Ben Welsh’s Cannes Diary: Day Two

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Ben-Welsh-2.jpgBen Welsh, ECD at M&C Saatchi, Sydney is Australia’s representative on the Cannes Lions Outdoor jury. Welsh, along with most of the Australian and NZ jurors, is of course reporting exclusively for CB.

Day one of judging. We start without 4 jurors who have apparently arrived in town. Terry Savage welcomes and briefs us. We are assured that no block voting has happened in the past. Tony G. adds his thoughts then we are divided into three groups and given 38 folios with some 1300 bits of work to go through. It’s a bit like drinking tequila, but instead of lick, sip suck it’s scan, scan, scan, scan; yourself, the folio, the work, the score.

 

After 2 hours and 15 folios my head hurts, which is a bit like drinking tequila. Very little of the work is great. Some has been crafted to within an inch of its life, but is somehow familiar. I feel sorry for the poor bastards who have spent so much of their lives on something that’ll never be great. The lost jurors have turned up.

We stop for lunch and get a brief glimpse of the yachts and cruise ships in the bay, then it’s back to work. And more average work. Loads and loads of posters telling me not to text and drive, with too much copy to read while I’m driving; a lot of the posters are more like print ads. Perhaps they will do better in that category.

 

Ben-Welsh-Cannes.jpgThe last six books are craft categories, something new for this year. Immediately I find myself scoring higher numbers, as the craft is generally pretty good.  The lion’s share is illustration (4 books) with one on photography and another on copy.

 

By 5.15 I scan and score my last ad. I’m getting sent pics of work from various places around the world and being asked for an opinion. So far no promises of any favours. Time for a rose.