A critical view of Cannes Lions: From creative celebration to tech sales trade show
The author, a former agency professional who has never attended Cannes Lions, offers a critical perspective on how the festival has evolved from a celebration of creative advertising into a media/tech sales trade show. The piece uses Depeche Mode's 'Personal Jesus' as a framing device to critique the quasi-religious fervor around platforms and tech sales pitches at such industry events. The author warns against buying into the propaganda and hype surrounding these commercial gatherings.
Key quotes
I have never been to Cannes. Not at the start of my career, when it focused more squarely on creative work, nor the middle bit when it was all social and content, to now, where it largely seems to be a media/tech sales trade show.
Avoid the propaganda, like Hungary is.
this may read as the bitter ravings of someone who worked in agencies for 15+ years
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