Experience Paper

How Gloria Changed My Life

There are so many experiences from this trip I would love to write about it is hard to pick just one. One experience that truly changed my life happened on the very first day of the festival. I was still star-struck from sitting so close to Martha Stewart in the morning that I did not think my day could get any better. I decided to go to the AOL women’s seminar in the afternoon not thinking that I would have the chance to talk to one of the most famous feminists in the history of the united States.

I took a Women’s Studies course this past semester honestly because I heard it was an easy A. I did not know, however, that I would truly enjoy the class and become interested in the thought of feminism. I always had the idea of feminists being crazy, bra burning lesbians but I found out that most feminists just want equality for men and women both. They view each sex as equals and strive for equal rights that have still not been attained in our society.  You can imagine how excited I was to find out Gloria Steinem and the CEO of Lifestyle AOL (a woman) would be hosting a seminar at Cannes Lions this year.

Sitting in the very front row and listening to these women speak about women’s roles in this industry inspired me to become successful in my own right. They had created a movie titled “Makers” which describes the women’s rights movement in the United States as told by women who were key players in the movement. During the seminar they showed clips from the movie and the director of the movie also came out for a question and answer session that was particularly fascinating.  I felt that I learned the most information of the festival during this one-hour session.

 After the session ended, I mustered up the courage to flag Gloria down as she was getting off stage. To my surprise, she walked right over to a friend and me and kneeled down to talk to us. I was in complete shock. Here I was sitting face-to-face with one of the worlds leading feminists. I started out by saying “It is an honor to be speaking to you right now” and I truly meant it. I feel that women in my generation are losing positive role models to look up to such as Gloria. We then talked about women in commercials and the portrayal of the housewife still seen all around the media. She explained to us that she had actually just started a campaign to change a commercial for laundry detergent showing a housewife doing the laundry and her response was simply “Why not the man doing the laundry?” She talked until she was pulled off stage and I could not have asked for a better way to kick off the week of the Cannes Lions Festival.

Not many people get the chance to say that they met their idol but I am now able to say that I did. For the first time,  I thought critically about the role of women in advertising and was inspired to become successful and independent. It is not every day that you will have a chance to talk to a woman who made the future for your country a better place and I am so thankful I was given the chance to do so. 

Final Day of Cannes Lions 2013

      The  final day of the festival is commenced by an annual closing ceremony awards. During this, awards are given for categories such as film craft, film and various others. We waited in line for almost two hours and were awarded with seats towards the very top of the auditorium. This shows just how important these awards are to everyone in this industry. It was truly an honor just being able to watch the entire ceremony and see how won the famous grand prix's for the night. There were two campaigns that seemed to outshine everyone else however. The Dove "True Beauty" commercial and the "Dumb Ways to Die"  Metro Train campaigns dominated all other commercials in almost every category.

         Dumb Ways to Die is an Australian PSA that became a worldwide sensation. The catchy song and adorable animation has grossed over 60 million dollars worldwide and has become the most shared PSA in history. The campaign truly went global adding a smartphone app to the mix of things and letting the song become available for purchase on Itunes( where it rose to the top of the charts). Dove, on the other hand used a campaign marketed towards women and their self worth. This highly emotional commercial gets women to see what they look like through their distorted perceptions of self image. With the Dove campaign, there is no app or theme song but their is a strong internal message. It pulls from the fact that our society enables women to have terrible perceptions of themselves and advertising usually feeds off of that. This commercial breaks it down to simply drawing women on how they think they look and makes a huge social commentary out of it. Both commercials are captivating but extremely different.

After the ceremony came the closing gala. With tons of free food, free drinks and a great DJ the weekend truly ended on a great note. I look back over the week and I still do not understand how it all went by so quickly, but I had so much fun along the way. The festival taught me so much more than a classroom every could and I am so lucky to have had this opportunity. I learned a lot about Public Relations and its role in advertising but I also learned what direction I want to take my life in. The festival has given me a chance to see what types of companies I would like to work for and has allowed me to make connections on the way. Everyone in this industry needs to make it to Cannes at least once.

TV AD Number 3: The Switch

"The Switch'' is a beer commercial created by Heineken that uses the typical group of ''guys in a bar '' type of plot to display their beer. However, the choice of characters and plot makes this commercial much more enjoyable to watch.

The Switch is an as created by TBWA Amsterdam in coordination with Stink London production company. This pair created an ad that was entertaining but still directly displayed the product. The three men walk into a regular bar that turns into a speakeasy like jazz bar that anyone would love to party in. The cinematography  for this commercial is great. In the middle of the party the ''switch'' gear is stuck and the bar almost goes back to the boring setting as before. This keeps the viewer interested in plot and  wanting to know what happens next. In the end of the commercial, t he switch is then fixed and the men can keep partying with their delicious Heineken beers.

