Cannes Ad Fest 2019: When the Lion roars

There’s something about being at Cannes that goes beyond just the Riviera and the rosé. Beyond the networking and the parties. It’s the celebration of great work. Of ideas that herald change and a brave new world order.

Cannes has often been touted as the biggest festival for advertising across the globe. Many awards are held across the year with the same content and the same entries, but a win here makes all the difference, changing the fortunes of an agency and the team that created it.

And the brave are here. You see it in the hunger and in the passion of marketers’ arm in arm with their creative partners. Of technology going hand in hand to build a new paradigm. Of craft and excellence being the single-minded focus.

There was a time when big brands ruled. And let’s face it, they could. They have the infrastructure and the global clout to take a message and spread the word literally across continents. But Cannes doesn’t only celebrate big brands, it's about ideas and action. The power of a great insight is recognised and applauded.

As I write this piece, I see the Grand Prix winners announced so far. They all have one thing in common: The lion isn’t just metal with a different hue. It’s a lion with value. 
 

You don’t just win a lion here. You win the right to roar. And yes, you are the king or may I say the queen of the jungle and you have a voice that the world would like to hear.
 

This year I was judging (the glass lions) which left me with little time to hear speakers and attend sessions. But in the little time I had, it allowed me a glimpse into the world we (ad folks) are a part of, but, which we often take for granted. 

At every corner, with every poster, with every person I encountered, there was only one thing that resonated: The power of creativity.

Great work like great cinema and a piece of classical music moves you; ideas do that too. 

There is the ‘I doff my hat’ to sheer brilliance to the ‘I’m so jealous I didn’t think of that’ moment. I see the exuberance and passion of presenters and clients who embrace their creative partners for bringing alive a vision and belief.

It doesn’t matter if you are the biggest sports brand celebrating culture with a social media post or a billboard that had just a line. Everything that is thought provoking and makes you question your beliefs and your bias takes centre stage here.

This year the theme is of toxic masculinity. You encounter it everywhere. And that’s the narrative that seems to be running through the festival. It’s in the work, in the line-up of speakers, in the jury ratio, in the equal representation across forums. It’s the time you walk away with a lion on the world stage knowing that you can also hear the lioness roar.

The author is regional creative director, Wunderman Thompson, South Asia