My Experiential Paper

So we were all assigned to write a 3 page paper on any experience we've had since we've been in Europe. They were all really good. So I decided to post mine up for anyone to read. It's my experience of getting lost in Antibes and having to walk 6 miles to get home along the coast. But it's through the eyes of a 17th century commodore. Hope yall like it.

Excerpt 67 from the Journals of Commodore Thomas Edward McConnell

The Precarious Journey from Antibes to Juan Les Pins

10:00 am

Our journey from the southern France city of Juan Les Pins has led us to a brave new world: The unchartered world of Antibes, as the indigenous peoples call it. Set in the hills of the Mediterranean Sea, this bountiful land will provide many resources and for the people of our home land of America. My crew of 14 trusted explorers have come with nothing, spare a few essential tools, water, and our private accords. Our goal was to map out the land, mark out any points of interest, bring back anything small of value, and report our findings back to the Royal Families of Reichert, Kohn, and Beaver.

As we first began to explore the area we were optimistic. Nothing was on our minds but the thought of possible eternal glory that would be granted to us should we succeed in our missions. We pressed on throughout the area to find that the indigenous peoples have already established a thriving economy and marketplace. Absinthe was the local drink of interest, of which my crew and I took a plentiful stock. Ancient corridors, which oddly resemble the sprawling cities of Athens, lined the entire area. We would trudge on with only a few guidelines to steer us from potential danger that were graciously provided to us from the Royal Family Beaver, who had employed several smaller factions to scout the area briefly.

Once the area had been thoroughly mapped and charted, with items of interest collected, it was time for us to make the journey back to our outpost of Juan Les Pins. The route we initially had taken, although short, was one of precarious dangers. Many of the tribal bands of Golfe-Juan-Vallauris had taken a watchful eye of us. As acting commander, I would make the decision to take an alternate route home, along the coast. I had believed that decision to be wise, as to avoid attack and plunder by those aforementioned tribes. It would be a decision I would regret for the rest of my days.

11:00 am

All would seem to be well as my crew followed on. I was able to recognize many landscapes, recognize our direction on via compass and through other less traditional means, such as tidal patterns and foliage growth direction. It seemed as though my loyal crew would follow me in to Hell and back, no matter what wretched demon spawn we might encounter. A commodore could not ask for a greater crew.

We would continue on primitive roads, constructed by the indigenous peoples at some time in ancient history, in a single-file line with myself at the Helm. The air was brisk and the sweet smell of the Mediterranean uplifted our spirits into a god-like trance. Traditional American songs were sung and some of the crews even began to perform ceremonial steps of our home land. Times were good.

As we continues to find our way home, the scenes had began to change into a more ominous shade. We encountered more and more strange locals who enjoyed time at the beach in the nude, a tradition unheard of and looked down upon back in America. Worry began to spread across the entire crew for fear of being at lost. I must admit, a tinge of doubt was beginning to cross over my mind as well. Even the strongest of men can only be taken to a certain point until they too crumble under the weight of indecision.

12:00 pm

Midday had finally approached. Sadly to say, we had hoped to be back in Juan Les Pins, resting comfortably in our outpost. The crew had grown restless as our feet began to tire and water rations began to dwindle. My first mate had become more and more distant as the day grew on, an ominous sign for any captain. Whispers of mutiny had reached my ears so I decided to take drastic measures. I pulled my crew to the side of a sharp cliff to let them know of my decision. Our language specialist, Deckhand Molly F Drake was to engage a local and hopefully communicate enough to ask for directions back to Juan Les Pins. I knew that if this attempt failed, I would surely be doomed to mutiny. We then started on again and as the first local came into sight, an overly tan male wearing nothing but what seemed like a loincloth that resembled a Speedo as we know in America, Deckhand Drake engaged the peculiar fellow in the local tongue of Antibes. We watched the transaction with angst hoping for a good outcome. The conversation faded and the man faded back on to the beach. Drake reported back to us that we were indeed headed the right way and that we would be home in no more than 20 nautical minutes. The crew was overjoyed at the good news so we trudged on. 40 minutes passed...

1:00 pm

Was it a false set of information? We shall never know. Nonetheless we were once again lost. With water rations dwindling into dangerous amount (myself only having a meager 40 milliliters left in my trusty Camelback) and tempers flaring my worst nightmares came to fruition. Mutiny.

I was sent to the back of the line, the brig as some of the other deckhands had termed it, to wallow in my own self pity and reflect on the dangers I had led my crew into. First Mate Mallory O’Brien took over the reigns as acting commander. Do I blame them? No. The crew had done what all peoples in the world would have done in a dire situation: cut the head off of the monster and replace it.