Although this concept of plot is not entirely original, I like the way the advertising agency created a plot twist and added depth to the typical beer platform.

TV Ad Number Two:Clock

Beer commercials all seem to be the same these days. Usually the commercial feature a handful of white males partying in bars, driving cars or trying to pursue beautiful women. A Guinness advertisement titled ''Clock'' completely rejects this concept. It deconstructs the ''typical'' beer ad and makes it an interesting story piece.

 This advertisement produced by BBDO London is shot in complete black and white film with a set from the early 20th century. It is beautifully shot with stop motion imagery of a clockmaker working to turn back time. The clock tower is on fire and although the whole town is trying to diffuse the fire it is assumed the clock tower will burn down. All of the sudden the scene starts again and the fire is put out immediately. It then jumps the next scene where a the men are the town are coming home from a war. The clock then slows down time for the families to reunite longer. The end of the commercial then states'' in the end to we settle for ordinary or strive for more''?

I understand the parallel between the magical clock being extraordinary and the beer being extraordinary but I feel the parallel should have been pulled in tighter. If there had been a couple of shots of Gunnies beer throughout the commercial I feel that the viewer would have understood the parallel immediately instead of having to wait until the very end of the commercial to understand. That being said, it was still a unique take on a typical beer commercial. I really enjoyed the choice of storytelling rather than a quick product placement. The addition of black and white film and an older society creates a commercial that will stand the tests of time.

TV Ad Number One: Metamorphosis

It is vary rare to see a commercial that truly presents itself as a work of art and not a corny push for a product. ''Metamorphosis'' is an advertisement by the Havas London advertising company that does just this. It is produced with a high quality film and creates a storyline with interactive characters.

The commercial starts out with an elegant dinner set in medieval times. A beautiful woman and man are looking into each others eyes and later in the night he ventures into her room. The woman seemingly casts a spell on the young man which turns him into a deer over night. The lighting and special effects of this quick scene are incredible and beautifully shot.

In the last part of the commercial, a man goes hunting and shots the dear who appears to be the young man. Later that night the woman and her company are eating the deer for dinner when she notices the young man is missing from his seat. The scene quickly shoots to a famous picture of deers in nature surrounded bid people of the medieval era with the line ''The national gallery presents the Metamorphosis exhibit'' with the dates that the exhibit was running underneath. The advertisement was promoting the Credit Suisse and the national gallery exhibit showcasing art of this type.

 I loved the way that the production company, skin flicks London and the advertising agency worked together to create a storyline for the art being shown in the gallery. This intrigues the viewer and creates an imaginary and creative environment for the art. It was a very different way of advertising a museum but in the case of this product it definitely worked.

Day Six Of the Festival

Today at the festival I decided to see all of the print advertisements  that are nominated for awards at the festival. The advertisements displayed are anything from public relations campaigns to social experiments to non profit events.  This is my favorite thing I have stumbled upon while in Cannes. All of the ads are unique and creative. My favorite ad was from a  Chinese advertising agency for a stain remover. The picture depicted two couples having dinner together, each couple holding hands with their significant others. Then the viewer sees the reflection of the table and one man has his hand on the other woman's leg. The caption is '' no filth can go unseen.'' I thought this was a great way to incorporate a brand into a print ad while still catching the viewers eye. Another great ad I saw today was for a shampoo brand. The print ad had pictures of three males facing you with extremely long beards. The picture is actually an illusion because their ''beards'' are the backs of various women's heads. The illusion of their long hair under the mens faces to create ''beards'' is a fun way of promoting hair growth and keeping the viewer engaged with what the product is supposed to do. I enjoyed beig able to walk around at my own pace and discover all different types of branding.

Today I also ventured out to the beach cabanas where I  enjoyed beautiful views of the beach and some free food (Yum!). It was in the cabanas that I realized how truly global this festival is. Almost every company represented was from a different country. I talked to professionals from Brazil, Colombia, Canada and even Puerto Rico. I cannot believe that the festival is almost over, but I am so grateful that I was able to get this experience of a lifetime.

Day Five of Cannes

Day five of Cannes has proven to give me even more unforgettable experiences. Lou Reed is one of the worlds most famous musicians in the world. Today Greys New York held a seminar where Lou was able to speak about his creative past. While Reed is old and wise and somewhat monotone, what he had to say regarding music was fascinating. Reed explained that we should ''do something for love'' and not for money. He expressed his distaste for digital downloads and journalists but also praised the advances in technology happening on a day to day basis. Reed discussed his friendship with Andy Warhol and his creative lifestyle. I would have liked to hear more of Reeds personal work however. The  seminar ended with Reed reciting his own version of Edgar Allen Poe's '' Raven'' which was truly a work of art.

