Rock N' Roll Hall of Famer. (should be Fri, 6/24)

We kicked off the last full day of the festival with HP Graphic Arts & BBDO’s Master Class in the Young Lions Zone. Marcos Mederiors, Creative Director at AlmapBBDO in Brazil, told us about his award-winning Billboard Magazine campaign. It won the 2010 Press Grand Prix award. The campaign, “Billboard Yourself”, uses an impressive technology that starts with a simple photograph. After the individual chooses their four favorite artists, the photograph is digitized into a picture made up of images of these artists. We got to see the process first-hand and a few members of the audience participated. I wish I had volunteered! It was very interesting to see.

After the Master Class, Chris Hall, President and CEO of BBDO Atlanta spoke with us. He explained that he wanted us to take away three things from our talk and the festival in general. The first is that creativity and effectiveness produce a competitive edge against competitors. Studies show that he more creative a message, the more effective it will be. Better ads incur better ROI. Secondly, we are in the golden age of creativity. There will be more changes in the next 5 years, than there have been in the last 25 years. We have a thirst for content and this drives creativity. The third take-away is that great work is a team sport. Collaboration is key for orchestration. Without great work, you won’t get anything done. Creative directors need to have humility and recognition of the team to produce great work and form great relationships with clients and themselves. 

We then moved to the screening room to catch the last 30 minutes of the Cannes Debate moderated by Sir Martin Sorrell, Chief Executive at WPP with James Murdoch, CEO of News Corporation and Jeffrey Katzenberg, CEO and Co-Founder of DreamWorks. Again, risk was the main theme. They talked about how both originality and creativity require risk. DUH. I know it’s an important concept, but it seems so obvious. Katzenberg also talked about the power  of tablets. He said that it is arguable the most powerful and impacting device of our time. It is so compelling and genius, but says that Steve Jobs should have called it the “Me Pad” because it is a direct reflection of the owner. As everything is digital these days, the tablet is straightforward and easy and can be used across all industries.

The final seminar of the day was Grey’s 5^th Annual Music Seminar with Patti Smith. It was, hands down, my favorite seminar of the entire festival (with IPG trailing close behind). I have heard Patti Smith’s name before, but I did not know much about her, nor had I heard any of her music, so I wasn’t sure what to expect. Patti was the most humble guest from the festival and stated that she is “a fan of the people”. Her demeanor was so natural and easy. Decked out in braids, baggy blue jeans, and a blazer, she looked the part of a rock n’ roll hall of famer. At 67, she has accomplished so much in her life. She was the first to incorporate poetry into rock n’ roll and has rocked out with big names such as Bob Dylan, Janis Joplin, and the Allman Brothers. The most moving part of her presentation was when she read a letter from her book Just Kids. She wrote the letter to long-time friend and collaborator, Robert Mapplethorpe. She started crying while reading the letter and so did most of the audience. She then sang a son to the crowd, which I was not expecting. What an incredibly inspirational and interesting woman Patti is. I can’t wait to read her book. 

Hello, Future. (should be Thurs, 6/23)

On Thursday, after the trains were running behind schedule, we arrived a few minutes late to the Kraft & Crispin Porter + Bogusky Master Class.  Earlier in the week, I met the Director of Marketing, Gregory Nesmith, so I was very excited for this presentation. Unfortunately, the Young Lions Zone was so crowded, that we could barely see/hear anything. But it was still interesting to hear Dana Adverson, Senior VP of Marketing Strategy and Communications at Kraft and Rob Reilly, Partner and Creative Officer at Crispin Porter + Bogusky, talk about getting new business and how to present to these clients—in other words, “what makes ‘em swoon”.

We left the presentation a few minutes early to go the Saatchi & Saatchi director’s showcase, “Hello Future” and I wish we hadn’t. It was one of the strangest displays I have ever seen and I wish I had stayed at Kraft so I could have talked to Anderson and Reilly. The session started out with loud, futuristic music and a DJ/performer singing. I had no idea what the significance of this was and it only made me want to tune out. Next there was a string “short films”. Most of them did not make sense and I couldn’t tell if they were actually real commercials or just random works by Saatchi & Saatchi. With all of the lights and the loud music, I had a headache for the next hour. 

We stayed in the Grand Auditorium for the McCann Worldgroup & MRM Worldwide panel with will.i.am. The moderator was Nick Briend, Chairman and CEO of McCann Worldgroup and the other speakers consisted of Marc landsberg, CEO of MRM Worldwide, Tod Machover, Composer, Inventor, and Educator and Johan Jervoe, VP and Director of Crative Services and Digital Marketing at Intel Corporation. will.i.am has recently paired with Intel to be their creative director and the discussion focused on technology and creativity.  The famous entertainer how amazing it was that we use technology for creativity, when in the past, technology was a middle step to creativity. It was used as a means of “sending out” creativity. As is the theme of the festival, will.i.am explained how important it is to take risks in creativity. Machover added that for people to do this, we need to get them out of the house and push their creative limits. “People need to be pushed”. I was excited that I got to see will.i.am, but honestly was not blown away by the presentation because I did not learn anything new. 

