PH team represents in Cannes Lions

There is no place like Cannes in France, which creatives from around the world will call “home” this week.

Once called the International Advertising Festival, the weeklong celebration at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès includes so much more under the current title, International Festival of Creativity.

Here, it allows the festival to embrace a larger audience of creatives outside the traditional media and the label welcomes a more universal approach to advertising, marketing and branded communication.

In the last 60 years, Cannes Lions has become a homecoming for advertisers, marketers, digital brand masters, social media influencers and newsmakers from around the world.

With many names attributed to its prestige, many have come to call Cannes Lions the Olympics of marketing, the world cup of creative communication and the Oscars of advertising.

For this year’s talks, top speakers include artist Pharell Williams, Snapchat founder Evan Spiegel, CNN host Christianne Amanpour, worldwide web creator Tim Berners Lee, Cosmopolitan’s editor in chief Joanna Coles, Facebook chief product officer Chris Cox, Mindshare’s CEO Nick Emery, NASA’s Jason Kessler, Serial host Sarah Koenig, even YouTube sensation Grace Helbig, and heads of almost every top global advertising agency.

The festival, however, is not just for the veterans. Much of the festival’s appeal is in the search for young and promising creatives. Cannes annually opens its doors to those who are hungry to have an impact on the advertising world or be the next big thing.

These include the Philippine team—a lean but promising delegation composed of veterans and first-timers.

The Inquirer, the country’s official representative to the Cannes Lions, has been sending the best and the brightest Filipino creatives to the Cannes since 2004.

Kristina Amanda Cruz and Toby Fournier of Publicis Manila are competing in the Cannes Young Lions-Cyber Competition.

Another pair, Ada Almendras and Ashley Santillan from Golden Arches Development Corp. (McDonald’s Philippines), will represent the country in the Cannes Young Lions Marketers competition.

Cruz and Fournier’s winning entry was described as a bold and fun way to make Inquirer.net more “millennial-friendly.”

By adding a tool on the website, readers can write or draw their reactions on news articles before they are shared on social media.

Whether the shared “pieces” turn out as memes, vandals, works or art, or mini freedom walls, the idea became the winning pitch at the Kidlat Young Creatives Competition in Boracay last March.

Almendras and Santillan, meanwhile, shook off creative differences and put together a powerful pitch in a short time.

“For this competition, our strategy is to set timelines for ourselves and not rely on the last minute aha moment,” Santillan added.

Outside the competition, the Cannes Lions presents itself as a center of learning from industry luminaries.

Marketing student Troy Bautista from the University of the Asia and the Pacific (UA&P) will join Roger Hatchuel Academy, a select class of 35 advertising students who will go through a five-day course with advertising experts and be treated to a behind-the-scenes look at the jury process.

Bautista shared that if given the chance, he wants to bring the attention of the world to the Philippines through his campaign.

On the other side of the competition, the Philippines also sent two jurors for the Cannes, a clear sign that Filipino creatives are at par with the rest of the experts from around the world.

Joey Tiempo of TBWA\Santiago Mangada Puno will sit as judge for outdoor campaigns while Brandie Tan of Publicis Jimenez Basic is a juror for the radio ads.

The team is ready and the delegates all share their eagerness to take part in the festival.

“I know its hashtag #nopressure. But we feel it,” Cruz said.