Aden Ridgeway’s Cannes Diary PR Lions Diary

Aden Ridgeway (left), partner at Cox Inall Ridgeway, is representing Australia on the Cannes PR Lions jury. Ridgeway, along with most of the other Australian and NZ jurors writes for CB.

Day 1

Yes, we Cannes! Over 2000 entries, 10 jurors, 11 hours. Day #1 as a juror at Cannes Lions for PR has been epic — and it’s only Sunday.

For the past fortnight back in Australia I’ve been viewing and judging a significant portion of the entries as a member of the global jury. Now I’m here in Cannes as one of 10 on the award jury. It’s up to us to decide the shortlist as well as the winners for PR in Cannes Lions 2018.

Ahead, lies the mammoth task of choosing which entries make the cut. Our job is to reduce the entries to 10-15%, all the while considering the following four criteria: Idea, Strategy, Execution and Impact and Reach.

This year at Cannes Lions there are nine tracks and PR is covered under the Reach track. Reach is defined as, “The insight, strategy and planning enabling brands to effectively engage consumers, at scale, and be heard amid the ongoing battle for attention.”

The entries within PR cover a range of sub-categories varying wildly from food and drink, to public affairs and lobbying, not-for-profit, leisure and use of technology, to name a few. The issues covered in the entries are current and hard-hitting. They represent what people care about, reacting against and wanting to change. Issues like climate change, saving the whales, getting rid of plastic bags, gun control, gender equality or violence against woman. They are issues that we are all talking about.  

Inside the jury room:

The gender division in the the PR jury room is equal: five men, five women. My fellow jurors represent the major regions in the world from Latin America, to Asia, to northern Europe and the US. I’m the only Australian.

Certainly, I’m impressed by the caliber of the other jurors. They all display a deep professional commitment and everyone takes their role seriously. We all know the importance of judging and want to ensure we identify what represents best practice in the creative industry right now.

Short breaks are taken on the terrace with a view over Promenade de la Croisette.  Preparation for the rest of the festival is in full swing. Along Cannes beach the flags of Google and Facebook are flying, vans are unloading flowers and PA systems, and delegates walk with their blue passes flapping in the balmy afternoon breeze.

Back in the PR jury room, the atmosphere is focused, collegiate and collaborative. It’s not just the process that matters, it’s also the discussion and debate which will allow us to work towards a consensus.

As I sift through the entries with my jury colleagues, I’m cognisant that the process is not only to find what is the best standard for the creativity industry but also that each of the entries need to take you on a journey, have dynamic impact and encourage you to think about an issue in a different way. The entries must ignite and then sustain the conversation. This is what makes them compelling.

First-time to Cannes Lions

Yesterday, as my plane ducked beneath the clouds, I was struck by the built-up coastline of the French Riveria — like the Gold Coast meets Miami. Once driving from Nice airport to Cannes, it is more spacious. Tall cypress trees are dotted in between Mediterranean blocks of flats.

Cannes itself is a fascinating place and I can see why it’s chosen to host this festival of creativity. It lends itself to the expression of creative freedom. The centre of the town is smaller than you might think. All the action is, unsurprisingly, on the beach which is a more exotic version of Manly.

My personal approach

I’m looking for projects that are authentic and meaningful, that convey something that is not just a passing thought but offers true connection. This reflects my Indigenous way of seeing. I think more and more people want real, values-based experiences and PR needs to reflect this.

It’s a great honour to be chosen as a juror. As Jose Papa, the managing director of Cannes Lions said, “The job of the Cannes Lions jury is to act as the custodians of creativity and celebrate work that demonstrates the value of creativity in all its forms.”

For me being a juror is about finding the dots that make up the painting as well as the richness of the canvas on which they sit.

Day 2

The large black doors swing shut and day #2 of judging begins at Cannes Lions 2018.  One juror is starting to lose her voice (arctic air-conditioning) and another fights jet-lag. But as soon as we take our seats, the work begins. We’re here to judge the PR track and our deadline is looming.

We’ve been through the first round of judging with each juror considering and scoring each entry on a scale of one to nine. Now, the focus is reducing over 2000 entries to around 10%.

This review stage allows us to consider whether entries on our provisional shortlist are worthy of being shortlisted only, or deciding a possible or a definite winner.

It’s intense as we scrutinise each entry. Our president, Stuart Smith, Global Chief Executive Officer from Ogilvy PR guides the process expertly with humour and candour. At dinner, later that day, he will tell us all how impressed that we all work well together.

