"Judging is done on what catches the eye in a few seconds".
Remy Fabrikant on his expectations as a member of the Cannes jury
Remy Fabrikant on his expectations on the Cannes juryBy Andreas Panzeri From June 16, the international advertising scene will once again meet in Cannes. Over the course of a week, the best works will be honored at the 49th International Advertising Festival (IAF). In addition to Gilbert Fisch on the "Direct Mail" jury, Remy Fabrikant, CD of the Zurich advertising agency JWT+Hostettler+Fabrikant, has been appointed to the "Press & Poster" jury for Switzerland.
This year you are on the prestigious Cannes "Press & Poster" jury. Does that fill you with a certain pride?
Remy Fabrikant: Being elected to the jury is of course a great honor for me. You are scrutinized quite extensively by the festival management. You have to prove what you have done for the advertising scene so far, and it is checked whether you have already won enough important prizes yourself.
What other juries have you been on so far?
Manufacturer: ADC, Eurobest, Clio, Golden Ear.
What do you expect from Cannes?
Fabrikant: I hope that Switzerland will be there with a few lions. We Swiss are under a bit of pressure when it comes to international awards. We may be a small country, but we spend a lot of money on advertising and communication. Nevertheless, we are usually underrepresented at important awards in relation to our financial outlay. Against this background, I see my presence on the Cannes jury as an important task.
Is there an explanation for this meager price yield of Swiss advertising?
Fabrikant: I don't have any. The often excellent Anglo-Saxon humor is a stylistic device that is not widely cultivated in Switzerland. However, this type of advertising is not the only one that can be successful in Cannes. The Germans in particular have shown in recent years that you can also win many prizes with other ideas.
Is it due to a lack of courage on the part of advertisers, who show too little interest in unusual ideas in Switzerland?
Fabrikant: It requires a certain generosity of thought, and this is lacking in Switzerland.
What criteria do you use to evaluate a piece of work?
Fabrikant: I have set myself certain criteria. But I hope that I won't be patronized by the system. 9047 works were submitted. That's 1000 fewer than last year. But if we want to judge all these works in one week, then I can work out that there are exactly 15 seconds left to judge a single work. With 15 seconds per subject, I can manage 2000 competition entries in a whole day if I judge for eight hours without interruption. So the works that make an immediate impact will win. It will hardly be possible to take into account any complicated, country-specific criteria. What catches the eye will be judged.
Which ads fulfill this most important criterion for you?
Fabrikant: These are things that are extremely reduced, clear in their message. You have to give people a certain relevance.
Do you see Cannes as the benchmark for new trends?
Fabrikant: Cannes is the benchmark for all advertising in the world. Cannes still sets the decisive trends for communication.
Many people say that there is an ever-increasing inflation of prices. Do you share this opinion?
Fabrikant: You can't speak of inflation within Cannes. On the contrary. If you measure the prizes against the entries, then ten to fifteen Lions for 9000 print subjects or 4000 films is of course a very high-quality award. The prizes in Cannes are extremely rare and therefore very valuable.
What importance do you attach to lobbying in Cannes?
Fabrikant: With the sophisticated system of judging, a juror will hardly be able to achieve much through lobbying. Nevertheless, lobbying is very important for a long-term image. As this is my first time on the jury in Cannes, I first have to see what I can achieve for Switzerland in this area.
Up to now, England and the USA, and more recently Scandinavia, have always scooped up the most prizes. Will this happen again?
Fabrikant: There will probably be a difference between print and film. When it comes to film, I'm convinced that the Americans will win many awards again. But "Print & Poster" is the great strength of the European continent.
What new developments do you expect?
Fabrikant: I think that this year will be weaker than in the past. Due to the economic circumstances, creation has not been allowed to live out as much freedom.
What will your personal program look like in Cannes?
Fabrikant: When I review the large number of entries in my mind's eye, there won't be much time for other activities besides judging. Apart from a few official social events, of course.
What are you looking forward to privately in Cannes?
