It’s been two days we landed here in sunny Cannes. Mine was a particularly long flight, with a six-hour layover in Frankfurt, So by the time I landed at Nice, efficient event managers and waiting limos were a very welcome sight indeed. A quick shower and change back at the hotel, and I was ready for the opening event — the Jury dinner to welcome jurors from the Promo, Direct, Outdoor and Press Lions.
It was a gathering of creative achievers from around the world, the accents as diverse as they were difficult to follow, some old friends and comrades from other international juries, most strangers to each other. As the cheery sun continued shining down late into the evening, the conversation was largely around the R word — and how it was going to affect this edition of the festival. The consensus was, it was going to reduce the number of entries somewhat — and the number of delegates, massively.
The first morning of the actual judging saw us gathered at the lobby at a reasonable 9 am. A five-minute drive to the Palais des Festival, another five-minute trek through the innards of the deserted building, and we were in the judging room, listening to Terry Savage, chairman of the Cannes Lions, cheerfully explain in great detail the ordeal we were about to be put through. Five thousand entries, three rounds of judging including a full day of debating the winners, and we would be free to totter off to enjoy what remained of the festival.
Jury Chairman Akira Kagami had three words for us before we waded in — jealousy, courage and hope. Did we wish we had done this? Did we dare reward the unexpected, the truly daring? Would we lay aside all other considerations before the quality of the work? And hope that the idea create the future of ideas.
Now to the work itself. The first impression was disappointment. Hey, this was Cannes Lions, the high temple of advertising creativity, right? So what was all this ordinary stuff doing here? Till from amidst the ordinary, special lights began to twinkle.
To me, the standout piece was the McDonald digital billboard at Picadilly. After Time Square, this is probably the place that receives the maximum number of tourists every year. And like Times Square, it is a place you go to just to get your picture taken so you can show it to people for the rest of your life and say, “See, me in Picadilly.”
McDonalds understood this, so instead of trying to hustle a Happy Meal or something to the tourists, they put up a digital Memories Board. Which is nothing but a fun, funky backdrop (branded, of course) for you to take your picture against. So a series of fun things keep happening on the board cyclically, and you can take your picture using them. For example, jets of steam blow horizontally in the middle of the board, a little distance apart. Stand at the mark, screw up your face, and Click! — there you are in Picadilly, blowing steam out of your ears. Creatively a simple idea.
As a way to become a permanent part of a consumer's life for ever and ever? Simply outstanding.
(The author, popularly known as Chax, is the national creative director at Draft FCB Ulka)
