With its celebrity speakers and glamorous awards nights, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity had the glitz of a Hollywood affair. But two creative legends, BBH cofounder Sir John Hegarty and David Droga of Droga5, brought Cannes back to earth with a frank appraisal of the industry in the session ‘What’s Great, What’s Not, What’s Next? (And If You’re Not Prepared To Ask A Question, Don’t Come)’.
Creativity is on the decline, according to Hegarty, who said, “There has to be an honesty about our creativity. I am increasingly looking at global work, and increasingly, I am saying that global work doesn’t work. A lot of the global work we see today glides past people. It does not touch them,” he said.
Further explaining his point, he said there is a need to seriously question the whole global concept, which although cost-effective, does not produce the results that great advertising can. “We have to question the value of creating work that doesn’t touch people. If you believe a brand is about becoming part of the cultural landscape, then increasingly we’re seeing advertising failing to do that around the world. Something has to change, and I think global thinking is fine. Global execution seems to be missing the point.”
Droga agreed, urging his audience to think of five great global campaigns. “If you can rattle them off easily then that answers the question. If you can’t, then that answers the question.”
He said that global strategies are different from global campaigns, which are “done for efficiency, not for effectiveness.”
Looking at the industry’s future, Hegarty said the media landscape now operates in a virtual circle, where the conversation flows online as well as offline. Droga, on the other hand, said most agencies still can’t crack mobile. “It’s the most intimate thing, which is why it’s the Holy Grail,” he said, noting that there is still much work to be done. “Bad traditional advertising is bad, bad online advertising is shit, bad mobile advertising is offensive,” he said.
According to Hegarty, as things get more complex, outstanding ideas are more important than ever. “There’s a lot of talk today about how we can influence people on Facebook or we can put messages into Twitter. Personally, and I don’t give a shit if you agree or disagree, I don’t like that. I think there’s an honesty in our creativity that says here’s a great idea, and inspires people to follow it.”
Hegarty warned against thinking big data is the solution, as given the same information, everyone is likely to draw the same conclusion. “That’s where creativity comes in, and that’s why we talk about turning the intelligence of data into magic,” he said.
During the session, the two shared examples of great work. Hegarty’s picks included The Johnnie Walker Human ad, while Droga shared Newcastle’s ‘Mega Huge Football Game Ad’.
Droga also discussed the idea of good for business, and business for good. “The thing I believe is, we are good if our peers think we’re great. But we are great if the real world thinks we’re good. And there’s a huge difference,” Droga said.
Closing the session, Hegarty urged the audience to be honest. “Please tell the truth. Be true to each other. Through accepting that we have not created something great, we might go to creating something great.”
‘What’s Great, What’s Not, What’s Next? (And If You’re Not Prepared To Ask A Question, Don’t Come)’ was held on June 20 at Cannes.