Fabrikant: Above all, I'm looking forward to lots of sun and sea, a round of golf with Martin Denecke and dinner with Matthias Luchsinger. You can learn a lot in this short time in Cannes by dealing with advertising. One goodie will be that as a jury member I'll get to meet lots of new people from all over the world.
This year you are on the prestigious Cannes "Press & Poster" jury. Does that fill you with a certain pride?
Remy Fabrikant: Being elected to the jury is of course a great honor for me. You are scrutinized quite extensively by the festival management. You have to prove what you have done for the advertising scene so far, and it is checked whether you have already won enough important prizes yourself.
What other juries have you been on so far?
Manufacturer: ADC, Eurobest, Clio, Golden Ear.
What do you expect from Cannes?
Fabrikant: I hope that Switzerland will be there with a few lions. We Swiss are under a bit of pressure when it comes to international awards. We may be a small country, but we spend a lot of money on advertising and communication. Nevertheless, we are usually underrepresented at important awards in relation to our financial outlay. Against this background, I see my presence on the Cannes jury as an important task.
Is there an explanation for this meager price yield of Swiss advertising?
Fabrikant: I don't have any. The often excellent Anglo-Saxon humor is a stylistic device that is not widely cultivated in Switzerland. However, this type of advertising is not the only one that can be successful in Cannes. The Germans in particular have shown in recent years that you can also win many prizes with other ideas.
Is it due to a lack of courage on the part of advertisers, who show too little interest in unusual ideas in Switzerland?
Fabrikant: It requires a certain generosity of thought, and this is lacking in Switzerland.
What criteria do you use to evaluate a piece of work?
Fabrikant: I have set myself certain criteria. But I hope that I won't be patronized by the system. 9047 works were submitted. That's 1000 fewer than last year. But if we want to judge all these works in one week, then I can work out that there are exactly 15 seconds left to judge a single work. With 15 seconds per subject, I can manage 2000 competition entries in a whole day if I judge for eight hours without interruption. So the works that make an immediate impact will win. It will hardly be possible to take into account any complicated, country-specific criteria. What catches the eye will be judged.
Which ads fulfill this most important criterion for you?
Fabrikant: These are things that are extremely reduced, clear in their message. You have to give people a certain relevance.
Do you see Cannes as the benchmark for new trends?
Fabrikant: Cannes is the benchmark for all advertising in the world. Cannes still sets the decisive trends for communication.
Many people say that there is an ever-increasing inflation of prices. Do you share this opinion?
Fabrikant: You can't speak of inflation within Cannes. On the contrary. If you measure the prizes against the entries, then ten to fifteen Lions for 9000 print subjects or 4000 films is of course a very high-quality award. The prizes in Cannes are extremely rare and therefore very valuable.
What importance do you attach to lobbying in Cannes?
Fabrikant: With the sophisticated system of judging, a juror will hardly be able to achieve much through lobbying. Nevertheless, lobbying is very important for a long-term image. As this is my first time on the jury in Cannes, I first have to see what I can achieve for Switzerland in this area.
Up to now, England and the USA, and more recently Scandinavia, have always scooped up the most prizes. Will this happen again?
Fabrikant: There will probably be a difference between print and film. When it comes to film, I'm convinced that the Americans will win many awards again. But "Print & Poster" is the great strength of the European continent.
What new developments do you expect?
Fabrikant: I think that this year will be weaker than in the past. Due to the economic circumstances, creation has not been allowed to live out as much freedom.
What will your personal program look like in Cannes?
Fabrikant: When I review the large number of entries in my mind's eye, there won't be much time for other activities besides judging. Apart from a few official social events, of course.
What are you looking forward to privately in Cannes?
Fabrikant: Above all, I'm looking forward to lots of sun and sea, a round of golf with Martin Denecke and dinner with Matthias Luchsinger. You can learn a lot in this short time in Cannes by dealing with advertising. One goodie will be that as a jury member I'll get to meet lots of new people from all over the world.