 The Tumblr seminar starring CEO  David Karp was a great way to start the afternoon. Karp was engaging and full of life while discussing the creation of Tumblr and what Tumblr can do for the world of advertising. I liked the was Karp kept reiterating the fact that technology and creative art need to work together to create brilliant ideas, it is not just one department waiting on ideas from the other one. Karp was quick to point out that he felt there was a lot of following going on in advertising right now. I think this is a valid point to be made. There should be more of a shift in the way advertisers create brands using social media and technology. The shift should be focused on a more balanced environment where advertisers can create their own media without relying on engineers and tech guides.

Day Four of Cannes:
Yesterday I had the chance to go to the annual IPG Women's Diversity breakfast held in the Majestic hotel. While waking up at seven in the morning after a few hours of sleep the night before was difficult, it was definitely worth it. The breakfast consisted of a short summary of statistics  of a survey that the agency had held. The survey focused on women's role in the advertising sphere and how people viewed these roles. The survey found that 47% of people did not think gender diversity is a problem within the advertising agency system, which is shocking seeing as only about 20% of women make up top advisors in the industry. The survey was extremely eye opening and made me realize that the lack of women in the industry truly is a problem that should be recognized. I liked the format of the breakfast and the plethora of information that the agency gave the audience. There was also a panel of successful women from around the globe that created and engaging discussion for the audience as well. One of my favorite quotes of the day came from Dana Anderson, the CEO of a global Marketing company. She stated that ''The further you go up to management totem pole, less and less women are at the top. It is hard from women to believe in their work and be confident in it.'' This quote made me think about my goals and how I am going to achieve them. I had never given thought to my self confidence hindering me from being able to be the most successful I could be, but after hearing this quote I realized that this could be a problem I was not even aware of. I believe that this women's breakfast the best invitation I have received so far in Cannes.

 Yesterday I also had the pleasure of listening to Conan O'Brien and Anderson Cooper discuss what connects the media and comedy. I was shocked at how intelligent Conan is and I found myself laughing at everything he said. He was able to address what advertising does for his show and his brand while cracking jokes and engaging the audience. Our class was able to speak with Conan afterwards and get one on one time to ask him questions on how the media has changed his life. What I found most interesting was his gratitude towards social media for basically redirecting his career after his drama with NBC. The ''grassroots'' campaign started by his fans to get him back on telivision gave him the opportunity to become successful once again.

Day Three of Cannes: From Magic to Fashion and everything in between

Today I started with a seminar based on the partnership between Annie Leibovitz and her partnership with Disney to recreate iconic Disney stories with modern day celebrities. While the print ads were extraordinary, I found the interviewing session to be rather dry. Leibovitz is one of the worlds best photographers yet she seemed unamused by the entire session. The moderator did not ask many questions about the branding of Disney and the effectiveness of the campaign, two aspects I was intrigued about. I did however enjoy the short film prepared at the beginning of the seminar that was behind the scenes footage from the celebrity photo shoots. I felt that this brought an aspect of reality to the campaign that the audience could relate to.
 The seminars in the afternoon that I watched were two of my favorite things I have seen thus far in Cannes. The first was a ''storytellers'' seminar with Vivienne Westwood as the guest speaker. At times the interview seemed stale but Vivienne is truly one of the most interesting women I have met. Her insight on all aspects of the world is unique and intelligent. One of my favorite quotes of today is her description of the human race. She described our  intelligence as  '' based off of kindness and light''  but we have not evolved enough yet as one race. Her comments made the audience think abut their roles in this world and our places in history. She ended with a standing ovation and an everlasting impression in my mind.
My favorite seminar at Cannes Lions was the TED Talks seminar based off of magic and technology. A world famous magician used magic to show how technology is changing the world of today, not just in advertising. It was extremely entertaining but there was also a lot of information thrown onto the stage via a slide show in the background. At times I felt the stage was a little cluttered between text, lighting, music and the guest speaker but overall I thought it was a very put together interactive seminar.
I cannot wait to see what new experiences tomorrow in the south of France has to offer.

