Steve Coll’s Cannes Diary: Day One
Steve Coll, ECD at Euro RSCG Australia is Australia’s representative on the Cannes Lions Promo and Activation jury. Coll, along with most of the Australian and NZ jurors, is course reporting exclusively for CB.
It’s my first time on a Cannes jury. And I must say it’s rather strange being here in the week before the Festival. Pre-festival Cannes is a completely different proposition from my previous experience. The major surprise is that French people actually live here, something you could be forgiven for missing once the advertising hordes have descended en masse. It’s a proper Gallic frenzy of shugging and well-practiced nonchalance.
Our jury gathers for judging at 8.30am. There’s a wonderful international contingent of genuinely likeable characters, reinforcing Cannes position as the pre-eminent international show. I’ve had a good stab at learning all the names of my fellow jurors, but its no easy task. My two favourites are the delightful Ulrika Good from Sweden, and a tremendously talented bloke called from Japan who is appropriately called Messiah. Genius. Our jury kicks off with a bit of a history lesson on previous promo Gold and Grand Prix winners from jury chairman, Nick Worthington. The list includes Gatorade replay, American Rom, Magic Salad Plate, and Matt Ryan’s 4th Amendment Clothing. It’s a reminder of how great the work in this category has been, and it’s a perfect way to ensure the bar is set pretty high.
There’s a good vibe as we break up to take on a fairly serious workload. Entries into this category are up massively, and the competition is fierce. After about nine hours judging, with a half hour break for lunch, we have looked at almost 300 entries. The jury has been pretty tough, but fair. Even after this first day of judging, I think making the short-list should be considered a very decent accomplishment.
We finish at about 6pm, then head off to grab dinner and watch the football/soccer. Germany beat their fierce rivals Holland in the Euro 2012. But the Dutch members of our crew seem to take it remarkably well. It seems nothing will upset our jury harmony.