Cannes Nightcap Day Deux: Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ keeps winning, plus NWI (networking while intoxicated)
Wait, you missed Cannes Nightcap Day One? No worries—it’s right here. You say you want all the important news, in-depth, from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity? We got you, fam; just visit our Cannes Lions 2019 page.
As always, Ad Age’s editorial team on the ground—this year it’s Ann-Christine Diaz, Alexandra Jardine, Alfred Maskeroni, Jack Neff, Lindsay Rittenhouse, I-Hsien Sherwood, Max Sternlicht and George Slefo—is on duty to provide you with wall-to-wall coverage of the marketing world’s annual sun-drenched celebration of (professional) thirst.
Speaking of which, Cannes is all about the work, oui? Très oui. So keep your eyes on the prize(s) by bookmarking “Cannes Lions 2019: Grand Prix winners,” our gallery of the brands and agencies making the big hauls. We’re updating it throughout the day, every day, this week.
One mini-trend that we’re already seeing
Top honors going to work that offers pointed commentary on what you might call the corroded American Dream. As we noted yesterday, Nike’s ‘Dream Crazy’ campaign featuring Colin Kaepernick took the Grand Prix in the Outdoor category. Today it also took the inaugural Entertainment for Sport Grand Prix. Meanwhile, Childish Gambino’s “This Is America” won one of two Entertainment for Music Grand Prix. (Ad Age’s Simon Dumenco wrote about it as a media phenomenon back in May 2018: “‘This Is America’ goes hyperviral: About that disturbing, brilliant Childish Gambino video”).
When in France
Let’s take a brief break from talking about the work to talk about the next most-important thing: the food. We sprinkled a few culinary pro tips into our Official Ad Age Cannes Map. And because in France everyone’s a food critic, we’re keeping tabs on the grub served up at brand and agency parties for a judgmental round-up later in the week (an early review from Alex Jardine: “The Spotify food was teeny tiny canapés for very thin, glamorous people”).
But for now, an important public service announcement courtesy of I-Hsien Sherwood, who endorses the pizza being served from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. every night through Friday, courtesy of DoubleVerify, at Le Vesuvio (70 Boulevard de la Croisette). I-Hsien’s review: “It’s dollar-slice quality, but it’s free” (you’ll need a Cannes badge or business card to carbo-load on DoubleVerify’s tab). And, naturally, it comes with its own hashtag: #DViveLaPizza.
Back to the work
“A touch-screen for McDonald’s that sterilizes your hands when you high-five it, a necklace designed for Vodafone that uses AI to recreate the voice of a patient with no voice and a technology that allows an Apple Watch to detect an epileptic seizure have all won Future Lions awards,” Alexandra Jardine reports.
“A Johnson & Johnson-commissioned documentary about heroic nurses in the early days of AIDS has won the Entertainment Lions Grand Prix,” also per Alexandra.
“The Cannes Lions honors for finest craft went to The New York Times, Nike and Carlings on Tuesday night,” Ann-Christine Diaz reports.
Talent hunt
While you’re all thinking about brilliant creative people, a reminder the annual Ad Age 40 Under 40—recognizing young powerhouses (from the U.S. and around the world) who have made significant contributions to the worlds of media and advertising/marketing over the past year—is open for submissions.
Pipe dreams
When you think of “creativity” and “festival,” you think of addressable TV, right? No? Tough luck. A certain media giant still decided to head to the Riviera to make a case about digital pipes. “At Cannes, Comcast urges TV industry to expand addressable advertising,” per Ad Age’s Jeanine Poggi.
Overheard in Cannes (by various Ad Age staffers):
“The terrace at the Carlton is the place to be” and “Here we go, into the frat party”—stated by the same Lions attendee entering the terrace at the Carlton Hotel.
“That’s it?”—uttered by a Cannes attendee exiting the beautiful-on-the-outside, sparse-on-the-inside Instagram “Where the Rainbow Ends” installation celebrating Pride Month.
“I went on the Accenture boat but everyone was too drunk, so I couldn’t network, so I left”—a sober Cannesgoer
Speaking of boats
Hats off to the New York Post for “Cannes Lions 2019: Yacht watch,” a run-down of nautical excess accompanied by a click-baity slideshow (which, full confession, we clicked all the way through).
And finally...
Rainn Wilson (Dwight from “The Office”) is quite literally the man behind Cannes, according to this incontrovertible photographic evidence from his Twitter feed: