Bonjour!
It’s the hottest day of the week, both in terms of temperature and programming. The festival’s front-loaded schedule hits its peak today, so wear comfortable shoes and pack plenty of business cards.
The aquamarine hue of the Bay of Cannes really pops in the sun, and there will be plenty of that today, with a high of 28°C (82°F). Remember: Always hydrate before you ideate.
If you have colleagues or friends who would enjoy these emails, be an influencer and forward this along. (If you aren’t getting your own copy, sign up here.) Consult our Cannes cheat sheet—the consolidated wisdom of four reporters’ overflowing inboxes—for an at-a-glance summary of the official, official fringe, and fringe-of-the-fringe schedules.
Today at the Palais
Stars—they brand just like us! Fans of the big and small screen have plenty to choose from, starting at 11am with Gravity and Roma director Alfonso Cuarón, speaking about art and activism. Fresh off the news that her Netflix series Russian Doll got a second season, Natasha Lyonne takes to the Terrace Stage at 11:15am. At 1pm, Big Little Lies star Laura Dern appears on a panel about “The Future of Prestige Content in the Streaming Age.” Then, at 4:45pm, Rainn Wilson, aka Dwight from The Office, will lead the audience in a creative brainstorming session to “spark big ideas.”
Art meets commerce. In April, the number crunchers at consultancy Accenture Interactive acquired the edgy creatives at agency Droga5. In a high-noon session appropriately dubbed “When Worlds Collide,” the bosses of both firms talk about what each brings to the table in their unexpected coupling.
You may also like… Harvard cognitive psychologist, public intellectual, and Enlightenment scholar Steven Pinker is also on stage at noon to discuss “the semantics of a well-worded question, and debate whether advancements in AI will enable machines to ask more sophisticated questions.” His interviewer is Adam Singolda of programmatic mega-ad purveyor Taboola.
The sound of commerce. At 2:45pm, Mastercard CMO Raja Rajamannar will discuss the company’s “multisensory brand experience”—that is, a special jingle that plays when customers pay with their cards. To help him demonstrate it, concert pianist and composer Lang Lang will deliver a “live sonic branding performance.” (As it happens, Rajamannar’s counterpart at Visa, Lynne Biggar, was on the same stage yesterday, unveiling new partners for the payment giant’s “sound, animation, and haptic brand cues.”) Later, at 3:30pm, renowned ambient music composer Jean-Michel Jarre and HSBC discuss their collaboration on a “sound identity” for the bank. Chirpy credit cards: so hot right now!
And the winner is… Awards tonight will be announced for the Industry Craft, Digital Craft, Film Craft, Craft Beer, Entertainment, Music, and Sport categories. (One of these categories is a joke.)
Away from the Palais
Power coupling on the Croisette. Chrissy Teigen’s husband, musician John Legend, will talk about how he uses Instagram to promote social change at 12:45 at Facebook Beach. (We hear his very own rosé will be poured.) Come happy hour, at 5pm, Teigen will be at Twitter Beach sharing the genius of her presence on the platform; she was coming with some hard Cannes truths on there last night.
Double dose of Sir Martin. Sir Martin Sorrell kept a low profile in Cannes after last year’s ignominious departure from WPP, but he’s back in full force with his new gig, at S4 Capital, making back-to-back appearances today. At 2pm at the Whalar lounge he’ll sit on a power panel with Gucci CMO Robert Triefus, P&G global design officer Phil Duncan, and Danone digital chief Domitille Doat. Then, at 3:15, he’ll face off with Accenture Interactive boss Brian Whipple at the The Drum Arms.
What’s making waves? At 4:45pm for the next three days, grab a glass of rosé at the Wavemaker salon in the Carlton and chat about the award shortlists—it’s not called “Wine & Work” for nothing—with Quartz’s Zach Seward and guests.
Clean-living Cannes
Stretch out and get centered. The early-rising yogis among you can start at the Adobe Cabana at 7am. If you need an extra hour in bed, RTL/Adconnect has yoga and breakfast at its beach house from 8am. Or, do yoga for your mind: Meditate at Inkwell Beach from 8am or join Novartis for “morning mindfulness” at 9am at Cannes Lions Beach.
Party planner
Not your average Tuesday. The Havas Cafe is hosting a set by bilingual standup comedian Sebastian Marx, who tells jokes in both French and English, at 6pm. Mumford and Sons plays for the top brass at the MediaLink and iHeart’s annual bash at the Hotel du Cap. For something completely different, hip-hop royalty Nas—who once rapped “I am the truest / Name a rapper that I ain’t influenced”—is at Spotify Beach. If you need to rally for the after-after-parties, pick up a free slice of pizza at Le Vesuvio, courtesy of DoubleVerify, between 11pm and 3am.