Several other natives were consulted as we continued, and all gave us promising information, but after our last encounter, no one knew if it was actually verifiable. We continued along the coast, south by south west, in the same single-file line, with me in the back. Dehydration and massively sized blisters would slow our pace to that of a sloth. Tied up in the metaphoric shackles that gripped me, I wanted nothing more than to lead my crew again. Eventually the entire group dissipated into a free-for-all of individual bands, tied together only by the thought of reaching Juan Les Pins. It seemed as though all hope had been lost.

I will reserve my next journal log exclusively for if I survive or perish.

2:00 pm

Salvation. Under daunting odds, we have reached our outpost of Juan Les Pins. After four grueling hours of navigating the coast, we have made it home. The most fortunate news is that no one perished along the way. All the crew was accounted for. As we arrived back to the outposts, we were immediately swarmed by other worried explorers. After everything had been accounted for, we reported our findings to the Royal Families. Despite our extended journey, they were just as pleased to have us all back as they were with our findings of the Mysterious world of Antibes.

I can only hope to have my reputation as an unfaltering leader restored through means of hard work and preparation. Hopefully my journals will help future explorers not make the same decisions I foolishly made.

God save the Royal Families of Reichert, Kohn, and Beaver.

Commercial Critique 5: MTV- Balloons

This entry created by Brazilian agency Loducca MPM in Sao Paulo, Brazil for MTV takes a fresh new approach to a classic visual medium: The flip book. The simple spot shows a hand created machine that runs a needle on a track. While running, the needle pops thousands of white balloons, each with a hand drawn picture on them. As the balloons pop, one by one, animation of rock stars and people are shown each doing different things, such as playing the guitar, smoking something, or even birthing children. The scene is accompanied by a fast paced vocal piano duet of a classic melody. Towards the end, the cameras take a different view and actually show the machine in action popping all the ballons to validate the creation as real. Finally at the end, the slogan "The music never stops" appears and the spot ends.

This modern adaption of the flip book is a thing of beauty. The simple idea showcases the creativity of Loducca and draws the viewers in for an immersing experience. It turned in to a viral hit, and it's obvious why. Creativity was obviously exuded for this completely live action spot. The camera mounted on top of the machine behind the needle is a brilliant position to view. The drawings on all the balloons are cartoon-like and innocent which really served as a great way to complement the music.

Very creative adaption. It received a standing ovation when it aired (as well as a Gold Lion in Film...)

Commercial Critique 4: Heineken- "Entrance"

This spot by Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam titled "Entrance" features a man entering a party ans essentially running everything. He goes through out the room greeting seemingly important people in unique ways, which often involve a Heineken. It is accompanied by a very upbeat and memorable song called "Golden Age" by The Asteroid Galaxy Tour.

The visuals are absolutely stunning with this spot. Choreography was key when directing it. As the man makes is way through the crowd, all of the different people are moving in a way that seems very fluid. It is very appealing to the viewer's eye. It is mainly live action, which is the truly stunning part considering how much is going on at once, with some amount of CGI throughout it. One other aspect that draws the viewer into actively searching out the spot is the song selection. W+K did a great job choosing this song that is fun and unique but not very well known. They chose a band that had a lot of potential and marketed them (see their name on the bass drum of the drum kit) with Heineken. When I first saw this spot, even though I thought it was visually appealing, I searched for it on YouTube because of the song. When I found it, I began to admire more and more the actual direction W+K and the production company took.

Commercial Critique 3: Nike- "Write the Future"

Most have you have probably seen this spot done for Nike Soccer by Wieden + Kennedy Amsterdam. It features several of the world's greatest soccer players going through various soccer matches. Each player is shown making a great move and/or a mistake and then the futures are shown of each of those players. The futures rely heavily on the actions of those players. The target market is geared towards people who play soccer and all fans of the world cup.

I believe this commercial is the best put together spot of all the commercials I've seen at the festival. Apparently the Film Jury agrees with me because this spot was awarded a Grand Prix Lion. The cinematography is beautifully done. All the angles that the directors chose to film it at are unique and flawlessly transitioned.  It's pretty much all CGI except for some possible motion capture ball technology in order to get the fluidity of each player right. The idea for the commercial in itself is also a masterpiece. It tried to relate the intensity all athletes in the world put on their shoulders no matter what the sport it. Players, from amateurs to professionals, take many of these situations as life or death; what defines them as a person.

Amazing piece of work. I would have changed a thing and I hope W+K keeps putting out content like this.

Commercial Critique 2: Axe- "Premature Perspiration"

Argentinian agency Ponce struck gold at Cannes with this spot advertised by Axe. The commercial features a selection of men with the problem of "premature perspiration", obviously playing off the problem of premature ejaculation. The spot shows men, after seeing an attractive female in a compromising position in real life, suddenly and violently sweating under their arm pits. The narrator goes on to encourage people not to sympathize with anyone with this problem and to encourage them to seek help immediately. The solution, according to Axe, is their new product that fights against premature perspiration and, above all, helps guys get girls.