Day Two of Cannes Lions

Day two of Cannes was a hectic, long and entertaining day. I started out my day by going to a seminar by BBDO that discussed how famous artists Ernest Hemingway,Michelangelo and Charles Dickens would have created the best ad agency ever. I liked the way the speakers created set outlines for an amazing agency. The four rules were`; unforgettable characters,compelling plots, populist entertainment and social commentary. These four rules will create the ''greatest storytelling'' which is in essence what modern day advertising agencies do. Another aspect I liked was short clips of commercials and ads that incorporated these steps. The seminar was interesting and knowledgeable as well.
 The JWT seminar however was not well executed nor was it entertaining. The speakers were dull and forced.Mary Mazzio was one of the speakers and while her resume of being an Olympian and a documentary filmmaker was impressive, her interviewing skills were not. The theme of the seminar was ''Meet the parents''and the true meaning was not clear. Mary had parents of advertising directors and artists tell about their children in a forced fashion that sounded rehearsed. The only redeeming factor was the brief appearance of the Internet sensation Kid President. This young boy stole the show in the last ten minutes and truly captured the audiences attention.
Another exciting aspect of day two was the ability to network with professionals of all level types from all over the globe. At the google beach bar, I talked to people in the industry that ranged from junior copywriters to CEOs of global companies. That is by far my favorite aspect of Cannes Lions. This is a unique opportunity to have fun connected and learning from people that one would never have the chance to speak to in their lives. I like the organization of the festival as well. There are learning opportunities  for every type of advertising worker such as tech talks and masterclasses. Cannes is truly a unique place to mingle and get the experience of a lifetime.

Day One of Cannes Lions Festival

    Today was the first day of the Cannes Lions Festival and I am already feeling a mix of emotions. First off I am in shock of how accessible all of the celebrities are. My very first seminar was Celebrities and the Media where I sat second row and watched Martha Stewart, Nick Cannon and Mel B speak. Not only were these celebrities accessible but they talked about topics relevant to my field of study. I heard Nick Cannon explain how instagram has given him more power  over his pictures than the paparazzi and how Martha Stewart expands her brand through Twitter. It made me truly think about how social media has changed all aspects of the world we live in.
     After this seminar and a lunch break of a fantastic panini  I went to a seminar where I had the chance to speak with one of my idols and a woman who has truly impacted the world of women, Gloria Steinem.  There was a diverse group of women that made up the panel of  seminar named Makers. Sharing History and Creating Connections Via the Stories of Women Who Shaped Yesterday, Today, and Tomorrow.  Dyllan McGee, the Makers documentary producer, explained the premise of her movie to be to share the stories of women throughout the country that made an impact within the women's movement; whether it be famous feminists such as Gloria Steinem, or lesser known women such as the first female coal miner. The documentary proved to be fascinating and historical at the same time. McGee explained that this documentary could prove to be the stepping stone for the millennium era generation understanding the importance of the women's rights movement and how it changed society. Gloria Steinem stated that sometimes ''you are not crazy, the system is crazy.'' This seminar was truly inspirational to me because I am a young professional woman about to enter the workplace for the first time. After the ceremony I had the rare opportunity to speak with Gloria and although I was star struck I managed to tell her that she has been an inspiration to women all across the globe.
      The last seminar I saw today was called You Need An Enemy. This seminar, hosted by artist Shepard Fairey and Creative Officer Pete Favat dealt with the power of imagery in music, graphic design, marketing and other types of media outlets. The premise of the seminar was to state that every brand needs an enemy. The image of the ''enemy'' can vary widely. Whether the enemy is seen as the   other competing companies or to states of authority or even to yourself, brands all need something to push against. Favat stated that ''all art needs resistance.'' This simple quote was extremely innovative and thought provoking. I thoroughly enjoyed the speakers as well as the content of this seminar.
     I am excited to see where this week takes me and everything it has to offer. I hope to learn a lot of new information as well as gain new skills within my field.

Have you ever given thought to the idea that a very small number of extremely powerful account executives run your life? No? Then take a closer look. Almost everything we own and purchase has come to our decision through advertising. Whether it be your car, your refrigerator or even your education, advertising can truly shape the items of your life. Advertising provides the average person a multitude of statistics, safety guarantees and aesthetic appeal on the latest and greatest products. But does this really mean anything? If your toilet paper is proven to hold stronger than the other brand of toilet paper but all of these claims are made by various companies all yearning for your attention and money, what makes the decision to purchase all of your items truly yours? 

A recent post on the website upworthy.com displays a harsh quote by Banksy ( taken from Sean Tejaratchi) describing how the advertising business truly influences how we as people act on buying our goods. The quote, cleverly written within the iconic Coca Cola bottle shape, describes how the advertising world really takes ahold of our every day lives. The words "Fuck That" in the middle of the bottle immediately catch the readers eye. The intense wording refers to the advertising industry stampeding in on the average persons life and making them feel unworthy or unflattering in order to raise revenue for meaningless products.  This statement is powerful but in my opinion not entirely effective. The extreme choice of words muddles the central idea of the statement. I feel that the anger is definitely portrayed, but the idea is not fully reached to the audience. I would have chosen a tone that is more a call to action rather than an angry outlet. I do however commend the artists ability to incorporate a highly recognizable advertisement such as Coca Cola with a quote that depicts the antithesis of the advertising world itself. 

I am a 19 year old International Affairs and Public Relations Student at the University of Georgia.
 Follow me on my adventure to Cannes, France for the month of June to attend the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. I am excited for a future of new cusine, creativity, and culture shock.
-Kelli