Crying IN CANNES
CANNES DAY 3: It’s been a long time since Cannes made me cry. No, I’m not talking about my accommodation debacle this year, I mean the work. After Covid, the industry whipsawed away from emotive work. I think that is why I was so moved by the Who’s Waiting for You? spot by Droga5. It really struck home for me.
Two summers ago, my dog Simcoe died. She was the goofy black Lab I never wanted. It took my family a decade to talk me into getting a dog, Yet when Simcoe burst into our lives she became my shadow for 9 years. When she passed away, I was consumed with grief.
Today I watched Who’s Waiting for You, by Droga 5, for Victoria Cerveza. This spot is a touching ode to Dias de Muertos, Mexico’s sacred Day of the Dead is centred on the belief that when you die, those you love are waiting to accompany you to the afterlife.
This story is about a Mexican shopkeeper and the homeless pup he rescues. It is a tribute to their lifelong companionship. I think you can see where this is going. Not only is it beautifully crafted, frame by frame, it is also a powerful reminder of the ability of human insight, storytelling and emotion to connect.
Creativity to the Rescue: For me, Cannes Lions is all about the creative. It’s the annual chance to recharge one’s creative batteries. To spend a week immersed in most brilliant thinking in the world is a welcome panacea.
Stating the obvious, these are unsettled times; from climate change denial and book bans to the global rise of the hard right spurred by a bellicose American president, it’s taking a toll on our collective psyche. The world is upside down.
But Cannes reminds us that where there’s a crisis there’s creativity.
This year offers exceptional work addressing a myriad of issues in unexpected ways. Coach’s Explore Your Story tackles book bans by creating much coveted mini-bookpurse charms of banned books.
In Expedition Impossible, Columbia Sportwear CEO Tim Boyle challenges flat earthers to prove their claim by offering up the ownership of his company if they can do so.
Shoplefting used trademark law to fight rising Nazism by turning their secret symbols into a fundraising tool for the social causes Nazis revile.
The Miles for the Missing by Strava turned the running community into a nation-wide search party for missing children. As a long-distance runner this hit home, it is so simple, so smart.
Yes, the world is messy right now, but creativity is a 10-letter word for hope.