Doug Watson’s Cannes Diary

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10330267_10153000086689848_9221589609728030889_n.jpgDoug Watson, managing director/creative director at Passionfrute in Sydney is back in Cannes after five years. He writes exclusively for Campaign Brief.

You Don’t Need An Idea, Just Software Or Star Presenter

Cannes is quite confusing for someone who hasn’t been here for five years.  It’s seminars packed with personalities and sidewalks crammed with techno tents.  And here was me just thinking the whole thing was about creativity.

The seminars are chock with names.  Kanye West, Sarah Jessica Parker, The Hoff and even Courtney Love are sidekicks on panels, sometimes merely for their pulling power.

Meanwhile out in the street Google, Microsoft, AT&T hustle cheek by jowl with myriad others in kiosks along the beach.  They like to be believed that their medium will be greater than any message.

Media companies are here in force seemingly believing that they too are part of the creative community.  Anyone who has had to struggle with pre-booked 15 second spots would no doubt question how these people got a jersey.

The future it seems is about a convergence of all these forces with the odd nod to the need for an idea.  Many speakers seem to begin by stating “a good idea is essential, however …”.  The new process of creativity could be misconstrued as hiring the right celebrity and sticking him/her down the right pipe.

“Brands need to be celebrities,” said one speaker.  “Brands don’t think like celebrities”, said another.  “Brands are not as good as managing themselves as celebrities” said Kanye West.  (Or something like that, I can’t read my notes from the darkened theatre.

Obviously a star is going to pull viewers on the internet and elsewhere, but I wonder at what cost.  Given that some celebrities at Cannes, who turned up just to decorate the stage, must be getting a motza.  For those with a big budget, no problem.  The rest of us will just have to keep looking for a good idea.