After a much needed lunch break, I attended the 20something master class in the Young Lions Zone. Thankfully, it wasn’t nearly as crowded as the Kraft Master Class, and a bunch of us were able to get seats in the front. The master class told the story of 20somehting advertising agency in Belgium. It was started by 6+1 advertising agency, by offering internships to college students. They lured students in with their creative “I’m not your bitch campaign”, saying that students will be able to make their own advertising agency, rather than be stuck in the lower rungs of the corporate ladder. 400 students applied and only 45 were accepted. The 20something advertising agency was born and had the opportunity of having real clients. While I think the idea is very innovative, I don’t think it could ever work in the US, so it was difficult for me to relate to the presentation. 

After viewing some commercials (critiques to come), we met with Egyptian Filmmaker, Amr Salama. He spoke about the recent revolution fueled by social media. It was amazing to hear his first-hand account of the revolution. He explained that he was kidnapped and that he was an influential part in beginning the revolution. No one thought that Egyptians would ever revolt. They were though of as lazy. So when they came together for change, everyone was surprised. I took an international mass communication class this past semester, so I was familiar with a lot of things he was saying, but I know everyone was surprised at the censorship and cover-up by the government. In the news and the papers, the revolution was not discussed. It was simply ignored. Facebook and Twitter aided the entire movement, and the government even blocked Internet access for a period of time. The Egyptian people dreamed of the rights that Americans have. I can’t imagine living in a country where this was happening. Salama was such a nice change from our other speakers and I was impressed with his efforts to make changes. 

Musically Inspired. (should be Wed, 6/22)

Today, we got to meet with Jennifer Frommer, Senior Vice President of Client Relations/Branding at Interscope Records. The meeting with her might have been my favorite meeting with an industry professional thus far. She told us about what her job encompassed and the kinds of people she gets to work with everyday. She is responsible fo pairing brands with celebrities, such as Eminem with Chrysler. Before this meeting, I had not considered working in the music industry, but Frommer makes me want to try my hand at branding in the music world. Not only does she pair products with celebrities, but she is responsible for partnering integrated products into music videos, records, etc. Frommer’s favorite aspect of her job is executing the deals that she comes up with. She told us about the 3D Sony sponsored Black Eyed Peas concert and how their concert was filmed entirely in 3D. It was an extensive process, but one of the most rewarding she said.

After meeting with Frommer, we all traveled to the swanky Majestic Hotel to meet with David Simon, writer/producer of “The Wire” and “Treme”. While Simon’s humor was a bit dark, his intelligence showed through in everything he said. He explained that he has a bit of a fitful relationship with advertising. He told us at HBO, that they use real products, because that is what exists in the world. Using an unnamed beer or food product, makes the show seem fake and unrelatable. I thought that was very interesting. These brands are getting free, unintentional advertising. For example, they used Budweiser in “The Wire” because that is what African Americans drink. Simon’s final philosophy he left us was “Fuck the money. Leave the world better than you found it.” It seems so simple, but it is such a powerful statement that I aspire to live by because it is easy to make money if all you want to do is make money. 

We then had the opportunity to meet with Alison Arden, Publisher of Advertising Age. I loved talking with Alison, because rather than rattle of her stats and numerous experiences about her career, she was more interested in hearing about us, and our aspirations for the future. She has been with Advertising Age for fifteen years and has loved it. It was also refreshing to hear how successful she has been even though she is married with a family. I feel as though after every conversation we have with an industry professional, I can somehow see myself in their profession. It makes me excited and anxious at the same time. 

After a long day at the Palais, we got to all unwind at the Microsoft Beach Party. Music, dancing, and a few cocktails made the night very enjoyable along with an impressive dance routine by two Russian ballerinas. We got to network and bond even more as a group.

Girl Power. (should be Tues, 6/21)

The day kicked off with a very early start, hopping on the 8:40 train. We were excited for two of the early seminars, so we wanted to insure that we would have great seats. After a delicious (and much needed) cup of coffee, we headed straight to the Debussy seminar in great excitement for the day.
The first seminar on the schedule was AgenciaClickIsobar- Fiat. The Brazilian based agency told us their story of their partnership with Fiat, a car manufacturer. Brazil is the fourth largest car market in the world, which I was very surprised about, and Fiat produces 2.5 million cars annually. While the information was interesting, I felt I could not relate to the topic as much, especially with monotone speakers. But it was interesting that the Fiat was the first open source car in history to be developed collaboratively. Consumers were able to send in ideas about what the car should include, what features were important to them, etc. It was a great example of mass communication and collaboration.

