Gooding: Tradition is getting in the way of progress at Lions
Opinion
Cannes Lions is in need of dramatic reform.
One of the things any brand owner has to grapple with is its heritage. The story and provenance of our brands is part of what makes them distinct, memorable, and worth paying for. We value the power of consistency and encourage the rituals that our customers associate with our name. There is something comforting about an experience that was pleasurable and which we would like to do again. Good memories are part of what creates loyalty and repeat purchases. So, deciding when to change the story is a big deal.
I think the Cannes Lions has reached such a point. The name, the location, and the execution of the event itself is no longer fit for its own stated purpose. The name seems designed to associate the event with the glamour and celebrity of the Cannes Film Festival. The location is a renowned playground of the wealthy, conjuring up images of yachts and high living. And the event is inward-looking and increasingly a symbol of an activity that is completely out of touch.
It’s getting embarrassing to attend
I admit that whilst I have been to Cannes the town many times, I have never attended the International Festival of Creativity itself. So, my experience and observations come from the distanced view of what cuts through to me in the trade media and anecdotal feedback from those who attend.
In the last week I have talked to senior leaders on both the client and agency side who are deeply uneasy about the widening gap between the reality of world issues for which big ideas are sorely needed and the event itself. I have not met a person who didn’t want to see dramatic reform.
No debate about the need to celebrate creativity
I am not against recognition and awards. I have judged many and know how important they can be—providing as they do a moment to celebrate and share great work, and draw attention to the talented people who deliver it.
I am a particular fan of IPA Effectiveness Awards which seem to me to uniquely demonstrate that creativity works. Communication ideas that dazzle in a moment and few people see, or which fail to have any meaningful impact on the problem they are trying to solve, are worthless.
There is a need and a place for an event which focuses completely on creativity and ideas. A forum which celebrates the artistry of our work from across the world as judged by those who have mastered the craft.
Advertising creation flows from a fusion of magic and logic, but it is not purely art, and should not be judged as such. It has a purpose in the world to influence and change attitudes and behaviour in a specific commercial way and should be judged in that context. It is therefore important that these Awards can be held up to scrutiny.
The name ‘Cannes’ no longer works
I understand from Wikipedia that the very first International Advertising Festival was held in Venice, Italy in 1954. In fact, the lion sculpture of the Piazza San Marco was the inspiration for the lion trophy. The event subsequently alternated between Venice and Cannes until 1984 when it settled finally in Cannes.
It has to be said that there are many things about the culture of our industry in the 1980s which we are glad to have consigned to history. Agencies generally earned 15% commission from the spend of their clients and it was a time of big characters, big expense accounts, and great reverence paid to “the big idea”.
Since then, remuneration and our working culture has been completely transformed for the better and the industry has sought to distance itself from its louche reputation. Continuing to use the name Cannes, whilst also embracing all the trappings of yachts, parties, celebrity guests, expensive villas, hotels and restaurants is ill-judged. The festival would be better off simply being called ‘The Lions’.
Europe is not the centre of the world
Quite apart from the imagery conjured up by the word ‘Cannes’, it is located in the South of France. By definition making the festival Euro-centric and therefore both financially and physically inaccessible to most of the world.
I am not just talking about the costs involved in entering the Awards, but also the cost of attending to reap the benefits of participating and exposure to the networking, panel discussions, and workshops.
Too many talented creative people and ideas are simply priced out of attending in person. Digital attendance is tokenistic, putting those who are less wealthy into the posture of receiving what is shared rather than properly contributing on an equal footing. Representation in entries and attendance should be proportionate and it is not.
The location excludes too many creative people
How can an event seriously proclaim Sustainability, Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DE&I), and Business Transformation as three of the six priority challenges of the world and not have its own house in order on these topics? For years it has been suggested that regional events are held, building up to the grand final in June, which would enable far more people to get involved.
In addition, as an event which generates huge local economic benefits to the place where it is held, that economic clout could be used to put other places on the map.
Taking place in new locations of what I will call “The Lions” in the future would signal more about the true attitude of the organisers on the subjects of sustainability and DE&I than changing their award categories will ever do. If you want to celebrate disruption and business transformation you must be prepared to do it yourself.
Practice what you preach
The festival states its goal as “providing a global destination and the definitive benchmark for creativity that drives progress“. Thus defined, this is certainly an event that the world needs.
And yet found itself in the unedifying position this year of a previous award winner, Gustav Martner, returning to the stage to hand his award back whilst calling for a ban on fossil fuel advertising.
Yes, he is a Greenpeace activist, and of course it was awkward for everyone, but when he held up a banner reading “No awards on a dead planet” you have to admit he had a point. In fact, in the footage I have seen, he was applauded by many in the audience.
Running away lacked courage
Rather than banning him from the rest of the event why not give him a platform to discuss the point? After all, the disastrous impact of fossil fuel on our climate is not a controversial or contested fact and phasing it out was central to COP 26.
I would have hoped that by now to no longer reward creative work that encourages fossil fuel consumption should be a no-brainer. At least it should be if the desire to ‘drive progress’ at this festival was real. It just requires courage and conviction.
Greenpeace challenged the greenwashing of the oil and gas industry repeatedly. Storming the WPP beach and then scaling the Palais in dog costumes with signs reading “This is Fine”, cleverly referencing KC Green’s 2013 webcomic meme ‘on Fire’, of a dog calmly sitting drinking a coffee in a house engulfed by flames.
Surely, rather than running off the beach, or removing the protestors because pointing out the obvious was embarrassing, they should have been spontaneously awarded with a “It’s Not Fine” Lion for their creativity.
Time to be brave lions
I was part of the team that destroyed the 300-year-old Norwich Union brand to replace it with Aviva. Sometimes walking away from the past just has to be done.
The festival has already done the work on its purpose, now it needs to live up to it. It would be shameful to continue as if nothing happened.
Jan Gooding is one of the UK’s best-known brand marketers, having worked with Aviva, BT, British Gas, Diageo and Unilever. She is now an executive coach, chair of PAMCo and Given. She writes for The Media Leader each month.
Big Picture: The Media Leader‘s weekly bulletin with thought leadership and analysis by the industry’s best writers and analysts.
Sign up for free to ensure you stay up to date every Wednesday.