I believe that the spot was very well produced with a simple cinematography that got the joke and point across. Unfortunately, I don't think that this commercial will be airing in the States any time soon. Although personally I would be fine with it, I don't think the American public would be fine with it on network TV. I do think it could succeed as a viral hit, which it has so far. I think the slow motion filming accents the feeling of guilt and depression that is supposed to go along with the idea. I think that the ratio of CGI and live action fits perfectly into making a great spot.

It definitely deserved the Gold Lion it won this year.

Commercial Critique 1: Chicken Licken- "Monkeys"

This clever spot was created by BBDO South Africa. It features a man who's craving for Chicken Licken (Represented by the Red Monkey) grows bigger and bigger through out the day, impeding him of even the simplest of tasks. He eventually gives in once the monkey on his back has reached monstrous sizes. He makes a journey across the town to the nearest Chicken Licken and satisfies his craving, only to be visited again by the adorable monkey soon after.

I thought this spot was one that is very hard to find in today's age: One of little to no CGI and no dialect. It hits home with anyone who loves chicken wings and thinks monkeys are adorable, and who's going to argue that they aren't. The idea is simple, playing off the age old phrase of a monkey on someone's back. I think there's beauty in simplicity and BBDO was spot on with this ad.

Day 7; Word of the Day is: Memories

One of my pet peeves in life is when people use the phrase, “Greatest ___ of my life.” It just seems like that person is setting the bar of life experiences at that one event. This is especially true if that person is young and has their entire life ahead of them.

You guys have no idea how tempted I am to use that phrase about the last 3 weeks, especially at the festival.

It just seemed like everything flowed so effortlessly. I've made some of the best friends I'll have, been to some of the most exotic places in Europe, learned more about the advertising industry than I dreamed was possible, and have had some of the craziest times I can remember.

This whole experience definitely ranks among the top few in my life, most of which are incredibly personal. I believe that says a lot. My girlfriend's Dad, who worked his entire as a top creative director life in the Ogilvy and Mather Canadian branch has never made it out to Cannes.

That last statement does 2 things to me: 1) Scares the living shit out of me for fear of never being good enough to reach Cannes again and 2) Makes me realize how lucky I am to have experienced it.

When I'm old and gray I have no doubt that I'll remember these Memories as vividly as when they happened. I cannot wait to one up my grandchildren by saying, “Back in my day, I went to Cannes and attended beach parties thrown by the top advertising agencies around the world, each of which costed roughly $200,000 to throw. Boom little boy/girl.”

I can only hope to be that cool of a grandfather.

But in all seriousness we ended our last day of the seminar by getting all dressed up and attending the awards for the Film Craft, Film, Integrated, and Titanium Lions.

The Grand Prix for Film Craft was won by Droga5 for their Puma “After Hours Athlete” TV spot. What an incredible idea. The premise was focusing on the “after hours” athlete who stay up past last call, play traditional bar games like darts, billiards, and bowling, and deal with the buzzkills and cockblocks of our generation. Many of us can relate to that feeling, especially coming from the University of Georgia. Putting that person at the center of attention and drawing the spotlight away from the traditional athlete was truly a beautiful move.

The Gand Prix for Film was won by none other than Wieden + Kennedy, this time in their Amsterdam branch, for their Nike “Wire the Future” spot. This honestly came as no surprise to me because this spot made such an impression on me when I first saw it last year. I actively searched it out in order to relive the experience. The spot showed several world famous soccer players playing in games and before key pivotal moments within the game, the player flashes to scenarios based on whether or not they did well. Each scenario was overly blows out of proportion but it did a beautiful job of showing how serious athletes as well as regular people take sports. It also has a pretty killer song in it (Hocus Pocus, by Focus)

The Grand Prix for Integrated went to Droga5 NYC for their work with Bing to create the “Decode Jay-Z Campaign”. The premise was that Droga5 put random pages of Jay-Z's new book all over the world that let fans live the world through Jay's eyes. They released it before the actual release date of the book so it gave fans a head start in to the world of Jay.

Unfortunately there were no Titanium Lions, the highest awards a campaign of any sorts can receive, given out this year. Although I did find this disappointing, the fact that the Jury was able to subjectively make this decision really solidified the fact that these awards are only given out to those who TRULY deserve it.

Maybe next year.

But all in all this was a truly life changing couple of weeks. I can't really think of a way to properly describe all the emotions and experiences I've gone through personally and with my new found friends.

I guess if any of you guys want to know, just come find me.

Until next time.