             The second seminar, which was my favorite seminar of the day, was IPG and WLN's (Women's Leadership Network) panel moderated by Soledad O'Brien and participated by Martha Stewart, Kimberly Kadlec, Gail Heimann, and Carol Lam. A statistic that started off the entire discussion was that women hold only 3% of the top creative positions but women affect 85% of the buying decisions. How is that with that large of a purchase affect, we aren’t holding more creative advertising positions? What’s going on? Each woman had an opportunity to answer the initial question of gender differences within the workplace. Martha stated that she pays no attention to gender differences—a job is a job.  She concentrated on the work at hand. Carol Lam said that in China, she doesn’t feel like women are getting discriminated against in the workplace. Women’s lack of huge male ego allows them to be more adventurous and more open-minded. Gail started off in travel public relations and it never donned on her at the beginning. But she stated that women need to be defiant and courageous in their values, statements, and contributions. Kimberly (my personal favorite of the panel) was aware of gender differences when she started working part-time and stated the importance of women being very clear about what they want to the people who can help them get it. The entire discussion really empowered and encouraged me for my future in advertising. 

            The third seminar was Yahoo’s Interview with Robert Redford. Sitting next to a Yahoo exec in the audience also made the whole experience extremely exciting. Robert Redford spoke of how he got started in the business, not just as an actor, but as a creator, director and entrepreneur. He is the founder of Sundance and it was refreshing to hear how he devoted he is to storytelling and to up-and-coming artists—the main inspiration for Sundance. I loved his message to take risks and how life is a risk. It may be negative, but it may turn out to be positive. That’s how Sundance was viewed. Now it is one of the most famous film festivals in the world.

             Along with the seminars, we also had the opportunity to speak with four different professionals in the industry. From Porter Novelli, Julie Winskie told us about her PR career. She spoke a lot about who and what they look for in a new hire. Camp counselor-type experience is highly valued and now I am wishing I had more of that experience. But hopefully my skill set could apply. Talking with her got me very excited/nervous about the future, but I’m thrilled to see what will come. After that, we met with Noelle Cottrell, Creative Director of Fitzgerald & Co. in Atlanta. He started off copywriting and worked his way up in the advertising world. Hearing the differences between advertising in America and South Africa were very interesting. I loved hearing his stories and he had a great sense of humor while talking to us. Our final meeting of the day was with Nancy Seliger and Greg Pinelo. Seliger is the Senior Vice President of Fleishman-Hillard in NY and Pinel is the Creative Director at GMMB in D.C. They both were very interesting and gave us a lot of great advice. Pinelo focused on having good interview skills, being prepared, and having a solid “pitch” about yourself, including reasons for wanting to go into advertising and also having prepared questions for the interviewer. Seliger spoke of the importance of internships and getting involved with the on-campus career center to help with this. Both of their jobs/personalities are very different, but I enjoyed visiting with them both.

Mad Alpha Waves

The second day of the festival was much more exciting, if not more exciting, than day one. After having a better idea of the lay of the land, I felt more comfortable navigating my sessions and looking at everything on display. To kick off our category assignment for Dr. Reichert, Maggie and I boarded the train early to check out the outdoor exhibitions. There were an overwhelming amount of entries, but all very interesting.

For the first seminar of the day, we attended BBDO. It was very interesting and related to today’s screens- TV, PC, mobile, and tablet. The metaphor was for Star Wars. The two speakers Richard Dunnall and Simon Bond, were very engaging and started off by describing the television as a long-time friend and a jester. It is an entertaining tool that is comparable to R2D2.  The PC was described as an older sibling, an individual who is described as a sage and is full of wisdom. One would relate the PC to Hans Solo’s character. It is also has a slightly competitive flair. The mobile is compared to a lover. It is the first thing you reach for in the morning and is a device you are extremely intimate with. It is like a Princess Leia and there is no generational gap of being a trusted/intimate technological device compared to other technology devices. The fourth and final screen is the tablet. It is the wizard of the technology world. It goes anywhere and makes things in a mysterious way. It is the Obi-Wan Kenobi of Star Wars. The seminar made me really reflect on the way we receive our information and how important it is to develop the right content for the right screen. 

The second seminar of the day was Kraft Foods, with Malcolm Gladwell speaking. Although it was a little difficult to follow at the beginning, I found the whole concept of his lecture very interesting. The main idea of the discussion is that there is more value in being a tweeker and implementer than the innovator. If you are the innovator, you get the praise for being the first, but others will continue to improve and gain the profits. Gladwell used the metaphor of Friendster. Friendster was the first social media site, based solely on romance. And then came Myspace, adding a place to showcase music. And finally third to the party, Facebook, is the most successful and influential social media website of our time. So it pays to be third.

