Has Wrath of Cannes Jumped the Skinny-Jeaned Shark?

Award Show Moves From Coney Island to Hipster Heaven

Posted by Ken Wheaton on 05.18.09 @ 02:28 PM

After being told I was fired in 20 different ways on the Wrath of Cannes welcome page, I noted on the next page that this year's tagline is "Those who can go to the Riviera. Those who can't go to the East River." Say what? At first, I thought the little trophy of the man with his head up his butt had given up on Coney Island and moved to Manhattan. But no, it's worse than that. He's moved his act to Williamsburg, which is pretty much epicenter of every single thing wrong with pop culture today. Every. Thing.

For those of you who failed New York City geography, don't care about New York or have no interest in ad competitions that hand out more snark than they do hardware, the Wrath of Cannes is an award show that used to take place at Brooklyn's fabled Coney Island. WoC delights in slapping the whole idea of Cannes around. For example, they estimate the cost of attending Cannes in the neighborhood of $22,000. The cost of attending WoC? $25.

The trophy, though, was my favorite part. It was named the Grand Coney. But now they've taken the Coney out of Coney.

According to the website, "Due to the corporate takeover and gentrification of Coney Island, and a fair amount of bitching about how far away it is, we've left the fabled Boardwalk by the Sea until that shit shakes out. However, the Grand Coney Trophy retains its name just to confuse."

See, that right there is the problem with hipsters. All their talk of open-mindedness, they just can't stand the thought of leaving their faux-squalid neighborhood to drink $2 beer (says the guy who hadn't gone to previous WoC shows because, well, c'mon, Coney Island on a weeknight?).

But seriously, folks. If you're in the industry, stuck in town (rather than in Cannes) and feel brave enough to walk through hipster hordes for some cheap beer and some industry mocking, you could do worse than hanging out with WoC creators Woods Witt Dealy & Sons. They sure now how to put lipstick on the pig, after all. For example, they say, the "amenities" at the new venue "include a bar, wood floor, pool table, couches, toilets for both sitting and standing, and an outdoor patio with some kind of weird food truck that may or may not be serving something that may or may not be safe to eat."

And you can always work in a few laps in the East River.

7 Comments

By dabbdc | Fair lawn, NJ May 18, 2009 04:05:03 pm:

There is still nothing like a trip to Cannes. Once, while staying at the Carlton I met a proverbial little old lady in the lobby, the Countess de Vilnick. She was drinking a martini at 11 AM and lived there permanently (she has since, sadly died.)

The chic way to do Cannes is to stay at the Hotel du Cap in Antibes - wild strawberries for breakfast. You hop into the rental sports car when you need to attend an event.

Occasionaly, even deals get made there. The Rhone valley is not far away and sometimes one finds old vintages. Don't miss the Colombe D'Or. Sorry but Brooklyn doesn't quite compare

David Bershtein
Director of Sales & Marketing
All Things Media, LLC
Flash Games and 3D Interactive
Tel: 201.637.1999 (Direct)
www.allthingsmedia.com/turbo
sales@allthingsmedia.com

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By evaingaus | Cambridge, MA May 18, 2009 04:25:01 pm:

I like to join in on poking fun at hipster as much as anyone, but we must give them some credit. I remember hipsters being the first to popularize Twitter... And don't forget that they were the pioneers of social media's first huge website, MySpace (hipster heaven).

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By editorAdAge | New York, NY May 18, 2009 04:53:27 pm:

David,
Rub it in why don't ya! (Besides, if you read the site, the founders are very upfront about how jealous they are that they're not in Cannes.)

Evaingaus,
Wait, popularizing MySpace and Twitter are good things? And even if a certain someone such as myself might have a full on Twitter addiction these days, that doesn't mean I'm gonna start hanging out in Williamsburg.

--Ken

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By dabbdc | Fair lawn, NJ May 19, 2009 11:45:19 am:

On one trip to Cannes, our CEO showed up and was watching expenses like an eagle. I had the restaurant put a '55 Cote Rotie in a decanter and we told him it was "a caraffe of the local wine" :) Everyone at teh table knew except him and it was all we could do not to howl with laughter

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By GEORGE | BOISE, ID May 19, 2009 11:15:34 pm:

David...
Can't make up my mind if you are a poseur, or a wanker... As for "The Rhone valley is not far away." How about a four hour drive in the rental sports car! Oh, and the Colombe d'Or is in Saint Paul de Vence, not the Rhone valley. I have a feeling you know your way around Brooklyn better than France.
Cheers/George

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By dabbdc | Fair lawn, NJ May 21, 2009 10:48:34 pm:

You must have a slow car, George. I never said the Colombe D'or was in the Rhone. Why create a negative tone and spoil my memories of Cannes. Your epithets are beneath this magazine and further notice

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By dabbdc | Fair lawn, NJ May 21, 2009 10:48:36 pm:

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