Blind, naked and dogs
Sex and bad taste dominated the 2002 Cannes World Advertising Festival—a celebration of the fun-loving society
Sex and bad taste dominated the advertising world championship Cannes '02 - the self-celebration of the fun society By Samuel Helbling
The 49th Cannes Advertising Festival suffered from the economic downturn: around 10 percent fewer works were submitted. There were also fewer delegations in attendance. However, this did not detract from the advertising festival. McCann-Erickson, Geneva, was the only Swiss agency to return from the Côte d'Azur with a Silver Lion.
Crash in installments, pessimistic market sentiment, consumers on a spending strike. In view of the not exactly encouraging economic data, everyone was eager to see how the traditionally pompous advertising festival would go in the year of recession and after September 11.
To the great surprise of many festival visitors, the terrorist attacks did not leave any noticeable traces in the advertising. Apart from increased security checks and a small solidarity exhibition for New York ("Still shining, New York") in an inconspicuous side room of the Palais, the festival's joy was unencumbered by coming to terms with the past. The only ungrateful thing for the new festival CEO Frank Prenner was the fact that in his debut year, of all years, there was a steep decline in the number of visitors and submissions.
The current state of mind and the prevailing trends are most clearly reflected in the Grand Prix (GP): this is where the jury takes the most care and invests all its ambition. With the GP, they want to put outstanding and pioneering works in the spotlight and create a monument to themselves in the process. The most prestigious GPs are awarded annually for the best communication solution in the three disciplines of press, outdoor and film.
The Press GP went to Saatchi & Saatchi, London, for the tour operator "Club 18 - 30". The subjects show groups of young, lightly dressed people in their leisure time. The collage technique blurs the levels of the motifs, so that at first glance they appear to depict sexual poses. "The subjects manage to be honest in a subtle way," enthused jury president Jeff Goodby. You could spend minutes looking at the individual ads. And when does an ad manage to do that these days, he said self-critically.
Leo Burnett (Oslo) won the Outdoor Grand Prix with a series of motifs for a piercing studio. The subjects are captured in close-up, brutally direct, raw and unadorned. In the supreme discipline of film, the Grand Prix went to Wieden+Kennedy from Portland for their Nike spot "Tag", a kind of "Fangis" fever that grips New York passers-by on the street. The jury and audience celebrated the Nike spot with frenetic applause. The fact that the young man can't catch up with anyone despite his Nike sneakers didn't bother the jury because, according to Goodby, it's all about the joy of sport, good entertainment and the Nike spirit in the game.
A controversial anti-smoking campaign was also among the award-winning gold campaigns. It shows dwarfs for whom sex magazines at the kiosk or the urinal bowl are out of reach. The claim: "Smoking causes fatal diseases". How the jury president explains this decision to his politically correct colleagues in the USA remains his secret.
Dutch juror Joeri Bakker saw an indication that advertising has returned to normality in the fact that sex and bad taste dominated current advertising. German juror Dörte Spengler-Ahrens agreed, slightly annoyed, that she had seen a conspicuous number of sex jokes this year. And the jurors across the board agreed on which subjects dominated this year's festival: "." There were so many of these subjects. It was generally feared that this trend would be reinforced by the festival.
And the Swiss delegation? Once again they had to realize that a medal from ADC Switzerland, Europe or New York is no guarantee of a Cannes Lion. A total of 19 entries made it onto the shortlist, but only the Generali advertisement by McCann-Erickson, Geneva (see WW 24/02), was awarded the eight staples.
The only Swiss person to make a major appearance in Cannes was Nicolas G. Hayek. He was awarded the prestigious title of "Advertiser of the Year" as the "epitome of the clever and innovative company". But on the day of the award ceremony, of all days, the king of watches was unavailable and had his acceptance speech recorded on tape. With a fat cigar in his mouth and smiling mischievously from the screen, he accepted the tribute from the applauding advertising crowd.