What everyone is talking about
Marie Kondo has blessed the building. If the Palais feels a little lighter today, that might be because organizing guru Marie Kondo asked her many, many fans in the Lumiere Theater to join her in closing our eyes, greeting the building, and sitting in silence while we felt gratitude and hope for a joy-sparking week ahead. (This ritual is connected to the Japanese concept of omotenashi, which centers around attentiveness to the needs of others, she said.) “That was electrifying,” said FleishmanHillard’s Lynne Anne Davis. “I think it was also the longest anyone has stopped talking in a session.”
Standing room only for alt-milk rockstars. The creative heads from Oatly’s so-called “Department of Mind Control” came to Cannes with the lighthearted swagger of admen whose product is consistently sold-out. “I’m not interested in selling oat milk,” said creative chief John Schoolcraft. “We don’t care about sales… because we don’t have to.” But he says other brands would do well to adopt Oatly’s insouciant approach to advertising (which in one instance included a rendition of the company’s CEO singing “Wow, wow, no cow” in a field of oats while playing a synthesizer). “Stop acting like a company, and you will get real fans,” said Schoolcraft.
What about, like, the Earth? The Titanium Lions, among the festival’s most prestigious awards, recognize “provocative, boundary-busting, envy-inspiring work.” There are restrictive entry rules and shortlisted teams are quizzed live on stage by the jury. The work often deals with social issues—the favorite this year is the Colin Kaepernik-fronted Nike ad—but none of the 20 campaigns on this year’s shortlist address climate change: a crisis that could certainly use more publicity. This has not gone unnoticed among the delegates, in conversations both on- and off-stage.
Chart interlude
Now hear this. You can’t swing a frosé pop on the Croisette without hitting a podcaster. That’s because ads on podcasts are expected to generate more than $1 billion in revenue by 2021, five times as much just five years before, according to a PwC/IAB report.
Seen and heard
“Facebook is really into groups right now, it’s the third pivot they’ve had this quarter.”—Steve Huffman, CEO of Reddit
Do-I-have-to? session of the day: Make Yourself Uncomfortable
If you get overheated walking along the Croisette, Pinterest Pier has a particularly elaborate series of water misters, perfect for a quick cooldown.
One of your correspondents was stepped on as a crush of fans rushed for a selfie with the famously demure Marie Kondo.
“I swear this is not karaoke night. I wrote all these songs.”—Wyclef Jean, between acoustic renditions of Gone Till November and Maria.
Listen, people, these yachts don’t wax themselves:
Haiku of the day
Move over blockchain!
There’s a new fad on the block,
and it’s CBD.
News from around the world
The US is sending 1,000 troops to the Middle East. Citing “hostile behavior” from Iran, the move further heightens tensions between the two countries and comes as Washington has blamed Tehran for attacks on two oil tankers last week. The new deployment is in addition to the 1,500-troop increase announced last month following earlier tanker bombings.
A New Zealander was jailed for sharing a Christchurch mosque shooting video. Philip Arps, a self-described white supremacist and the owner of a business that uses neo-Nazi imagery, was handed a 21-month sentence for distributing the livestream of the March terrorist attacks that resulted in 51 deaths. He has already filed an appeal.
Venezuela freed an opposition lawmaker ahead of a UN visit. Gilber Caro was detained in April in what was criticized as a violation of his parliamentary immunity. His release comes days before the UN high commissioner for human rights Michelle Bachelet travels to the country to meet with president Nicolás Maduro and opposition leader Juan Guaidó.
Matters of debate
Garages are the new affordable houses. They could ease housing shortages in cities around the world.
English should be the official language of post-Brexit Europe. It would be a neutral language for European countries with competing mother tongues.
Driverless cars could kill the airline industry. Autonomous vehicles let you pack anything, leave anytime, and maybe even stretch your legs.
Surprising discoveries
The last Inca rope bridge in Peru has been rebuilt. The handwoven, grass-fiber bridge has been ceremonially replaced annually for the past 600 years.
Dogs evolved puppy eyes to bond with us. They evolved human-like eyebrow muscles, giving them a range of expressions that wolves lack.
US sanctions are cramping the Iranian art scene. Cash-only transactions and scarce supplies make life a logistical nightmare for artists and galleries.
Our best wishes for an inspiring day at the festival. Please send us any news, tips, plant-based milks, and credit-card jingles. Haiku by Daianna from Thoughtful Works.