Cannes doesn’t matter anymore
In the last Adage, Garfield (the writer, not the cartoon cat) decries and riles against Cannes, it’s relevance and the fact that the best ideas (based on Leo’s Cannes Predictions) have nothing to do with advertising at all.
Yes, the best ideas are those which aren’t really advertising. It’s logical, really, as I would say that it’s generally a good idea to try to have ideas about something people actually care about, and advertising really isn’t one of those things.
Festivals are in a transitional phase because of this, and some are in fact they are reevaluating what it is that is celebration-worthy: ideas that truly make a qualitative difference in people’s lives, big or small. Stuff that ends up as true product or marketing innovation, not mass media messaging everyone is trying to avoid.
Some new forms of festivals already go this way. As far as Cannes (and the other big ones)is concerned, it’s just a question of how fast they can change the image and their definition of which ideas are worth celebrating. It might be harder for Cannes than others as they epitomize the old-school advertising world, regardless of adding new categories and trying to jump on the band wagon.
