Sir John Hegarty calls on Cannes Lions organisers to find focus as festival gets 'too big'
Sir John Hegarty, worldwide creative director and founder, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) has called on the organisers of Cannes Lions to regain a creative focus, claiming that the festival had grown too big and ‘lost focus’.
Speaking to The Drum while attending the festival, Hegarty said that he had not been able to find the time to see all of the work, and revealed that others he had spoken to had said the same.
“The festival is getting too broad. It needs a greater focus. It needs to understand what it is that it is actually offering clients,” he stated. “My belief is that it is offering clients the opportunity to see how creativity can aid brands and be a part of a brand’s success and effectiveness. That is what we are all here to do and there is a serious danger that we are losing sight of that. If I was a client coming to this, I wouldn’t know what to think. Where would I go? I am hearing competing points of view rather than a core view that creativity can really drive a brand.”
He added that big brands needed a focus, describing the festival as a brand in itself.
“It’s always tempting to add things to it; more delegates, more categories – but actually in some ways great brands know when to stop and resist doing things. If I was running Cannes I would sit down and think about where the festival goes. It’s just too big and complicated.”
Hegarty also said that there was value in attending the festival in order to meet people around the world in one place, but again went on to highlight his belief that the main value for attendees should be seeing the impact that a piece of creativity had on helping to grow a brand.
Ogilvy & Mather London's chief creative officer Gerry Human and Havas Worldwide London CEO Russ Lidstone also spoke to The Drum about how they had seen the festival develop over the years.
The final winners at this year’s Festival were announced over the weekend, with Adam&EveDDB winning Advertising Agency of the Year and WPP winning Network of the Year for the fourth time in a row.
