Cannes Lions 2022: 69 with Rakesh and Amit (part two)

Since we last wrote, the 69 between big awards and the Indian contingent continues, with this already being our sexiest year ever in terms of performance for India. We got two Grand Prix on day one and one each on day three and day four, along with lots of Golds… and as we predict, many more to go.

 

In keeping with this being the 69th year, this festival has also seen some very pleasurable, moments of joy. The first was a ‘return of award’, where we had this guy, carrying a Cannes Lion, getting on to the stage, just when the first award show was starting. He explained that he’d won the Lion in 2007 for work done for sustainable automobiles. He then rattled out that, from that day onwards Cannes has rewarded over 300 fossil fuel automobiles. In protest, he returned his Lion. Which he promptly left on stage. While the protestor joyously stuck to his conviction, the MC handled it with equal dignity. 

 

The second moment of joy came on day three at the award ceremony, with a ‘return Of baby’. The jury president, of the Creative Business Transformation Lions, came on stage and shared that 16 years ago, his wife had won a Gold at Cannes and come on stage carrying their baby son – he then shared a picture of the baby son and his wife with the audience. After which he got the camera to capture his son and wife now sitting in the audience – the son, a strapping young lad of 18, come back to visit the Cannes auditorium, 16 years later, this time while his dad was jury president! Goosebumpy moment.

 

In keeping with the 69 theme, the Times of India party gave us pleasure from opposing directions; a western quartet performed while people were wolfing down desi tandoori chicken and biryani!

 

In terms of the sessions – The Vayner session with Paris Hilton session on NFTs saw a 69 between style and substance, with Paris sharing her prowess as a tech junkie. Or the 'Question Everything' session showcased the 69 between Hyundai and Disney, coming together and pushing the envelope. Ryan Reynolds was of course pure pleasure; frank, self-depreciatingly funny and inspiringly creative. His prowess in Hollywood is not far ahead of his prowess as an astute marketeer or creative person – the man’s already won big at Cannes for some fabulously scripted content. He shared some inspirational bytes like, “Fuck it! Ads should be fun, they are ads after all!” Or, “The enemy of creativity is too much time and too much money.” 

 

This he said in the context of the Dead Pool series that he’d produced. He explained how the studio really didn’t believe or support the movie. That’s when he decided to smartly focus on emotion and depth in the movie, versus depending on expensive special effects.

 

It was a sheer pleasure watching who’s possibly the youngest living legend, Malala Yousafzai, upfront and on stage. Malala was a true inspiration, sharing her objectives, “I want every girl in every corner of the world to have education.” “I want to help create a society which does not clip the wings of girls and women.” In the context of advertising, Malala is as accomplished a marketeer as any of us, starting her content agency, ‘Extra Curricular’ and bringing alive the philosophy of acts over ads, explaining how we need more ‘agitators’ in the world.

 

 

To round up this article, here’s our little attempt at giving pleasure to someone; the young and prolific Hemant Shringy of BBDO. At the Times of India party, in true Hemant style, he announced that it was his birthday, shamelessly fishing for birthday gifts. Here’s your birthday gift Hemant! A mention in ‘Sixty Nine with Rakesh and Amit’. Happy birthday, Hemant. God Bless!

 

 

 

(The authors are co-founders Wondrlab.)