Deborah Frenkel Cannes Diary: Day Two

Deborah Frenkel, copywriter at JWT Melbourne has been picked as one of 35 creatives under the age of 28 to attend the 2013 Young Creative Academy in Cannes. Here she gives a rundown of her second day in Cannes.

Yesterday, we kicked off with some impromptu yoga, Indian singing and a bit of stand-up comedy (see Ben’s write up here).

Today, on Day 2 of the Young Creatives Academy, a bit of theatresports is on the agenda. In front of 24 people I barely know, plus advertising legend Bob Isherwood, I find myself pretending to be a duck.

The week is styled as a guided tour through everything that could make us better at what we do – coming up with ideas, making them great, and actually making them happen. Dignity itself is not required.

The room is a combo of energy and terror – maybe inevitable given we’re a bunch of twenty-something creatives, all at the beginning end of their careers, and not really all that sure what we’re doing. ‘What if you secretly think you’re crap?’ we ask Bob. ‘Do you ever overcome insecurity about your ideas? ‘ ‘Is this whole award thing just bullshit?’ We end the discussion soothed.

In the afternoon, we hear from Patrick Collister who describes himself as ‘the only old fart at Google.’ Did we know that neurologically, only 1 in 5 people have the brain circuitry required to have a new idea? We didn’t, and we feel a bit smug and special until he whips out the brutal truth about the week – ‘for a creative, the absolute worst and best thing that can happen is that your mate gets a lion.’

Later that evening, at the first awards ceremony, I remember this through my fog of envy, and it makes me smile. By the end of the night, one Academy student will have scored a gold lion, and those of us watching will erupt screaming in the back row. We may have no dignity left, but in its place we’ve got a duckload of motivation already. And there are still 5 days of the Academy to go.

Quack.