What I learned at the Cannes Lions
6/30/2008 6:09:35 AM by Sean Duffy
EVERYTHING IS CHANGING AND YOU ARE SO SCREWED
Each year ad agencies and clients from around the world gather in the south of France for the industry's premier event: The Cannes Lions. It is 7 intense days of seminars, workshops, award ceremonies and parties. This year many of the seminars and workshops focused on life in a Web 2.0 world.
Overall, the Web 2.0 seminars and workshops I attended were more cliché than content. Speakers would take 30 minutes to say: "With Web 2.0 it's no longer a one-way message but a two-way conversation with the customer" then spend the remaining 15 minutes predicting the downfall of agencies and clients who don't adapt. Case studies were sparse.
Chuck Porter (
Crispin Porter + Bogusky) brilliantly summed up 7 days of Web 2.0 lectures in one sentence "Everything is changing and you are so screwed." I wish he had spoken earlier in the week, then I could have spent my days on the beach instead of a dark auditorium. However, there were some brilliant exceptions (his presentation included) that made sitting through a week of non-stop lectures worthwhile. Here would be my bronze, silver and gold lions for excellence in the Brand 2.0 presentation arena.
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