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The ShowHeroes team is currently at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and CEO Ilhan Zengin has thoughts on this year’s atmosphere. This year’s Cannes Lions is very different from last year’s, where caution was the dominant feeling. But is it roaring excitement this year, or something more nuanced? Read his thoughts alongside other industry leaders in Digiday. 👇 https://lnkd.in/edYn9KD9 #Cannes2024 #CannesLions #digitaladvertising #digitalmarketing

The #WeatherAtCannes has been a hot topic these past few years, from tropical heat & rainstorms, to excessive winds & choppy seas…If you’re attending this year, have no fear, we’ve got you covered! Check out The Cannescast below and know before you go!

Stress is horrific and dangerous. It can cause an adverse effect on your health, your wellbeing and your relationships. But not all stress is equal. Because when it’s born from a desire to satisfy your own or shared vision - rather than succumbing to the pressure and isolation of others - it can, as Si points out below, be a sign of giving a f*ck. It may not be cool to talk about ‘graft’ these days (which is very different to the dangers of ‘hustle culture’) but it’s still the foundation of standing any chance to make, do or create something special. We don’t talk about that enough. Not because I ever want to advocate for stress, but because I do want to celebrate craft, creativity and care. Or should I say, I want the people who act/claim they have all the answers to respect and acknowledge it … given they’ve never made any actual work and haven’t got the faintest idea what it takes or costs to make something proper good. Commercially, creatively, emotionally or artistically. So well done to everyone who put their work out there to be judged and criticised, regardless of the result. Few do. Few would. Because even though it’s business, it’s always - absolutely always - personal.

Time to start planning your Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity schedule if you haven’t already. Make sure to give a quick listen to WARC ‘s Amy Rodgers top picks from the Creative Impact track so you can save the spots for the sessions in your calendars. Which ones are you most excited about? #MakeItWarc #CreativeImpact #CreativeImpact24 #BoldMindsBoldMoves

Have you read the official Cannes Lions Wrap-Up Report yet? Best in class creativity and insights from industry leaders fill the pages of this insight-packed report - Don't miss out!

🏆 Cannes Lions Challenger Spotlight – “Museum Worthy” from AICP (Association of Independent Commercial Producers) and O Positive Films    Our Challenger shoutout today goes to AICP and O Positive’s delightful B2B advert “Museum Worthy” which was awarded a Silver Lion at the Cannes Lions yesterday for its script. The advert, which was created to announce an extension for entries to the Association of Independent Commercial Producers (AICP) Awards earlier this year, highlights the difficulties facing creatives when there are too many cooks (i.e. clients) in the kitchen by imagining the response to feedback Vincent van Gogh or Frida Kahlo would have had were they to be creatives today. In case you didn’t guess – their reactions were not good. Funny, but not good.    The spot drives home the point that if you don’t want watered down work, you need to have a strong brand identity and strategy (something Challengers know all too well!) and that “It’s hard to make museum-worthy art. It’s harder to make museum-worthy ads.”     https://lnkd.in/eCVuzjyq     #CannesLions2024 #ChallengerMindset 

I usually say that Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is for network, not for inspiration. But this year I came home inspired. I had the great pleasure of speaking about the Sounds Right initiative (https://lnkd.in/eHkwDi8A) and how we made Nature an official artist alongside Katja Iversen, Cathy Runciman and Adam Cardew hosted by Stan Stalnaker at the beautiful Hub Culture garden. And later, participating in the awe-inspiring round table at the Goals House hosted by Earth Public Information Collaborative about The Most Important Brief (https://lnkd.in/d_q7WmTP).   Both of those sessions were filled with inspirational people who believe in the power of creativity to drive change for the better. Eager to make more brands and companies move from purpose and profit to impact and responsibility. And looking across the winners it seems like we’re not alone in this mission. Not only did a lot of the winners involve a cause. They have also moved from the more gimmicky way of activating against a cause to creating actual long term impact. It is obviously impossible not to mention our own Pink Chip initiative by the amazing Amsterdam crew. But I also love the Sol Cement SightWalks project by Grey Peru. As well as the Mastercard Room for Everyone campaign by McCann Poland. Just to name a few. I do agree with Karen Howe that it is concerning how many cases – especially in the Glass Lions category – are centered on female oppression. Who would have thought that in 2024 we would have such a high need for creative problem solving within this area? But creativity is there. Having an impact. And this year to a higher degree than we have seen in a long time. If awarding creativity really is like smelling your own farts as Mark Ritson said on stage, this year the smell doesn’t really bother me.

Five days until kick off for the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. This will be my 12th consecutive Festival and each year there are more and more ‘Top Tips’ from the Jurors, team, and repeat festival attendees on how to “do Cannes”. Of course it would be remiss of me to offer anything other than the most #Effective tips - so here are my Top Tips on how to have an Effective #CannesLions. 1. Plan your diary - arrange breakfast, lunch, dinner, coffees, afternoon cocktails, post dinner drinks, early morning swims, parties, Festival sessions (and of course don’t forget to diarise 15.15-15.45 Thursday 20 June https://lnkd.in/eBthy4yb) - its not everyday you will get to see me taking on the role of an Inglorious B***ard CEO (seriously), whilst we unpack brand new findings from a comprehensive study into levels of alignment across the CEO/CFO/CMO trifecta… 2. Get ready for your diary to not go at all to plan. 3. Carry portable phone charges - see point above - everybody's day becomes fluid (some fluidity more down to rose consumption than others) - get ready to reschedule, rebook and reset. 4. Plan at least two days post #CannesLions to do your follow up, not just resetting your liver, but your reaching out to those new and old contacts you bumped into on the Croisette and nailing those potential new business opportunities. 5. Flat comfortable shoes are a must - its been said before, but that doesn’t make it any less effective. The Croissette is just under 1.5miles long, and whilst you won’t need to head to the end of it, and back, every time.. you will be making multiple trips up and down throughout the day. Day in day out. Comfortable shoes, trust me… 6. And as a corollary to the above, a bike is even bigger win…. 7. Check out the work in the basement - when else do you get time to see the BEST creativity from all over the world in the one place. Take it - and question it, what worked, how do you think it worked, review and learn. 8. Check out the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity #CreativeEffectiveness Awards show - I’m honoured to be a Cannes Lions Effectiveness master, and to have helped pull the criteria together for its launch back in 2011. Fast forward to 2024 and its an effective way of seeing at a glance commercial creativity at work. 9. Talk to everyone, The Effectiveness Partnership is a UK-based business and we have built our worldwide client base through sometimes serendipitous conversations on the Croisette. 🌍 10. Talk to me. We have helped deliver hundreds actually frankly 1000's of effectiveness cases across #CannesLions, #Effies, WARC, IPA (Institute of Practitioners in Advertising) and more. And we do this by upskilling your team and embedding cultures of effectiveness in clients and agency teams. Message me - it will be the most effective thing you do across the 5 days of the Festival.

If you will be in Cannes please join us. Introducing:  The TBWA Disruption® Seminar: Saving Creativity from Death by Algorithm

Few ads are truly "award worthy". This one was, and by a mile. Congrats for the win on one of the best spots I've ever seen. This piece will push social impact advertising FORWARD. #socialimpact #nonprofit #psa #awareness #advertising #creative