I can imagine that some jury proceedings could be tense. However, in the PR jury room, there is a collegiate atmosphere.

While we may have different views and opinions, and come from different backgrounds, each juror listens to and takes on board others opinions. All the jurors take their responsibilities seriously to ensure that the shortlist is diverse, representative and sets the benchmark of industry creativity.

One topical issue is purpose, authenticity and meaning. Personally, I am looking for PR campaigns that are both authentic and legitimate in terms of doing good but are clear about their purpose. No longer is PR only about entertainment and brand, it’s also about shifting culture, getting us to think about the social issues the world faces and having a positive impact on the places we live.

Sir Michael Perry, Chairman of Centrica PLC, puts it well, saying, “The brands that will be big in the future will be those that tap into the social changes that are taking place.”

Among my fellow jurors we discussed how some campaigns seem to have the pretence of being a campaign for good and yet there were questions around the purpose and authenticity of that intent.

My impression is that creativity can’t just rely on a digital platform, either. It has to be more than that and sometimes the simplest things can be the most powerful.

On day #2 we were able to finish a little earlier giving me the chance to look around the festival. We also enjoyed a convivial jury dinner together in a nearby French restaurant. A
ccordion players serenaded us and festival-goers strolled past eating ice-cream.  

This created a pleasant transition for day #3. I’ve been warned that it only gets more challenging from here as we get into the deliberation on the creative merits — and otherwise — of each of the entries that are shortlisted to enable us to make our final decisions on giving the awards.

However I am confident that through good, thorough discussion and thought, the best outcome will be delivered. I am a great believer in rigorous conversation and debate, this leads to positive and thoughtful outcomes.

Day 3

Why we Cannes. Diversity of thought, colour, perspective, gender, region and race. Diversity is more than a buzzword at #CannesLions 2018, it’s defining how we do business — and influencing how the PR jury room decides its shortlist.

Day #3 of judging and the heat is on. Inevitably, when decisions need to be made, differences arise. We all know that at this point we’re not only deciding who goes forward but which entries won’t make the cut.

Those that made it through to the shortlist are diverse in terms of content, origin and style. There’s a good mix — not all from Western nations — but representative of many global regions. Sometimes a simple idea elegantly executed can deliver exceptional impact.

One example on the shortlist is the campaign from the German supermarket Edeka. (Up until today I’ve been unable to name individual entries, so it’s good to share!)

Edeka have a reputation for surprising stunts with a moral spine. In August 2017, as tensions ran high in reaction to the immigrant crisis in Europe, Edeka’s supermarket in Hamburg emptied its shelves of all foreign food. No Brazilian coffee, no Greek olives, no chocolate.

Instead of food, Edeka put up signs: “This shelf is quite boring without variety,” or “Our range now knows borders.”

The stunt was powerful: it took a risk, it made a political stand and had impact.

It made me reflect on whether we do enough in Australia: how many of our campaigns shatter stereotypes? What if a flagship supermarket in Sydney cleared its shelves and only stocked bush tucker to highlight the immense wealth of Indigenous resources? After all, we have 60,000 years worth of knowledge to share.

Beyond the stereotype

Among delegates, in the Palais corridors, at sundowners, there’s much talk about navigating through fake news, the breakdown of consumer trust, the search for meaning.

I heard that the session in the Forum on ‘Rational, Emotional &… Spiritual?’ had queues stretching up two flights of stairs.

In the PR jury room, we also discussed how best practice is no longer creating stuff for the sake of it, consumers will only buy things if they have purpose. Millennials will only turn up for work if their job has meaning.

But how brands walk this tightrope of morality is a challenge — and it’s obvious which companies are opportunistic and which are genuine.  

While some may complain that this is swinging the pendulum away from advertising as pure entertainment, for me it’s about brands truly standing for something and companies following through on that belief.

A good example on the shortlist is how Latina TV, which has been active for years advocating against violence against women, ran a controversial campaign in last year’s Miss Peru competition.  

Instead of the contestants announcing their vital statistics during the live TV broadcast, one contestant said a girl dies every 10 minutes due to sexual exploitation in Peru.

Another said, “My name is Karen Bueto… My measurements are: 82 femicides and 156 attempted femicides so far this year.”

The campaign, by highlighting gender violence on national TV, triggered a debate in the Peru parliament.

This genuine, long-term commitment to a cause compares to a well-known fast-food company which campaigns one week on net neutrality and the next against bullying of young people. In this case, the question around the PR jury table was: what is this brand’s real purpose? Are they simply being opportunistic?

