Cannes Day 2: NFTs. Hacking. Climate Anxiety. Crocs.

What the NFT Revolution Means for Brands
Emerging themes of Cannes include Web3, the Metaverse and NFTs, and what that will mean for brands. Gary Vaynerchuk, founder of VaynerX and Swan Sit shared insights on how the blockchain world will transcend the vanity metrics of reach and GRPs of TV commercials. Smart brands will need to jump in but do so in a meaningful way. Paris Hilton mostly rearranged her skirt and did the hard sell for her businesses. Interesting to note that Gucci has taken on one of her digital characters as their spokes-icon. Vaynerchuk pointed out the nostalgic resurgence of brands like Crocs and Gumby, thanks to the NFT orbit. Some would debate the need for a Croc afterlife but I digress.

 

Hack it all!  
Hackvertising continues to have a moment.  From Burger King’s Whopper + McFries where you can get McD’s fries delivered along with a Whopper to hacktivism by Hackmarket, which encourages refurbishing phones over buying new ones. They hacked iStores when buyers were at the point-of-purchase to compel them to reconsider.

The most influential newspaper was the one that wasn’t printed
Activations leapfrog passivity by leveraging all senses. They also offer the power of shared community experience. The Elections Edition was a brilliant use of newspaper that never got printed. When the Lebanese leader threatened election delay over a lack of paper and ink for ballots, An-Nahar Newspaper ceased printing for one day and donated the ink and paper to produce the needed election ballots. 

Creativity fuels Growth.
Great creative feels personal, conveys performance and builds partnerships. It becomes a force for growth and societal good according to P&G CMO Marc Pritchard. His track record of awarded work on big tough brands like Tide, Gain and Pamper proves his point.

 

Quote of the Day
“History is pattern recognition,” Gary Vaynerchuk, “NFTs today are the Twitter and social media of yesterday – they are underestimated.”

 

Buzzword of the Day
Spokesicon

Cannes Day 1: Ukraine. AI Trepidation. A world embracing “Wellcare”

Covid. What Covid?

The rarest thing in Cannes is a face mask, a post-pandemic Cannes is all about Ukraine. Today opened with world chess-expert-turned-politician Garry Kasparov imploring us not to underestimate Putin’s ambition.

An impassioned President Zelenskyy then spoke to a packed Palais with his appeal for the brightest creative minds in the world to “inspire the world with Ukrainian bravery”. Ukrainian creatives, who had dreamed of being of being on the Cannes stage to accept a Lion, were instead there asking brands to donate media to help fight “war fatigue”. Their point? Every artist has a voice. Now is not a time for silence.

Cannes 2022 Futurist Session

Fear of AI. It’s still a thing.
At the futurist session, WSGN’s Joe McDonnell  identifies top trends as wellness burnout in the form of “metric rejection”. Telehealth will continue to boom. And smart brands will tag onto “wellcare” – a timely hybrid of wellness and healthcare.

The infamous @peteyusa

The future looks well.
At the futurist session, WSGN’s Joe McDonnell  identifies top trends as wellness burnout in the form of “metric rejection”. Telehealth will continue to boom. And smart brands will tag onto “wellcare” – a timely hybrid of wellness and healthcare.


Buzzword of the day:
Circularity.


Sudden Surprise:
TikTok star Petey.

Tune in for more intel tomorrow.

Live from Cannes (yes, live!)

LIVE FROM CANNES

〰️

LIVE FROM CANNES 〰️

After a two-year hiatus I am packing my bags and heading back to the south of France for the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

As a Cannes Advisory Board Member, I'll bring you behind-the-scenes intel and inspiration directly from the rosé-riddled front lines from June 20 - 24, 2022.

Beyond awards, the week will be jammed with speeches, panels and sessions by the who’s who of our business. I’ll provide a front row seat to the top global trends in advertising, culture and tech– in real time.

For daily insights, analysis or just an adrenaline shot of inspiration stay tuned for my live updates right here, on LinkedIn, or new for this year, The Township Instagram.

And don’t forget to pre-book my 2022 Decoding Cannes presentation for your team when I’m back.

Au revoir!