Day 6; Word of the Day is: Passion

 I have to say I'm disappointed in myself right now. Well, maybe not in myself but definitely in my musical knowledge.

We attended a seminar about music in the Ad Industry that featured Patti Smith. She even read a private letter to her best friend and music collaborator who passed away recently after a battle against cancer as well as performing a private acoustic selection for the audience.

The passion that Smith exhibited throughout the entire seminar (and especially during the performances at the end) was unrivaled by anyone I had seen in a long time.

We were informed that she has been ranked as one of music's 100 most influential people by Rolling Stone. She's performed with the likes of Janis Joplin, Bono, Bruce Springsteen, and many others. She revitalized a dying poetry and rock and roll scene in the late 60's.

And I had no idea who she was.

I am still severely disappointed by my lack of knowledge on her, especially coming from a family of professional musicians.

The Rock Gods are definitely hating me for this one.

All that aside, she and a representative from the Grey Group talked about the passion of her music and of music in the advertising landscape. It was most certainly the most passionate seminar anyone of us had been to.

We heard many a story of her beginnings into poetry and music, of her views on certain musicians throughout the history of rock and roll, and of her passion for her work. Right away she made a point to get the audience interacting with the panel by telling everyone that she has always been “uncomfortable not being able to cross the line of the metaphorical stage to the audience” and the she is “the biggest fan or her fans”. I thought that this was an incredible analogy to creative marketing. Just as she hates not being able to interact with her fans, we as creative marketers have to love interacting with the people partaking in a certain brand. Both are forms of 2-way communication and getting people to interact with the brand, whether that be a band or a brand.

#Smart

She was asked about her views on musicians like Jim Morrison of The Doors. “Jim was a true poet in form” she said. She elaborated on that statement by telling thrilling story after story of Morrison and of other artists such as Jimi Hendrix. Because her roots of rock and roll begin with poetry she went into different aspects of the lyrics of Morrison.

I think Morrison would have been a helluva creative. Smith described him as having a “Shamanistic Style of Rock” which I think would have translated in to brilliant, creative ways of reaching consumers.

I'll definitely have to putting “Break on Through” on repeat at max volume the next time I have to create a campaign for a brand. Perhaps that will spark some alphawaves I mentioned in a previous post.

My favorite quote from her was on Jim Morrison. She said that, “He was truly gifted at mixing the mystics of language with the primal instrumentation of a guitar” and that it was the best way to “entice the people”.

Pretty heady stuff if you ask me.

She also gave us the chance to hear about some enthralling stories about her days living in the Chelsea hotel. One that stood out in particular was about Janis Joplin. Smith described to us a recurring situation Joplin was put into and most likely attributed to her depression, drug use, and eventual death.

Apparently after many a show, Joplin would be the queen of the night. She would go to the bar next to the Chelsea hotel to socialize with many admiring young men but as the night would end, these same men would split off to find someone in their minds was more attractive, perhaps one of Joplin's female groupies, leaving Joplin alone and depressed.

That story truly brought a somber and melancholy mood over the entire audience. But that mood was just getting started

We then were treated to one of the most special artistic performances many of us had seen. Smith read a letter addressed to her late best friend describing the pain that she felt for him, and how it couldn't even compare to the pain he was suffering. Needless to say she was close to tears afterwards.

It was truly moving. Truly passionate.

Smith then made her way over to the microphone where an electric-acoustic guitar lay, and started playing a song she had written. Unfortunately I can't remember much of the lyrics but I can assure you guys that it was beautiful and would have made my pseudo-hippy mother jealous beyond belief.

Talk about going out with a bang. The entire audience was on its feet in a standing ovation. I wish you all could have been there.

Now I feel bad for the other speakers and seminars we attended today. It'd be like following a performance by Led Zeppelin if you were Deep Purple. I'm not saying Deep Purple is bad, in fact they're amazing, but Led Zeppelin is...well...they're Zep. Can't get much better than that.

We attended a masterclass hosted by one of the best creatives at BBDO, Marcos Mediros. He went over the BBDO Sao Paulo's though process behind their award winning campaign for Billboard Magazine. We even got to Billboard ourselves into pixelated images, where the pixels were faces of our favorite artists. It's tough to describe so I guess you'll have to do yourself a favor and do a search for it and experience it yourself.

After that seminar, the president and CEO of BBDO Atlanta (internship, please) Chris Hall lectured to us on the top three things to take away from the festival:

1. Creative Communication is far more effective than non-creative communication.
2. We're in the Golden Age of creativity.
3. Great work is a team sport.

He went into an in depth discussion of each aspect and we were all inspired to take the information we've learned so far and RUN with it.

