Jimmy Lam’s Cannes Diary: Day Five

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jimmylam2014.jpgJimmy Lam, Vice Chairman & Chief Creative Officer at DDB Group China, is sitting on the Direct Lions jury. Lam, along with many other  jurors from the Asia Pacific region, is reporting from the jury room exclusively for Campaign Brief.

We were back to the dungeon to start judging from 0900. From the 2,400 entries reviewed yesterday, we now have 318 entries from various categories, and they are ranked from the votes done yesterday.

We went through category by category, also relook at those entries that were marginally hanging on the cut off line, to vote Yes or No for them to stay in the shortlist.   

Juries then started scrutinising entries whether it meet the requirement of  ‘targeted communication designed to generate a measurable response or specific action whilst building and prolonging relationships”.

There were quite many entries that were initially well liked by me and other juries that could not survive this acid test. Each jury was allowed to, but not obliged to, call in an entry not on the shortlisted, but the entry cannot be from his/her own agency or agency of own network from other country, which I believe, is very fair. There were 15 call-in entries but only one managed to be voted into the shortlist. Juries were tough, and it should be.

IMG_4337 (1).jpgEventually only 277 entries remained in the Shortlist. It was the killing fields. But it was the right thing to do.  Disregarding some entries having great consumer insight, or a stunning strategy, or very original idea or eye opening execution, if it does not fit into the criteria of Direct I mentioned earlier, it is just not an entry for Direct. 

The motto….just don’t dump any entry to Direct. There is no luck element and Direct juries are absolutely razor blade sharp on those criteria. I can only say to many agency entrant, “thank you for your submissions!” on behalf of Cannes Chairman Terry Savage.

Leaving the dungeon around 1700. I went to award myself with Chinese food, hot pot in Cannes, believe it or not.