On Wednesday 20 June we’ll be drawing the line between the shortlist and the winners. If the past three days in the jury room is anything to go by, we’ll be looking for diversity of form and format, simplicity alongside tech, sophistication hand-in-hand with heart-felt belief. Stay tuned.

Day 4

And the winner is… After four days in the PR jury room, finishing at 1am on the last day, the PR winners for #CannesLions 2018 have been announced. I’m exhausted but am satisfied with the results and the process.

We awarded 86 Lions out of 2087 entries and the Grand Prix went to LADbible’s Trash Isles campaign that reached half a billion people. The campaign focused on turning the France-sized-area of floating trash in the Pacific Ocean into an official country, with bank notes, stamps and a passport, and submitting an application to the United Nations. This obliges other countries to help clean it up.

I think this deserves the Grand Prix accolade. It’s a simple idea amplified through an integrated campaign where the environment is given voice at the UN. Endorsed by big names celebrities such as Al Gore and Sir David Attenborough, the Trash Isles literally puts itself on the world map.

PR jury process

During the judging there was some concern that we may not have a vintage year. At times painstaking, what was beautiful about the process was that, although the jurors have different experiences and come from different global regions, the process allowed us to arrive at a consensus.

By day #4 you start to see patterns, trends and themes. It is both organic and structured, and through the process of cooking the stew with the right ingredients, things start to rise to the surface. Literally, in the case of the Trash Isles.

There’s a satisfaction knowing tha
t the winners you’ve identified are the best of the best, in terms of craft, excellence of creativity and messaging, and representative of current industry trends.

As I suspected, the winners are those that are prepared to be more purpose-led in their branding campaigns, from the top down and the bottom up, connecting influencers, communities and corporates together at the same time.

We also ensured that the campaign was PR-designed and there’s understanding and love — that is, an emotional response — to the campaign. We were looking for campaigns that have a deep impact in real life, either earned or reputation-focused but not gimmicky.

Lastly, we chose campaigns that deal with behavioural change and create awareness (this can be either / or, not one over the other) not simply drumming up noise.

Initially, the Grand Prix winner didn’t leap out admitted our jury president, Stuart Smith, Global Chief Executive Officer from Ogilvy PR, in the press conference. “But through the process we ran, the work emerged. This particular activation gave rights to nature in a way we hadn’t seen before.”

In his opening remarks Smith singled out the BWM Dentsu Group campaign, Project Revoice which has given Pat Quinn, co-founder of the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge, his voice back. Smith also credited the PR jury of behaving “with the highest ethical standards, excluding themselves when they needed to, not talking the work down and always focusing on the creativity of the work.” It’s certainly been a pleasure working with Smith and the rest of my jury colleagues.

In a departure from previous jury proceedings, Smith also mentioned that, “We put to death the idea that this campaign is from a PR agency but made sure that the ideas are at the centre of everything.”

Indigenous perspective

Cannes Lions has been a fantastic experience. As the first Indigenous person to be on a Lions jury panel, I’m there like the other jurors but I also bring a dimension of diversity to the process.

I’m representing First Nations people, in this case from Australia. What I bring is a cultural lens and I think that’s been useful in the process.

There have been numerous cases when Aboriginal cultural and sacred designs have been appropriated for t-shirts and tea towels, disrespecting the original artists and undermining our cultural integrity.

In one case study we discussed in the PR jury room, a Romanian fashion label, Bihor Couture, raised awareness about this issue after an iconic global label appropriated the traditional ethnic designs in their colllections.

Personally, this acknowledges the importance of not just fake labels, but cultural appropriation. It’s important to challenge and tackle this, just as it is to address any tendency to unconscious bias so that the final group of medal winners doesn’t only reflect an Anglo, Western view. This adds to the richness of the conversation.

To quote Omnicom chief diversity office and Adcolor founder and president Tiffany R. Warren, who spoke on the Diversity session with British Vogue’s new black editor Edward Enninful, HP marketing chief Antonio Lucio and Westworld actress, Thandie Newton, “So often the marginalised are asked to make a business case for diversity, but have you ever heard a business case for sameness?”

Two months ago, HP announced its #MoreLikeMe initiative designed to build and strengthen diverse creative talent. This sees 15 ethnically diverse rising stars attend Cannes Lions this year for an immersive experience and there’s no reason why an Indigenous creative can’t be part of next year’s programme. I’ll be toasting to that tonight as the winners claim their Lions.