I also got to tell him that their work for the Georgia Lottery with their Red Hots campaign was some of my favorite advertising to come out of Georgia. Think Kevin the fire-breathing Goat. Hilarious.

Unfortunately when I asked him how the creative landscape of my hometown Atlanta has changed throughout the years, he said it was a pretty stagnant scene. One of his main goals is to turn this around. I feel like Atlanta has some of the best potential for some great creative work. Maybe some day I can be a part of it.

I kind of like the thought of being the Savior of Creative Marketing of Atlanta. But that's just my super inflated ego and imagination talking. But damn, the thought of me on the front page of the AJC (If it still exists #unlikely) with the subtitle reading “Atlanta's Creative Marketing Mind”...I'll go ahead and entertain the thought.

I feel like I should probably cut myself off with that last remark. I'm not trying to become a bigger asshole than I already am. JOKE. But in all seriousness...

Until next time!

Day 5; Word of the Day is: Revolution

When we think of the word "Revolution" we think of the American, French, and maybe one or two more select instances. I was lucky enough to meet a man who had first hand experiences of one of the most recent, and amazing, revolutions. The Egyptian Revolution. People were spurred to action through the use of popular social media sites like Facebook and Twitter while the Egyptian media remained quiet in a cover-up attempt. The fact that the world's political climate can change through the use of social media sites that we use to communicate to consumers with was absolutely incredible to hear about. It was most certainly an aspect of social media I needed to be brought to light about. 

CNN ain't got nothin' on the stories told to us by the Egyptian Filmmaker Amr Salama.

This guy has been kidnapped for producing work the government didn't approve of, for chrissake. (And the badass escaped on his own.) 

He is a very well known Egyptian Filmmaker that began producing his own movies at the age of 19. We were introduced to some of his work, learned his biography and background, and then he treated us to a Q and A session. 

The description by Amr of the current climate of Egypt is one of excitement but also one of panic. They have a completely new identity to mold. He told us that people can "smell the freedom and liberty in the air." They have a new constitution to create, a new leader to elect, and a new mindset to implement. It's an intensely interesting time for Egypt in the eyes of an outsider. 

One of the teacher's asked about the recent Egyptian revolution and how he was affected by it. It turns out that he was one of the main driving forces behind the HUGE social media effect. He tweeted locations to rally to his fellow citizens and he coordinated many an effort against the tyrannical government at the time. 

I asked him what areas of his work have been censored throughout his career in Egypt. The answers he gave me were astonishing. Even the slightest criticism of the government is strictly forbidden. Anything to do conflicting with the Muslim religion is also not tolerated. Which lead him to telling us not to take any of the freedoms we have in the Western World for granted. 

I think his message really hit home.

He also talked about advertising in Egypt before and after the revolution. His message was, "If you don't believe in your product, don't advertise for it." He said that corporations that do advertise for products that don't take the greater good of society as a primary responsibility are evil.  I couldn't agree more. Every brand needs to find a social cause that works for them and believe in it. Without one, they serve no means to advancing civilization, which is what I believe advertising to be all about. 

Overall, Amr's message was intensely powerful. It really encouraged me to look around at what I have every single day at home and not to take those things for granted.

Until tomorrow.




 

Dixon Brothers Performing at Young Lions Party

Some footage shot by the first half of the DJ Duo on the beach. Whatchu know about getting rowdy? I THINK that's Gabby yelling in the camera haha.

Day 4; Word of the Day is: FTMLTWBTYFI

David Simon, creator of such HBO shows as "The Wire", "The Corner", "Homicide: A Year on the Killing Streets", and "Generation Kill", was one of our personal guest speakers today.

This is where I get the acronym FTMLTWBTYFI.

He was asked to sum of the meaning of existence in 11 words in Esquire magazine. At first he had the same reaction that I think most of us would have when posed with a question like that, "You guys are assholes." But then, he told us, he started thinking of it as challenge. Could a question that monumental be summed up in 11 words? He ended up coming up with the phrase, "F**k the money leave the world better than you found it".

Brash? Maybe a little. But overall I found it very moving.

He talked to our group about advertising content paired with TV content. He thought that advertising cannot be paired with deep, moving television. For instance, he thought that his show "Homicide" couldn't exist on network television because people who watch the intense, often disturbing content, simply couldn't be bothered after every 12 minutes by ads trying to sell useless household products.

While I do agree with him that consumers couldn't be bothered by terrible advertising, I do not agree that it can't exist all together. I believe that advertising can exist with shows like "Homicide", it just has to be meaningful, highly planned, and targeted advertising. It can't be a crappy spot. The consumer has to be enticed and enthralled just as much as they are while watching his show.

Mr. Simon also went on several rants about the state of our economy and government.

To say he was pessimistic is an understatement.


