Drugi jezik na kojem je dostupan ovaj članak: Bosnian
By: Igor Mladinović, Creative Director, Imago Ogilvy
If we had to summarize what this year’s Cannes Lions represents, we would definitely say it is the return to real life.
After last year’s glamor, exaggeration, alienation, and climax of greediness, Cannes this year is relaxed, more intimate, realistic, and considerably more modest. Humility doesn’t mean that this year something is missing – on the contrary, all that makes this festival the greatest in the world is now placed in the foreground, and that is, above all, creativity and works.
Cannes Lions has been a lot more than an advertising festival for a long time, and advertising today is far more than mere promotion of a finished product or brand. Advertising agencies are actively involved in the development and creation of the product itself, or often create completely new products that serve to promote the brand. So Cannes is the place where all the most creative work from the world of technology, music and film production, design, social networks, show business is mixed … in other words, ideas that shape the world as we know it, or as we will know it, are gathered or created here.
The impression that Cannes Lions has returned to real life is visible in lectures as well. The topics that are unavoidable on each panel are Diversity, Equality and AI (artificial intelligence). Those are the topics that occupy the world today, and this is the proof that Cannes mirrors the current image of the world – but it’s a mirror that uses the prism of creativity to enlarge that image, and presents it to us in the most remarkable way possible.
Works are approached by the same principle, especially those awarded the Golden Lions or Grand Prix. In addition to the well-known criteria of freshness and creativity, the main question that is raised is ‘what change did this idea make in the world’. This is not just about socially responsible campaigns, but the vast majority of award-winning works in all categories. Such an environment requires brands to choose sides, to clearly state what their values are, and which world views they promote, regardless whether it’s about the right to same-sex marriages, gender equality, or elections in America. Because, as one of the jury president said, “if you don’t choose sides, you will be stuck in the middle of the road, and there you will surely get run over.”
The stories that print, radio, and outdoor are long dead are so debunked that no one even jokes about it anymore. What’s more, it’s incredible to see how these classic media offer a chance for creative advertising using the latest technology.
Good communication has always been creating emotions through stories and this is something that will never change, however, with the expansion of new technologies and artificial intelligence, storytelling channels are being converted into story-experiencing channels, and the storytelling is slowly transforming into story-teching. There is less and less talk, and more and more experiencing through technology. However, the point always remains the same, and it is to find a fresh, unpredictable, creative way of conveying brand values to the consumer. And here is where a human being remains irreplaceable. As long as they are creative.
And this is exactly what this Cannes Lions is dedicated to – the creative person who creates daily to make the world better.