Draftfcb was the third seminar I attended and it was all about exploring the science of creativity. Jonah Lehrer and Matthew Wilcox spoke of how the mind reaches moments of insight, or “feelings of knowing”. They also harped on how alpha waves, or waves of relaxation are key in problem solving. Constant focus or obsessing over an issue without taking a break is not beneficial to solving a problem. It is better to take a step back and take your mind off of things and the moment of insight is bound to arrive.

The final seminar I attended was PHD. It was interesting, but it definitely seemed like more of a laundry list than a story. It was about the future technologies that will be unveiling. And by the year 2016, our society will be completely reliant on technology, even more so than now. But I won’t lie. Some of the upcoming technologies seem to be a little too intrusive, like the technology that lists exactly where you are, whom you are with, and what you are doing. I don’t think it is necessary to know that much about a person.

In addition to the interesting seminars I attended, our group was also given the privilege to tour the Microsoft Experience on the beach. Eric Opel, a senior salesman for the Microsoft, showed us around the Microsoft Experience. All of their new technology was on display, including the very large and innovative touch surface technology. It would be a great tool to use at the office for group projects and is very easy to use. 

 

 

Cannes You Imagine?

As I have conveniently avoided writing on this blog, I will have to start off describing my adventures in France with the first day of the festival. Our study abroad program has the privilege of attending the 58^th Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. I have been looking forward to this week ever since I submitted my application for the program. After picking up our badges on Saturday afternoon and pouring over our schedules for the week, I was all set for today. This morning felt like the first day of school with butterflies of nervous excitement floating around in my stomach. As I boarded the train with my fellow Young Lions, I could not wait to arrive. I was feeling very official with my badge and could not believe my eyes when we walked into the colorful and beautiful Palais (the venue where the festival is being held). We were greeted in the very special “Young Lions Zone” with a complimentary YouTube smoothie and an hp “white space” area to draw imaginative characters and designs on all types of surfaces, including Red Bull cans- yum. 

 

The first seminar I attended was the goviral seminar in the grand Debussy theater. The discussion focused on making effective “long ideas” for brands. Martin Lindstrom, an extremely engaging speaker, even used the 10 pillars of religion to relate to brands around the world. Grandeur, vision, enemy, story telling, power, mystery, symbols, sensory, rituals, belonging, and evangelism are the pillars he used to connect brands like Apple as keys to being good story tellers. The other speaker, Jimmy Maymann, spoke of how we live in a “world of on demand” and how word of mouth can be just as powerful and effective (sometimes even more) as other forms of advertising.

We then made our way back to the Young Lions Zone for a sit-down talk with Susan Lilley of USA Today. They call her the “Cannes Lady” because she is constantly working on stuff for the festival year-round. From coordinating hotels to getting in touch with everyone, she does it all. USA Today has been the exclusive representative of the festival for the past 10 years. It was interesting to hear all of her responsibilities and also her suggestions of what we should see while we’re here. 

 

And after a much-needed delicious sandwich from the stand by the beach, a group of us were given VERY fashionable hats to wear and were directed to the Act Responsible exhibition going on at the back of the Palais. It was an entire exhibition of public service announcements from different countries. The topics ranged from cancer and disease to domestic violence. There was even an entire area dedicated to remembering the tsunami in Japan. It was very moving and I’m excited for their seminar later in the week.

The next seminar I attended was UM, L’Oreal and BMW. I was really excited for the panel, but was extremely disappointed after the seminar concluded. The entire presentation was in a monotone and barely any visual aides were provided. I thought a lot more could have been done with the opportunity to present entrepreneurial impact. The seats in the seminar room were comfortable and I found myself dozing off more than once. 

I wasn’t sure what to expect from thenetworkone seminar, but it ended up being my favorite seminar of the day.  Three representatives from different independent advertising agencies spoke about the importance of independents and the benefits from a small advertising agency. One of the ideas that stuck with me from Ali Ali of Elephant was the big agency are focused on pleasing the client and the two-man agency is focused on making great ads. This mentality combined with the numerous examples of all three agencies (Special Group, Muh-tay-zik I Hof-fer, and Elephant) has inspired me to strive for experience in an independent agency. 

The last and final seminar that everyone was QUITE excited about was imc2, where Nick Jonas was a speaker. Besides seeing Nick Jonas’ adorable face, “Friends with Benefits” was a complete disappointment. The moderator, Bob Garfield, tried much too hard to be humorous and I was very confused as to what the purpose of the seminar was. The entire discussion was extremely unorganized and very difficult to follow. Thank the lord Nick Jonas was there or else I would have been staring off into space.