He seemed to believe that if America were to disappear from the face of the Earth, the only true contribution us as a country would leave is African American music. I understand the logic behind the thought and I agree, BUT, he downplayed democracy. Maybe I'm just more of a patriot but he seemed to think that we really didn't contribute much to this style of government.

At that point I really wanted Thomas Jefferson to come back from the grave and drop kick him to the ground.

I do give a lot of credit to our founding fathers for laying the foundation for democracy as we know it today. I think that's a pretty big contribution to the world. 

Anyway, David Simon was inherently smarter than I was so I didn't debate it with him. He was a a pretty hilarious guy too.

We also had two other guest speakers today, both who really blew me away. The first was Jennifer Frommer, the SVP of client-relations branding for Interscope Records. She explained to us that her job was to partner artists with brands, for things like product and album releases. Apparently she gets to interact with all the high profile artists on Interscope's line up. She even taught Michael Jackson how to use a damn computer... I can only imagine what that Masterclass was like. The other speaker we had was Allison Arden, a senior publisher at Ad Age. She gave us some great advice for when we enter the industry. I will definitely take it to heart.

I really wish I could give all of you who aren't here the true experience of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. This has been an absolutely moving experience and I feel more and more privileged every second that goes by.

I indeed <3 Advertising.

Day 3; Word of the Day is: Coca-cola

I should have worn a helmet, because Coca-Cola blew my mind.

Today I experienced by far the best seminar in the festival yet. It was entitled "Coca-Cola: Liquid and Linked Mystique".

Three representatives from the beverage giant unveiled their marketing plans for the next decade to an awestruck audience. The first representative, Johnathan Mildenhall, narrated a chapter-by-chapter approach on how Coke planned to navigate through today's maze-like landscape of communications and how the company plans to shift focus from creative excellence to content excellence all while DOUBLING their marker share.

Believe me, I was skeptical at first too. I mean come on. Doubling Coke's market share? I felt like they already couldn't grow any larger and if they did, it would be the Roman empire part-deux.

But then Mr. Mildenhall began narrating their plan. Slowly but surely, my jaw dropped further and further.

As he went on, chapter-by-chapter, he wooed the crowd in to absolute silence. After every chapter a round of applause would erupt from the entire auditorium. One key aspect of their marketing plan was to create "liquid" content, which they described as "liquid ideas so contagious they will help Coke own a disproportionate share of popular culture".

After that presentation came to a close, the other two marketers took the stage and explained how they planned to transform Coke's marketing in to experiences that people can attach themselves to. He explained to us that they haven't achieved the market share of teens as well as they would like to. In their mind, Coca-Cola is just another brand among a thousand others. To our parents, Coca-Cola was an integral part of their culture. Teens would ask each other to, "grab a coke after class". It was woven in to their very fiber of life.

That isn't the case with today's teenagers.

I guess I'm a little biased towards the brand because I was born and raised in Atlanta, but I can definitely see where they're coming from. People my age are constantly immersed with what seems like an infinite number of brands competing for our attention. It can be a little overwhelming. I do agree that only the truly great works of advertising will get through to us on a personal level.

The marketers then went on to describe some of the techniques they're using to try and spark that emotional connection with consumers, with teens in the main light. For instance, they've created a real life twitter account for the beverage's creator, the mysterious Dr. Pemberton. People who follow him can retweet his every piece of advice.

Coke has also dedicated an entire portion of their marketing scheme to the wonder of the secret formula, which is rumored to be unknown, save two individuals in the company who aren't even allowed on the same plane for fear of the recipe being lost.

I love the wonder and mystery that Coke is implementing in to this campaign.

Unfortunately I'm not the marketing genius that Coke's specialists are. I promise you, after leaving this seminar there wasn't a tinge of doubt on my mind that Coke could actually pull this off by 2020.

I honestly wish I could do the presentation justice with my description but I simply can't.

Wish you could have seen it. If some videos come up I'll definitely put 'em on the bullblog.

AdNews' Impression on the Seminar.

Day 2; Word of the Day is: Diversity

Guys, if I can let you in on some insight of the global Ad World, it's that Brazil is going to be taking over in a storm in the next couple years. The country's presence is almost unmatched at the festival. All of the work I've seen from the Brazilian agencies is stunning and the people I've gotten to talk to so far really know the industry from the inside-out.

Oh, and they throw the best parties after the festival hours.

Honestly the amount of countries represented at this festival is stunning. You know what might be even more so? In my mind, the quality of their work (save some film and integrated) in a lot of ways is superior to that of the United States. As I was thumbing through the different categories of work up for awards, countries like Argentina, Brazil, China, Japan, and the Netherlands really stood out. This was especially true for the Press category, which I am analyzing and covering for an assignment of my study abroad trip. The ads just seemed wittier, more attention grabbing, and more provocative. I don't want to hint at a lack of American talent within advertising but it sure seemed that way. Even as I was flipping through the Lions daily journal for example, there were roughly 1 American nomination for say every 10 Spanish nominations. SPANISH NOMINATIONS. Not for every nomination, just Spanish Nominations. It was striking to say the least.

