There has been a lot of heated discussion about Cannes. Dave Trott says it is preventing creativity. Jeff Goodby says we are becoming too inward focused, famous only from one of the Croissette to the other.
Having judged the extraordinarily diverse Cyber category this year, I feel there are some important criticisms the Festival needs to face up to.
But at the same time, I saw some truly inspirational work, with genuine intent and creative ambition which made me realise that by using innovative technology more smartly, it allows us to become more creative and more wide-reaching in what we as individuals and as collaborative groups can achieve. The real enemy of creativity is undoubtedly Donald Gunn’s Report which puts a numerical value on awards – and ludicrously suggests that the biggest scorers equal the most creative. This in turn means agencies, networks and holding companies are rampantly entering multiple categories multiple times to prove their standing.
For me, winning an award should not be about rankings or ladders, it should be about the simple recognition of having created something truly original and inspiring. All of the Grand Prix winners did something innovative. Some had the ambition to have a positive influence on people’s lives. From Vodafone’s secret app to combat domestic violence in Turkey to Whisper’s brave attempt to break the taboos surrounding periods in India. Some sought to take advantage of technology by using it in innovative new ways. From Domino’s emoji ordering of pizza via Twitter to Volvo’s hijacking of every other car manufacturer’s expensive spots during the Super Bowl. And finally, the two other ideas used technology itself to create something of groundbreaking value and poignant legacy. Soundcloud’s amazing audio essay of the history of the Berlin Wall and What3Words creating a new global system for identifying precise co-ordinates (albeit in English). They all achieved something of significance and merit. But most importantly, they all had a relevance to the brand itself.
The creative challenge facing most of us is to move from a world where we helped brands to talk into a place where we make brands behave or do. To create a performance which has meaning, the performer themselves need to have a personality. To express yourself fully, you need to know who you are. And to create work which really connects with people on a human level, the technology has to be made as invisible as possible, so that genuine interaction and communication can happen.
For me, the biggest outcome of Cannes is that the most interesting work, the work that has genuine ambition to affect the world at large rather than win awards – such as #likeagirl or the drone art project from Pakistan – is ultimately the most simple, human and relevant. And if that was what Cannes continues to celebrate, then there might be some life left in the old dog yet.
Jonathan Kneebone
Co-founder
The Glue Society