Film and DM shortlist
The 49th Cannes Advertising Festival suffered from the economic downturn: around 10 percent fewer works were submitted. There were also fewer delegations in attendance. However, this did not detract from the advertising festival. McCann-Erickson, Geneva, was the only Swiss agency to return from the Côte d'Azur with a Silver Lion.
Crash in installments, pessimistic market sentiment, consumers on a spending strike. In view of the not exactly encouraging economic data, everyone was eager to see how the traditionally pompous advertising festival would go in the year of recession and after September 11.
To the great surprise of many festival visitors, the terrorist attacks did not leave any noticeable traces in the advertising. Apart from increased security checks and a small solidarity exhibition for New York ("Still shining, New York") in an inconspicuous side room of the Palais, the festival's joy was unencumbered by coming to terms with the past. The only ungrateful thing for the new festival CEO Frank Prenner was the fact that in his debut year, of all years, there was a steep decline in the number of visitors and submissions.
The current state of mind and the prevailing trends are most clearly reflected in the Grand Prix (GP): this is where the jury takes the most care and invests all its ambition. With the GP, they want to put outstanding and pioneering works in the spotlight and create a monument to themselves in the process. The most prestigious GPs are awarded annually for the best communication solution in the three disciplines of press, outdoor and film.
The Press GP went to Saatchi & Saatchi, London, for the tour operator "Club 18 - 30". The subjects show groups of young, lightly dressed people in their leisure time. The collage technique blurs the levels of the motifs, so that at first glance they appear to depict sexual poses. "The subjects manage to be honest in a subtle way," enthused jury president Jeff Goodby. You could spend minutes looking at the individual ads. And when does an ad manage to do that these days, he said self-critically.
Leo Burnett (Oslo) won the Outdoor Grand Prix with a series of motifs for a piercing studio. The subjects are captured in close-up, brutally direct, raw and unadorned. In the supreme discipline of film, the Grand Prix went to Wieden+Kennedy from Portland for their Nike spot "Tag", a kind of "Fangis" fever that grips New York passers-by on the street. The jury and audience celebrated the Nike spot with frenetic applause. The fact that the young man can't catch up with anyone despite his Nike sneakers didn't bother the jury because, according to Goodby, it's all about the joy of sport, good entertainment and the Nike spirit in the game.
A controversial anti-smoking campaign was also among the award-winning gold campaigns. It shows dwarfs for whom sex magazines at the kiosk or the urinal bowl are out of reach. The claim: "Smoking causes fatal diseases". How the jury president explains this decision to his politically correct colleagues in the USA remains his secret.
Dutch juror Joeri Bakker saw an indication that advertising has returned to normality in the fact that sex and bad taste dominated current advertising. German juror Dörte Spengler-Ahrens agreed, slightly annoyed, that she had seen a conspicuous number of sex jokes this year. And the jurors across the board agreed on which subjects dominated this year's festival: "." There were so many of these subjects. It was generally feared that this trend would be reinforced by the festival.
And the Swiss delegation? Once again they had to realize that a medal from ADC Switzerland, Europe or New York is no guarantee of a Cannes Lion. A total of 19 entries made it onto the shortlist, but only the Generali advertisement by McCann-Erickson, Geneva (see WW 24/02), was awarded the eight staples.
The only Swiss person to make a major appearance in Cannes was Nicolas G. Hayek. He was awarded the prestigious title of "Advertiser of the Year" as the "epitome of the clever and innovative company". But on the day of the award ceremony, of all days, the king of watches was unavailable and had his acceptance speech recorded on tape. With a fat cigar in his mouth and smiling mischievously from the screen, he accepted the tribute from the applauding advertising crowd.
Film and DM shortlist
Toyota Corolla (Mirror Façade) by Wirz, Zurich; LTV/Yellow Pages (Car, Horse, Soccer, Clinton) by Publicis, Zch. Swisscom Mobile (Father & Daughter) by Publicis, Zch.
Expo VIP mailing for Orange by Lowe Direct, Zurich.