Please feel free to debate me if you feel differently. I'd love to throw some pepper on this post.

That point brings me to my word of the day: Diversity. The Advertising horizon is truly one of globally dominated creative, not just that of US hot shops or mega-agencies.

Anyway, I'll go ahead and give you the run down of what I experienced and my opinions of said material.

I started off the morning with a session hosted by BBDO entitles "How Do You Get Your Next Billion?" Amazing session to start with. They described the importance of understanding the individual means of content viewing that people use (eg- tablets, laptops, TVs, and smart phones). The individually compared the screen archetypes with characters of Star Wars (Being a huge Star Wars Junkie, I loved this). The comparisons were drawn out as such:

The TV: R2D2 (The best friend, the everyman, the jester); The TV is always around the house making people feel comfortable and entertaining the family. Content geared for TV should be made to complement these feelings. Just look at him, what a bro.

 

The Computer: Han Solo (The older sibling, wise, competitive). The computer was described as being influential and always there to provide information. Content should be provocative and emulate the avatar of Han Solo.

The Mobile Phone: (A New Lover, Princess Leia). Described as being a close connection to the consumer. Has an intimate relationship and is always with you. The trust can easily be broken. The content should never be intrusive on a mobile phone because it leads to distrust. It should always have utility and be there to help.

The Tablet: Obi-Wan Kenobi (Does amazing things, like a wizard, previously unseen things). Content geared for a tablet should provoke action and do new and mesmerizing things. It should curate life and enhance one's flexibility.

Well That's probably enough about that seminar. I got a little carried away with the star wars references. I have one more gem of a picture I'll put up in the end for those real Star Wars fans. Great reference, I promise.

The next seminar I attended was one sponsored by Kraft Foods and was headlined by the world renown author, Malcolm Gladwell. He talked about why coming in first isn't necessarily as good as coming in third. He prefaced his statements regarding the Ad world with a reference to a battle fought by Israel and Syria, in which Israel was the third part of a scheme between the Soviet Union and the US. Israel ended up with the right technology assembled from US with the thinking behind the Soviets and ended up defeating the Soviets in one of the most lopsided battles in military history. He then compared this to Apple's rise in Silicon Valley against the dominant Xerox company. Very interesting analogy.

My next seminar was one sponsored by DraftCB and was headlined by the neuroscientist Jonah Lehrer, who described the science behind gaining creative insight. It was enlightening to hear about alphawaves, which enable creative insight, and how to gain them. Definitely some good pointers on an area barely touched on by the Advertising Industry.

The last seminar I attended was sponsored by AOL and it feautred Tim Armstrong, the CEO of AOL and Arianna Huffington, of the Hufington Post. They both were very well spoken. Arianna talked about the 4 pillars of the internet and how to release content geared for today's users. One interesting technique she uses with the Huff Post is titling the names of the articles in a fashion that's similar to the way a friend would email another friend. For example, when the Pope recently got his own facebook page, the headline on the front page read "Poke the Pope". I thought this was a very savvy way to connect with the reader on a more personal sounding basis.

Anyway, I'll let you all know how the second day goes. Thanks for reading!

Oh and:

Day 1; Word of the Day is: Inspiration

Inspiration.

Merriem-Webster's Dictionary defines Inspiration as:

a : a divine influence or action on a person believed to qualify him or her to receive and communicate sacred revelation b : the action or power of moving the intellect or emotions c : the act of influencing or suggesting opinions 

 

If there was one feeling I left the first day of the Cannes Lions festival with most with today, Inspiration would most certainly be it. You know that feeling you get when you see something relevant to your life that is truly a work of art? You just start tensing up inside while the figurative butterflies start going to town in your stomach. It's a rare feeling, and we may or may not have experienced it. One of my teachers in high school said these moments in time are called aesthetic moments. He said that when you do feel these moments, you should cherish them because they don't come around often in one's life.

I was lucky enough to have one of those today.

It came to fruition when I was sitting in a seminar hosted by the agency thenetworkone. Specifically when a man from Egypt, who's name was Ali Ali (no that's not a typo) showed us a clip for an ad he came up with for Coke. The spot was called "A Tribute to the 'Like' Button". It was created after the Egyptian revolution when facebook usage skyrocketed to 8 times the previous level. It showed Egyptian citizens professing their love for facebook, and specifically the "Like" button. They claimed that people liking anything other people posted on facebook greatly improved people's moods, health, sleep, sexual performance, and just about anything in between. The spot was edited beautifully to show an amount of positive emotion that I thought would have been impossible to see after what the country of Egypt has been through. 

