Want to know the most sought after prize at Cannes this week (aside from these fancy little Cannes Lions awards)? Purple flip-flops that my wife won't let me wear in public.
I got my flip flops at an intimate lunch hosted by Yahoo! yesterday. It was the highlight of the day for me personally. All of the usual suspects were in attendance, including digital notables such as AKQA CEO Tom Bedecarre, Wenda Harris Millard, former Co-CEO of Martha Stewart Living, and Sir Martin Sorrell, Chairman of WPP.
I had never met Bob Greenberg, founder and CEO of R/GA until yesterday. I found him to be incredibly charming and likable. Although we are competitors, he congratulated us on our big week in Cannes. This means a lot to me- given how much respect I have for him.
But my best moment was seeing Sir Martin sneak out of the lunch early -- carrying a bunch of purple flip-flops in his hand.
Executive director and worldwide creative officer of Sapient, Legorburu has been a driving force in the evolution of the interactive marketing business since co-founding Planning Group International (PGI). Under his leadership, PGI became the largest privately held interactive agency in the United States and was acquired by Sapient in 2006.
Throughout his career, Legorburu has spearheaded some of the most successful online campaigns in the history of the Internet. He has partnered with clients in industries ranging from financial services and travel and leisure to technology and food service.
He has helped clients gain unparalleled insights into effectively marketing their products and services in today's increasingly complex marketplace. Legorburu continues to provide clients with forward-thinking answers to overcome their critical business challenges.
Perhaps the official attendance numbers at Cannes this year are down, or maybe the conference pass-sharing maneuvers are up due to tough economic times which is my bet. Regardless, the venue was packed last night for the interactive, print, and design awards.
I'm not typically a fan of award shows. They tend to be more popularity contests than creative competitions in my view. The fascinating bit about Cannes is the contradiction between the vanity out in the Cossette with the humility you feel by the great work featured inside the auditorium. In there it is all about the work. Cannes, is in my opinion, one of the only festivals where honestly only the best stuff gets accepted.
Then my respect for these guys gets crushed with the announcement of the "Media Person of the Year." IAF, the organizers of the Cannes Festival, bestowed this honor on--get this--Microsoft's Steve Ballmer. Yep, Ballmer was named media dude of the year at the Microsoft Advertising-sponsored event. Seriously, Ballmer is many things--including an all around nice guy--but a media visionary he is not.
I got past the Microsoft thing quickly as the event moved on to some great design work. I was very impressed with Brazil's showing. One great project after another. There is a hell of a lot of great talent down there. We did well that night --especially our new Australian crew winning its third Grand Prix for Queensland Tourism's "Best Job in the World" campaign--so we went out to celebrate. Perhaps we'll get lucky, find Ballmer out and about and compare Lions.
Executive director and worldwide creative officer of Sapient, Legorburu has been a driving force in the evolution of the interactive marketing business since co-founding Planning Group International (PGI). Under his leadership, PGI became the largest privately held interactive agency in the United States and was acquired by Sapient in 2006.
Throughout his career, Legorburu has spearheaded some of the most successful online campaigns in the history of the Internet. He has partnered with clients in industries ranging from financial services and travel and leisure to technology and food service.
He has helped clients gain unparalleled insights into effectively marketing their products and services in today's increasingly complex marketplace. Legorburu continues to provide clients with forward-thinking answers to overcome their critical business challenges.
So I woke up at noon. I don't know how I feel about this. I'm either embarrassed or proud of myself. I never sleep that late.
My first night at the Cannes Lions festival most definitely lived up to my expectations. Attendance is clearly down at the actual Cannes festival from last year. But the usual suspects are still here at the Gutter Bar. One common theme among Cannes attendees was that they showed up simply to ensure that they were not left out.
Digital has clearly arrived at Cannes--and then some. Perhaps this is a sign of the current economic times. Every major interactive CEO was spotted at the launch party last night acting like they owned the place. Plus, the Cannes panels are chock full of interactive buzz.
Back to last night. We co-sponsored the opening party at Cannes last night and it was packed. Everyone seemed to have a good time. Other than a member of our crew misplacing a Gold Lions award on the beach--which fortunately only went missing for a few anxious minutes--no one got hurt.
The first part of our evil plan to conquer Cannes went off without a hitch. Now on to tonight--when the interactive awards will be announced. Sapient's work for Coca-Cola--the Multi Media Coke Machine and Happiness Factory 3--are short-listed for awards in the Design Lions and Cyber Lions categories. Cross your fingers that we can pull this off.
As always, stay tuned...
What do you think? Is digital advertising finally getting respect?
Executive director and worldwide creative officer of Sapient, Legorburu has been a driving force in the evolution of the
interactive marketing business since co-founding Planning Group
International (PGI). Under his leadership, PGI became the largest
privately held interactive agency in the United States and was acquired
by Sapient in 2006.
Throughout his career, Legorburu has spearheaded some of the most successful online campaigns in the history of the Internet. He has
partnered with clients in industries ranging from financial services
and travel and leisure to technology and food service.
He has helped clients gain unparalleled insights into
effectively marketing their products and services in today's
increasingly complex marketplace. Legorburu continues to provide
clients with forward-thinking answers to overcome their critical
business challenges.
So I just landed in Cannes. I rented a car that looks like it has already bounced off of every tree in town...and smells like an ashtray...probably because it is an ashtray.
Let the games begin.
This will be my third Cannes Lions advertising festival in as many years and quite frankly, I'm expecting a very different experience. The first year, I was a spectator at best. Although I'd been in advertising my whole adult life, the spectacle of award shows always seemed like a vain and fruitless indulgence. I used to think that clients did not care about this silliness. But then I learned otherwise.
I figured you could not win at this game by standing on the sidelines complaining about the rules. Last year, we took things much more seriously. We entered our best work and worked the scene to recruit some amazing folks into our camp. The results? Well, they were disappointing. We were short listed on two projects--only to lose out at the end. We came so close, but it wasn't enough.
What was most disturbing about the whole thing is that a number of big name Madison Avenue type agencies went home with all of the hardware for work that they outsourced to digital shops like ours. We were still obviously outsiders.
But we have big hopes this year. Cross your fingers for us.
Executive director and worldwide creative officer of Sapient, Legorburu has been a driving force in the evolution of the
interactive marketing business since co-founding Planning Group
International (PGI). Under his leadership, PGI became the largest
privately held interactive agency in the United States and was acquired
by Sapient in 2006.
Throughout his career, Legorburu has spearheaded some of the most
successful online campaigns in the history of the Internet. He has
partnered with clients in industries ranging from financial services
and travel and leisure to technology and food service.
He has helped cclients gain unparalleled insights into
effectively marketing their products and services in today's
increasingly complex marketplace. Legorburu continues to provide
clients with forward-thinking answers to overcome their critical
business challenges.
Perhaps the official attendance numbers at Cannes this year are down, or maybe the conference pass-sharing maneuvers are up due to tough economic times which is my bet. Regardless, the venue was packed last night for the interactive, print, and design awards.
So I just landed in Cannes. I rented a car that looks like it has already bounced off of every tree in town...and smells like an ashtray...probably because it is an ashtray.
