Nick Law, Titanium Lions juror
 Sunday, June 22, 2008 - Well, that's it then. The 55th orgy of
advertising. Record attendances, a sweeping range of work from
previously unknown parts of the advertising world. Thousands of
revelers with their backs to the economic precipice, belly up to the
bar of drunken hope.
Saturday night’s Film, Titanium, and Integrated award ceremony
wrapped up the official program. I was very impressed with the
considered choices from my colleagues on the Titanium and Integrated
jury. The two Grand Prix winners, Halo 3 and Uniqlock, couldn’t have
been more different, but they both insinuated themselves into global
culture. Halo 3 gave an intriguing human texture to the otherwise cold
and shiny world of gaming. The emotional centerpiece of this cavernous
Byzantine world being a beautifully handcrafted diorama that invites
obsessive exploration.
Uniqlock’s appeal is harder to convey in a three-minute case study
video. Its unending delight is best experienced as digital snack food
over the course of weeks. Prior to the show I had glimpsed it over the
shoulder of so-called “digital natives,” those with a taste for
Japanese whimsy and beautility. They all seemed to have a real
affection for it. Apparently it also makes you want to buy clothes.
The Film winners strode imperiously onto the stage, like it was 1989.
Wonderful work, received generously. The Palais des Festivals then
emptied out and the throngs partied—like it was 1999.
Saturday, June 21, 2008 - After anointing the winners, the Titanium
jury celebrated with a glass of bubbly and a swift exit into the soft
Mediterranean sun. It was an invigorating four days, locked in a
darkened room with such industry eminence. Over on the other side of
the room, Sergio Valente (the legendary Brazilian from DDB) went head
to head in a jocular joust with Matias Palm-Jensen (the droll Swede
from Farfar). Duncan Marshall (the ecd of Droga5, NY) chatted with Paul
Woolmington (the blazered founder of Naked) about what constitutes
integration and the totally unintegrated state of English cricket. Mark
Tutssel (our imperious leader) amused himself by asking Ty Montague
(the savior of JWT) to defend the undefendable work. Andrew Keller (the
Little Lord Fauntleroy of CP and B) and I drank muddy coffee and
hatched an idea to start an award-showcase-study video company. We’d
guarantee a shortlisting or your money back. Act Now! We would then
start an award show for award-show-case-study-videos.
I have just returned from the Titanium and Integrated Lions press
conference. At Cannes, these events become oddly nationalistic. There
was the usual wailing and gnashing of teeth from the underachieving
nations and giddy confidence from emergent regions' press. A heavily
accented gentleman asked the question “Why are there six judges from
the U.S. on the jury”? Rather than take my shirt off, aggressively
flexing and shouting, “Because America is the greatest nation on
earth,” I politely pointed out that all but one of those judges
(including myself) were shoeless immigrants. I should have also pointed
out that almost all are actually citizens of that republic of moated
madness, New York City. An entirely separate country. Self-contained
and self-absorbed. The advertising deathstar.
Friday, June 20, 2008 - The Titanium is about the future, but
since every year we change our mind about what that is, the category
remains elusive. On Thursday we judged an impressive cross-section of
work. A lot of very good, well-crafted stuff that would warrant the top
prize in a garden-variety category, but lacked the luster of a
space-age alloy Leo.
Last evening I attended the Cyber, Design
and Press awards. Design enjoyed a robust maiden year here at Cannes.
Barack Obama, I’m told, won the Democratic primary because his logo was
nicer than Hillary’s. This is the power of design. A lucid foreign
policy is fine and dandy, but a strong yet caring sans serif will
always prevail.
Lean Mean Fighting Machine, a fine young agency
from the dank and shabby sceptred isles, collected a pride of Lions in
the Cyber category. Another London establishment called Turner
Duckworth won the first ever Design Grand Prix for having the audacity
to design a simple and bold identity for Coca-Cola. No glistening 3D
type or polished reflections; just flat minimal red and white
silhouettes graced with the classic script.
This morning we release the Titanium shortlist.
Wednesday, June 18, 2008 - After our
stouthearted leader Mark Tutssel gave us our instructions, my fellow
Titanium jurors and I got down to wading through about 450 entries
today. The nature of the category demands all submissions be presented
as video case studies. As a result, we are judging a triple sell: first
to the client, second to the public, and third to the jury. Far too
often, agencies fell flat on their face trying to clear the third
hurdle. There were slickly produced videos that left me mystified. What
are they selling? Was that beer or underwear? Am I missing something,
or do I just not understand Bulgarian culture?
After my duties
as a judge were complete, I joined the throngs on the beach for beer in
plastic cups. Standing with Bob Greenberg ensured interruptions from a
receiving line of sycophantic devotees. My God, what brand equity!
Maybe one day people will come up to me and say, “You’re that guy that
did that thing. Right?” I’ll give them a knowing smile and look
bashfully down at my feet. By the time I look up, they will have moved
on to someone they can put a name to. Probably someone else from the
Titanium jury like Ty Montague or Andrew Keller. Someone whom they’d
like a job from.
Tuesday, June 17, 2008 - On Sunday, a
festival representative greeted Bob Greenberg and me at the airport.
She whisked us to a car, laughing at Bob’s irremediable jokes,
graciously speaking to us in English. Cannes is the only place in
France where no one expects you to speak French.
Yesterday, I
started the day with an interview for Finnish TV, a presentation for a
delegation of mildly confused Chinese, an interview with a zealously
tattooed MTV crew, and then a presentation to a room of bright-eyed and
unsullied young creatives. All of this before lunch.
I strolled
back to my hotel, stopping to chat with the amiable chairman of Cannes,
Terry Savage. This is a man who is worthy of absolute jealousy. He is a
tall, perma-tanned bloke from my desperately missed hometown, the home
of the lazy sunburnt squint, the Anglo Saxon Rio of Sydney, Australia.
The bastard admitted to spending all but a few days of the year in
shorts. Next to him I felt as tense and pallid as a Victorian vicar.
Back at the hotel I had a nap and freshened up for four days of passing
righteous judgment on the depraved world of advertising. This year I’m
a judge on the Titanium jury. It feels like being invited to sit at the
grown-ups’ table. Tomorrow I’ll chat with centuries worth of
advertising experience about the future of our industry. We’ll laugh,
argue, make some specious decisions and then have a drink.
—Nick Law is evp and chief creative officer North America at R/GA and a Titanium juror.
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