Seeing that spot really spoke to me. It reinforced that creative marketing is something I truly want to be a part of. It truly Inspired me.

Most of the other seminars I went to were amazing as well. 

 

I started the day off with a seminar hosted by goviral. Their topic was "The Long Idea". They taught us about the differences between the "long" idea and the big idea. They put in some amazing research and discovered that 37% of all conversation between people is about one brand or another. One of the more controversial experiments they conducted was that of comparing the best best brands to the longest lasting religions of the world. The speaker concluded that the best brands share the 10 pillars of religion. The more pillars that a brand can encompass, the longer lasting it will be. He used Apple as an example which encompassed all of that and subsequently is one of the most recognizable brands in today's market.  They also emphasized the importance of word-of-mouth advertising and offline to online promotion. They used research to back the claim up that it was much more effective on consumers impressions of brands.  I completely agreed with this. I believe that word-of-mouth advertising is underused and is one of the most effective ways to gain consumers' trust of your product or service.

The next seminar I attended was hosted by UM, L'Oréal, and BMW. This seminar was hyped up beyond all belief because of the big named brands participating it but honestly fell short of my expectations. It basically consisted of 5 professionals sitting as a panel debating very dry aspects of the marketing world. There was little to no audience engagement and in my mind a very poorly orchestrated seminar. 

One of the most talked about seminars was the  one hosted by imc^2. Along with some various other reasons, this was because Nick Jonas from the Jonas Brothers was a guest panel speaker. It was hosted by Bob Garfield, who previously wrote for AdAge as a critic and  in the advertising world is known for being very harsh and critical of certain ads. This definitely showed as he took the reigns for this heated debate over social media. It seemed as though he shut down all the speakers except for Nick. The described facebook "Likes" as a source of currency for a product, or in Nick's case, for his band. I didn't fully agree on this concept but I can see where they are coming from. I've always believed in more solid form of ROI and "Likes" just don't measure a campaigns success the way cost per impression or other ways of measurement do it for me. But I do understand that this is the era of social media and success for campaigns will be measured in different ways. 

Anyway, I've been rambling a little too long I think. Tomorrow we start at 10:00 am. I'll try and keep you updated with pictures and posts throughout the day.

Be easy, Guys.

Lions Festival Prologue

The time has come.

The 58th Cannes Lions Festival begins tomorrow, June 19, 2011.

Seven days dedicated to showcasing the finest work the advertising, public relations, promotions, and marketing worlds have to offer.

I only hope I can keep up with most of the action. The first events start up bright and early in the morning at 8:30 am. Tomorrow a slew of agencies and guest speakers take the stage to discuss everything from current, global trends in marketing to successful techniques they have used in the past.

The seminars I am planning on attending are the goviral seminar from 10:30 to 11:15, the SapientNitro seminar from 11:30 to 12:15, the UM, L’Oréal & BMW seminar from 1:30 to 2:15, the imc2 seminar from 3:30 to 4:15, and the Naked seminar from 5:30 to 6:15.

Stuff's getting bonafide professional, guys.

I'll be carrying around my Young Lions bag (I like to consider it a man-satchel) all day gawking at the agency heads I one day hope to be a part of.

I'll be keeping you guys updated.

Rookie Post

Hey, Guys.

So this is my first ever blog post. Try not to judge too harshly.

I'm sitting here in my studio apartment Juan Les Pins, France. It's about 5 minutes from the beach and you only need one word to really sum this place up. Gorgeous. As some of you might know, I will be here studying abroad with a group of 22 other people (all girls actually), 2 professors, and a program coordinator. The program's centered around the Cannes Lions International Fest of Creativity, a festival that takes place in Cannes, which is a 10 minute train ride from Juan Les Pins, for a week. For those of you who aren't in to advertising, this festival is basically Oscars for the Ad World. It features all the best campaign work for certain products, causes, and other topics from all over the world. It's honestly a gigantic privilege for me to even be here at such a young age and as a student. Men and women in the industry can work their entire lives and never make it out to this massive festival. Needless to say, I'm going to be trying hard to represent the University of Georgia well and take as much as I can from the experience.

All that aside, I've had a great time getting to know my fellow students thus far on the trip. They're all incredibly bright, gifted, and entertaining. I have no doubts in my mind that this will be one of the greatest experiences in my life.

I'll try and keep all of my readers (hopefully I'll have a few) updated on what happens during the next couple of weeks.

Be easy, Guys.

Oh, and on a side note, if any of you get the chance to come out to France, take advantage of the Absinthe.