Mark Ronson. Russell Wilson. Garry Kasparov. Conor McGregor. The Black Keys. Plus a whole bunch of the greatest, most awarded minds in our industry.
And then there’s us (Jacob Newton and Josep Jover). A couple of young imposters creatives from DDB New Zealand who have somehow found themselves with a golden ticket (perks of winning a gold lion) to the big dance alongside the biggest names in the business – Cannes. So as we soak up the sun, rosé, and inspiration that surrounds us this week, here’s a few things that have made us feel particularly imposturous today…
Work
There’s a couple of bits of work had us feeling a bit jealous today, but not for reasons we expected. One is a billboard that isn’t a billboard. One is a print ad that wasn’t printed. Both picked up grand prix.
The Adidas Liquid Billboard took out the grand prix in outdoor by making a billboard that was in reality a swimming pool on a beach in Dubai. It was made to encourage women to feel comfortable in their swimwear, in a country where this is much needed. The Elections Edition for An-Nahar Newspaper won grand prix in print by not printing anything. Instead, they gave their newspaper’s printing resources away to help make their national election happen – an election the government is trying to delay in order to stay in power.
These two ideas are both very different but do the same thing – they break the platform. But they do it for very good reasons. It’s not just breaking the rules for the sake of breaking the rules. And it works.
People
Imagine trying to start an agency, and then a global pandemic hits. That was the reality for one of the speakers we tuned in to at the LBB & Friends Beach. For them, the name of the game is being willing to take a risk. You have to be brave, be proactive, and fight for what you believe in. If they can do that in the face of Covid, suddenly it doesn’t seem so scary for our us creatives. This sentiment of taking on risk was echoed by a creative director who spent years cutting his teeth in the Latin-American market. His advice to us: “If you’re young, you’ve got what most of the industry wishes they had. Your finger is on the pulse, and you’re willing to take risks that older people won’t – that’s your secret weapon.”
Armed with their wisdom, we took to the side streets to take a gamble on a random dinner spot – only to have a street fight break out just metres from our table.
Turns out they were street performers – and they put on a hell of a show. Our risk was rewarded.
Something different
On the theme of imposters, we were pretty excited when we thought we’d stumbled across a new DDB office right here in Cannes. Turns out it’s just a pastry shop.
They do a killer croissant, though.
Time for a swim. Until next time, au revoir.
