This Cannes session starts off in a discussion format hosted by Bloomberg’s Stephanie Ruhle. Inevitably the focus keeps pulling back to Kanye West, probably influenced by the forest of Paparazzi at the front of the stage. As West says at one point: “I am many things but I am a celebrity.”
Part of the trappings of celebrity are keeping in touch with the fans. And we get clued into his Twitter stats: “You have 10.5 million followers and you follow just one person: your wife. Awwww.” He’s single-minded, obsessed with detail and not lacking in self-esteem. After Annie Leibowitz, arguably the world’s top celebrity photographer, backed out of shooting his wedding – the couple spent four days retouching the wedding picture – which is a long time for people as active as they are on social media. But it quickly became the most shared image on Instagram ever. He knows his value.
And we then get into a discussion on celebrities as “walking brands.” The Apple/Beats deal is talked about – favorably. And the Blackberry/Alicia Keys deal is mentioned – not favorably. Which then leads to Kanye saying – before anyone can suggest it – “I’m not a big fan of Samsung.”
This may sound a bit hasty, but we do get a pretty good explanation. “I need to have shared values with the brands I deal with. I can only work with number one… because for so long black people were denied that opportunity. Before racism there was class-ism.”
The other panelists do get some good soundbites: Ben Horowitz, a founder of a venture capital firm, talks about what he invests in, saying “We look for bad ideas. All real innovation looks crazy at the time.” And as Steve Stoute, the CEO of marketing firm Translation, puts it: Innovations need celebrities to “bridge the gap” between technology and culture.
