Cannes Lions: Stories from Cannes you won’t have heard!
There were plenty of goings on at the Cannes Festival of Creativity this year, so here’s a few little things that happened that won’t have been reported elsewhere, but didn’t escape The Drum’s attention.
To begin with, commendation has to go to Facebook’s global head of brand design Paul Adams who was forced off the stage for a few seconds about five minutes into his presentation, having taken a slight panic attack. However, the Irishman returned to the stage less than 30 seconds later to rapturous applause from the slightly confused audience when he apologised, stating; “That’s the most antisocial thing I’ve ever done.” Well done Paul!
Another moment that caused a stir within the Palais - where the bulk of the seminars and workshops took place, as well as the announcement of the awards - was the appearance of roaring, growling dinosaur. Ok, not a real dinosaur, but a bloke dressed as a dinosaur in a costume made up wholly of balloons. This was created in the Play, Make, Master area outside of the Palais, hosted by The Brand Union and Lambie-Nairn, where Lego, plastercine and balloon animals were created.
Google also had another moment of mirth, during a press event to discuss its Project Rebrief campaign, including the launch of its first Coca-Cola machine which gives away a free Coke in Capetown to those who tweet through the specially developed app. This saw a group of Google technicians hold up proceedings for a good few minutes while trying to figure out how to change the language on Google from French to English. A basic skill requirement for being a Google technician The Drum would have thought.
One moment that brought a tear to the eye, witnessed by The Drum while stealing Wi-Fi in the local McDonalds restaurant on the main drive at Calais, involved a small boy selling roses to customers at the restaurant. The boy approached a family of four who were just beginning their meal, and included another boy of around the same age. The family said ‘no’ to a rose, but, in a moment that cross cultural boundaries, the boy with the family handed the other boy his toy from his Happy Meal. Clearly astonished by the gesture, the boy with the roses hesitantly accepted it, and was clearly touched by the moment, before moving on, clutching the toy to his chest. The family each hugged their own child, recognising his generosity. A lovely moment.
Oh and Google has released a Google Earth themed pinball machine (see video below).
Below are some images from the week.