couple notes about Cannes. It is, for one week in June, the place where you bump into some of the most creative people in the world. People who think independently, take contrarian viewpoints, and create change. So why is it, then, that all these non-conformists dress exactly the same? Here’s the uniform: for the boys, torn, dirty jeans, and a t-shirt with a comical expression from the 1980s, but worn two sizes too small for the wearer. And skater shoes. For the girls, big designer sunglasses on top of their heads, worn-but-super-clean designer jeans, and a t-shirt with a comical expression from the 1980s. And converse low tops.
The routine is exact. Each day you head to the palais to see if anyone you know or would like to work for is giving a workshop, then check out the entries, which are posted on the walls throughout the festival hall. Then, go to the beach. At night, attend one of the awards ceremonies, quietly dismissing the work that won as “crap,” then mingle with the other creatives, hoping to bump into someone you might like to work for someday. After this, always, the crowd heads to whatever agency is throwing a party that night, hoping to bump into someone who knows someone who might get you inside. Then, finally, you head to the gutter bar, a drunken spectacle that spills into the streets each night and stops all the traffic. There you can discuss all the work you’ve seen, and maybe bump into somebody you might want to work for someday.
The social networking is one of the keys to this awards show. You’ve heard of all the agencies, and seen some of the great work in your own market—here you can hang out with the people who did it. This year it seems like a great amount of the best work is coming out of Germany. I attempted to count the entries to support this notion, but with more than 28,000 pieces entered overall it seemd like it would seriously cut into my beach time. So take my word for it—everyone is talking about why the Germans seem so well-represnted. It seems to go like that here. One year Brazil seems dominant, another the Aussies, or India. My guess is the local ad federations within each of these small regions makes sure that their agencies enter in large numbers. In some cases it’s a patriotic thing. This year it seems like the German agencies did more great work than anyone else.
Speaking of patriotism, everyone here wants to know about Barack Obama. The election politics are a hot topic among delegates from nearly every country. And our president is once again featured in a number of the entries. A Swiss sporting goods store once again used Bush in a series of print ads promoting their safety equipment. The headlines are all Bush quotes: “ Sandy is a girl from Texas. Just like me. George W. Bush.” The tagline on all the ads is the same: “George Bush has fallen off the bicycle more than once. Protect your head with a helmet.” Another entry used Bush’s image on packs of condoms—a great encouragement for birth control.
Three favorite entries this year couldn’t be more different—but all had a significant impact on business. Ikea set up the living room set for its catalog cover and brought it around cities inviting couples to pose for a photo on the furniture. When they arrived at their local Ikea store, their catalog has handed to them . . . with their picture on the cover. Not only were catalog sales up, this program created quiet buzz as people displayed the catalogs in their homes. Great use of technology for a purpose, not just typical web nonsense.
A web marketer in New Zealand did the most outrageous promotional stunt of all to drive traffic to its new website. They planted explosives in a long-dormant volcano in Auckland, and webcast the eruption live on its site.
And in what seems to be a popular entry category this year, a German condom company, Condomi, demonstrated its “long lasting” effect by distributing a 60-page detective novel, with the climax coming on page one, followed by 59 pages of “I’m sorry, I’m sorry, I’m sorry … “
I told you the Germans seem to be having all the fun this year.
My last two highlights again leverage the power of sports, where passion and loyalty are almost built-in if you say the right things. Topvar Beer was a sponsor of hockey telecasts but, because of the arena rules around the world, couldn’t get their product packaging exposed on TV. So turned their plastic beer bottles into trumpets, and passed them out to fans to cheer on the team. They got plenty of on-air exposure before the officials figured out what was happening. Clever.
And Puma in Buenos Aires celebrated the 180th goal by local futbol star Palermo by creating a limited edition pair of gold shoes … and hiding 180 gold coins around the city the night he scored the record goal. They got both buzz and activation of their sponsorship, not to mention making the shortlist at Cannes.
