Out with the Old?

Come September, the kick-off night for ADWKDC 2009 will feature the domestic premier of the Cannes Advertising Festival Winners at USA TODAY, and we are excited to see the entire pool of winners. Each year we come away from the Cannes event inspired, motivated and encouraged to strive for the best work not only for ourselves, but for our clients.

Reviewing the list of this year’s Cannes Advertising Festival winners, we notice a unique turn for two of the most coveted prizes. The Titanium Grand Prix and the Integrated Grand Prix winner—Obama for America—pioneered itself by seeing beyond TV and taking its message to other screens, thus extending the campaign to not only advertising, but to another level.

Although Cannes may have downsized this year and spectators and visitors alike were abuzz with the festival’s tight budget details, the winners’ work continues to “wow” us. How? By engaging consumers and deeply involving them in the brands as was the case of the GMMB victories where voters were motivated to believe in a movement through unique messaging rather than just a produced spot.

And yet, an Advertising Age column by Bob Garfield following the festival claims Cannes “doesn’t matter anymore,” attributing its irrelevance to the “black hole” of an advertising year that the industry has faced. In the article, Garfield reviewed a short list of Cannes submissions—concluding that most of the best ideas had little to do with advertising. Instead they were noteworthy for social media outreach efforts, optimal web experiences, and wildly attention grabbing PR stunts—perhaps the reasoning behind his deeming the festival superfluous and on its way out. Still, Garfield colleague Laurel Wentz notes despite downturn of the “ad age,” the industry may possibly have evolved to a higher plane, marked first by the unique change in Cannes winners.

So, we are curious as to what our ADWKDC audience thinks.

Will the Advertising Festival become obsolete? Or will the categories evolve to meet the progression of advertising?

Does Cannes’ change in tone, with new types of winners, reflect a mounting industry change—or will new industry trends and changes mean saying farewell to Cannes?

History Repeating?

When we began planning for ADWKDC 2009 nine months ago, the economy had begun a downward spiral. Agencies were closing, friends started loosing their jobs, advertisers started spending less. Although timely at the moment, we hesitated to plan a “how to make it through this recession” conference. Would it be over by September? Or would it drag on for months? Years? And did we really want to wallow in something so negative and depressing?

Advertisers who have continued to talk to consumers through a recession are more likely to survive. We’ve seen this time and again. So, we knew that the better idea for 2009 was to highlight what people are doing in this recession, rather than what they are not. Let’s talk about the ways we are engaging the consumer through tough times, how technology can be used effectively not just as a gimmick, and how creatives are managing clients expectations in this environment.

With Advertising Week DC only two months away, did we get our planning strategy right? What have we seen in our industry since that first ADWKDC meeting in November?

Advertisers are focusing on the brands that do well, turning back to tried and true taglines, dusting off previously aired commercials, returning to their core competencies and focusing on the value their product/services deliver. Consumers are nesting, returning to the family and home for social interaction, buying what they need and expecting those items to last and provide meaning in their lives. Clearly, these steps might not have been taken without this recession, but are they really all that bad?

On a recent flight, an article in Delta Sky Magazine refocused my attention on this topic. Is this recession giving us more discerning taste rather than diminishing our expectations? Is it weeding out the so-so? Are we refocusing on our values of quality over quantity?

Are we Getting Noticed the old-fashioned way?

Sherri Green

Chairman, ADWKDC 2009

Director, Business Development, LM&O Advertising