Cannes - a balance sheet
Comment: The quality at the advertising festival was only average this year. However, the best commercials stood out for their brilliant simplicity.
Commentary The standard at this year's advertising festival was only average. However, the best spots stood out for their brilliant simplicity and the bottom line after Cannes is clear: a new hero by the name of Pius Walker. In relation to the size of the agency, no one in this country has ever won as many Lions and achieved as many shortlist placings as the Zurich-based advertiser. Walker has certainly raised the standard of Swiss entries considerably.
However, attentive Cannes chroniclers noted that the festival as a whole was of an average standard. Among the winning works, there were more sucklattisms than in other years, and generally more fun and punchline-oriented advertising was awarded.
Another trend was evident in advertising for environmental causes - these works were a lot more relaxed and no longer pointing fingers, sometimes even allowing themselves ironic tones. At the same time, people didn't want to see war on the big screen - the x-Box commercial for the game Gears of War, which won the Silver Lion in the "Best Use of Music" category, was massively booed. It is striking that the other game console commercials in the running did not even find the jury's favor. In general, there were far fewer of these obviously post-production-heavy works on the podium.
In fact, many winning commercials thrived on their brilliant simplicity, such as the Apple commercials in which one actor plays the PC and the other the Mac in a dialog. The kind of work that could easily have been invented here. The big boxes such as the Apple 1984 commercial, the Perrier lion by Jean-Paul Gould, the football game Good vs. Evil by Tarzem, the WWF catwalk commercial with the blood splashing around or the Playstation human pyramid, which will still be talked about in a decade's time, were completely absent this year.
And it has to be said that the festival has clearly become more professional since E-Map took over three years ago. In addition to the noticeably better support for delegates and press representatives, this is also accompanied, for better or worse, by a striving for even greater size, which some dismiss as a tendency towards gigantism. However, this year's motto "The more you see, the more ideas you have" should not be questioned even by the worst critics.
It is clear that what is on offer costs something. But anyone who complains about the almost four thousand francs that have to be paid for the festival is exposing themselves. The price is justified - but you have to make active use of the program. The price is definitely too high just to watch one or two days of films and party. The festival also represents the current development of the advertising industry in and of itself. It is no longer a reservoir for paradise birds and party people, but an industry that wants to be taken seriously by other industries.
Beat Fritsch, employee of Werbewoche
However, attentive Cannes chroniclers noted that the festival as a whole was of an average standard. Among the winning works, there were more sucklattisms than in other years, and generally more fun and punchline-oriented advertising was awarded.
Another trend was evident in advertising for environmental causes - these works were a lot more relaxed and no longer pointing fingers, sometimes even allowing themselves ironic tones. At the same time, people didn't want to see war on the big screen - the x-Box commercial for the game Gears of War, which won the Silver Lion in the "Best Use of Music" category, was massively booed. It is striking that the other game console commercials in the running did not even find the jury's favor. In general, there were far fewer of these obviously post-production-heavy works on the podium.
In fact, many winning commercials thrived on their brilliant simplicity, such as the Apple commercials in which one actor plays the PC and the other the Mac in a dialog. The kind of work that could easily have been invented here. The big boxes such as the Apple 1984 commercial, the Perrier lion by Jean-Paul Gould, the football game Good vs. Evil by Tarzem, the WWF catwalk commercial with the blood splashing around or the Playstation human pyramid, which will still be talked about in a decade's time, were completely absent this year.
And it has to be said that the festival has clearly become more professional since E-Map took over three years ago. In addition to the noticeably better support for delegates and press representatives, this is also accompanied, for better or worse, by a striving for even greater size, which some dismiss as a tendency towards gigantism. However, this year's motto "The more you see, the more ideas you have" should not be questioned even by the worst critics.
It is clear that what is on offer costs something. But anyone who complains about the almost four thousand francs that have to be paid for the festival is exposing themselves. The price is justified - but you have to make active use of the program. The price is definitely too high just to watch one or two days of films and party. The festival also represents the current development of the advertising industry in and of itself. It is no longer a reservoir for paradise birds and party people, but an industry that wants to be taken seriously by other industries.
Beat Fritsch, employee of Werbewoche
