Jenna Morrissey + Rachel Harley’s Diary #1

Jenna Morrissey (right) and Rachel Harley (left), a young creative team from Grey Sydney, have competed in the Print category of the Cannes Young Lions competition. The pair write exclusively for CB.

You know those times when you pull up into your garage, turn the engine off, and realise that you don’t remember driving home? That’s essentially what all of today was, thanks to our little visit to Gutterbar last night.

However we did actually land a few days ago, and have spent the time so far competing and exploring, so I guess I can recap that.

We started our first day off with a healthy breakfast of frozen rosés handed out down at the Palais, followed by gelato. I’m not sure if there’s a Cannes version of the ‘Freshman 15’, but that seems imminent.

We then poked and prodded at all the pop-ups along the esplanade, filled with unnecessary tech. Managed to have a play with those sunglasses that can record your own point of view. I can definitely see the pro’s in this, like wearing them during arguments with my partner, so I can play it back, prove that I’m right, and win the argument. Cons however are that he can do the same to me and I am pretty much always wrong. Also, they look stupid. Will not be purchasing.

Time did eventually come for us to get locked in the basement and complete our brief. The workspace was a really inspiring setup for our creativity – picture a voting booth covered in aggressively saturated Australian flags, an iMac that struggled with the basics, and an open floorplan so Belarus can do walk-bys to check out your work. The oncoming jet-lag was also very good, as was the beach-and-beer photos the other Young Lions were sending us. It was a wonderful day which I am not bitter about at all.

In the end, we didn’t win, which means we will have to purchase our own wines now. This is very disappointing.

That being said, we now have the entire week to watch Helen Mirren’s chat, check out all the shortlisted work, and see if we can weasel on to a yacht. Can’t complain.