I’m a fan of the Cannes Lions and I always try to keep meeting time down, so I can spend more time focusing on the work. The hours spent in the basement of the Palais are indeed an annual treat. It remains the only place on earth where all the best from our industry is presented together, side by side in a riot of inspiration, affirmation and, alas, envy.
As the scale of the festival has increased in tandem with the breadth of work considered, it makes sense to have an area of focus. As a media practitioner, I’ve spent the last few years trying to get a feel for the ‘barometer of newness’ - looking for work that would have been impossible to deliver a few years before and where data, technology and creativity come together to open new possibilities. I’m sure that 2019 will deliver lots of exciting work in that area.
This year however, I’ve decided it is time to go back to basics. Rather than focusing on innovation within earned, owned or paid channels, I am going to look for Made Media: Ideas where new channels are being created or established ones repurposed and used in previously unseen ways.
Among this years’ entries, I’m seeing work that fits nicely into the Made Media category. Here are some of the ideas that are inspiring me and that I think deserve to do well:
Centre Pompidou – Souvenirs de Paris
Creating touristy statues of the Pompidou Centre and then using them as a trojan horse to engage tourists in conversation and drive visitor numbers is a lovely example of Made Media.
Twój Weekend – The Last Ever Issue
I love the amazing bravery behind this idea: A syndicate of clients bought Poland’s most famous porno mag and then closed it down – but not before publishing a final issue focused entirely on gender equality.
The New York Public Library – Insta Novels
Repurposing Instagram to become a publishing platform for classic novels in their entirety brilliantly subverts our expectations of an ‘instant gratification’ medium.
Foodbank WA – Hungry Puffs
There is a brilliant simplicity in the idea of using empty cereal boxes to communicate child hunger. And getting Hungry Puffs widely listed on supermarket shelves makes this doubly worthy of admiration.