Bonjour!
The Croisette is as crammed with creatives as ever. Get perspired! Or rather, inspired.
But seriously, prepare for a steamy day with cloudless skies and a high of 29°C (84°F). Experts recommend reapplying sunscreen every two hours.
What’s going on today
Fancy seeing you here. Publicis CEO Arthur Sadoun takes the stage at the Palais to “demystify” the AI platform—called Marcel—that the ad giant built with funds diverted from their Cannes budget. Although the company’s purported boycott has turned out to be less comprehensive than, er, advertised, Sadoun isn’t here to make nice. The session promises to “discuss why Marcel is the change that our industry so badly needs, and our vision for how the holding company needs to transform.” 🔥
Oh yeah, China! Chris Tung, CMO of Alibaba—the Chinese e-commerce giant with a whopping $530 billion market cap—talks about China’s culture of creativity and innovation at the Palais in the afternoon, with executives from Huawei and BYD America. The trends in the world’s second-largest economy, where ad budgets were worth some $80 billion last year, are potentially even more disruptive than Marcel.
How will they all fit? At 5pm, the Girls’ Lounge will be hosting a panel of no fewer than a dozen executives to talk about #SeeHer, a campaign that aims to eliminate sexist bias in advertising and media. Katie Couric will introduce the execs from companies including AT&T, eBay, HP, Johnson & Johnson, L’Oreal, and Unilever. There may not be time for everyone to speak, but it’s great that they’re showing up. At least you can #SeeThem.
Celeb watch. At the Palais, British Vogue editor Edward Enninful moderates a panel on diversity featuring Westworld actress Thandie Newton; “TV’s $20 million-woman” Ellen Pompeo talks trust in entertainment; and singers Paloma Faith and Jessie Ware dish on music and motherhood. Meanwhile, over at the Carlton beach, Akon appears as part of a program dubbed “Badass Leaders.”
Existential session of the day: Who Wants to be a Human?
We’re halfway there. Well, not quite, but it will feel that way when Jon Bon Jovi performs at MediaLink’s dinner at the Hotel du Cap. It’s a very on-brand appearance for the Jersey rocker, given the launch of his new rosé, Hampton Water. If you’re not doing the du Cap, saunter down to Spotify Beach at 9pm to catch The Killers. Later, there’s iHeart’s yacht after-party and will.i.am will be DJing at the Palais Casino (start time 11:11pm, for some reason), hosted by the Foundry, Vast, and Jaunt. Take my hand, we’ll make it I swear.
What everyone is talking about
The year of consultants. Although we’re sure there are plenty of very creative consultants, the old guard is grumbling about mega-advisory firms gatecrashing the “festival of creativity.” The big names in consulting are “here with a vengeance,” said MediaLink’s Wenda Harris Millard, one of the best-connected execs in Cannes. As agencies cut back, consultancies are swooping in to convince brands they can guide them through the confusing mess of platforms, publishers, and whatever it is those ad-tech firms do to fund their yacht rental fees. Also, Millard told us, agencies themselves are potential clients, given all the strategic conundrums they face.
Michael Wolff dished about Trump’s salesmanship. The Fire and Fury author attested to US president Donald Trump’s shock-and-awe flattery strategy, as well as his ability to sell, “almost immediately, millions of books,” with the cease-and-desist letter he sent following the Guardian’s leaks of Fire and Fury’s juiciest bits. “Once a day, I cast my eyes heavenward, and say, ‘Thank you for Donald Trump,’” Wolff told Jeff Goodby on the Palais stage. Also, the whole White House apparently calls Karen Pence “mother.”
Bozoma Saint John is not your savior. Saint John, Uber’s former superstar chief brand officer, is now bound for a CMO gig at WME and IMG parent company, Endeavor. At the Girls’ Lounge, she discussed how her “lack of a plan” has buoyed her career, and revealed that she “recoiled” at the 2017 New York Times headline asking, “Is This the Woman Who Will Save Uber?” Inclusivity is everyone’s task, she said. “How many of you have black friends?” Saint John asked the mostly white audience. “Recruit your black friend.”
Seen and heard
“Branding is a bit rainbows and unicorns. It always has been”—Ad industry association bigwig
Person 1: “My daughter is interested in advertising”
Person 2: “What is she majoring in?”
Person 1: “BS!”
“I want your face on my boat,” a young man blurted enthusiastically to a woman at the entrance to one of the branded beaches.
An easy way to get an standing invitation onto a yacht: Chat nicely with the concierge in the Cannes Lions app—we asked, “are you a bot?” and took it from there—and you could get the password that unlocks a pass to the LivePerson boat for the week.
“Alexa will become the toll road of the new internet”—Marketing agency exec
By the numbers
Surveys! Get your surveys! Agencies, consultancies, and others have published polls on the big questions of the week at Cannes Lions. A round-up: Nielsen says that nearly three-quarters of marketing chiefs have “little to no confidence” that they have the right technology to achieve their goals; McKinsey, meanwhile, surveyed CMOs and found that those who “unite data and creativity” grow revenues twice as fast as market benchmarks; Edelman discovered that 40% of people in a global poll have deleted at least one social media account in the past year over privacy concerns; and Ogilvy found that a majority of reporters in the US and Europe think that AI will be more important than AR when it comes to news innovation.
News from around the world
The White House defended its policy of splitting up migrant families. Criticism of the policy grew louder after a recording of children crying out for their parents at a border detention facility was released by ProPublica. Trump said he won’t let the US become a “migrant camp,” and blamed Democrats for obstructing immigration reform.
The US Senate voted against Trump’s ZTE deal. Senators from both parties called the Chinese tech giant a national-security threat and voted to reinstate a ban (paywall) that prevents ZTE from buying US parts. Trump struck a deal with Beijing to save the company, after the US commerce department punished ZTE over its dealings with Iran and North Korea.
Fujifilm sued Xerox for over $1 billion. The Japanese camera company is accusing Xerox of breach of contract and engaging in “intentional and egregious conduct” after it abandoned a $6.1 billion merger following pressure from activist investors Carl Icahn and Darwin Deason.
Matters of debate
Vladimir Putin will be the true World Cup winner. He understands the ability of sport to foment feelings of national pride and enhance his standing at home.
Women eating on screens is a radical act. Scenes of the protagonists eating in Ocean’s 8 feel different because women are rarely portrayed as eating for no particular reason in movies.
Negative online reviews aren’t trustworthy. Only a tiny proportion of people leave reviews, and those who do are often too emotional to be neutral (paywall).
Surprising discoveries
Iceland’s World Cup debut was watched by 99.6% of its TV viewers. But 99.8% of Icelandic TV viewers watched the nation’s historic win over England in Euro 2016.
The sneaker boom has created a leather glut. The beef industry is supplying too many cow hides for the athleisure era.
Germans have a word for “loss in an opening game.” Auftaktniederlage started appearing in German media after the country lost to Mexico in the World Cup.
Our best wishes for an inspiring day at the festival. Please send any news, tips, Hampton Water, and strategic advisory services to us, Jenni and Jason. This email was brought to you by the wifi in the Salon de Ambassadeurs, shot glasses of ratatouille, and a great many Google docs.
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