Its critics might suggest the annual Cannes Lions Advertising Festival is nothing more than a throwback to the more debauched ad industry of a bygone age - and their claims wouldn't be totally amiss. The industry does, after all, descend on the glamorous Cote d'Azur resort for a big round of parties.
But it is possible to justify the trip to a boss or colleagues as an essential part of the year, with the argument that the event has a serious agenda.
This year there will be a record numbers of marketers making the pilgrimage to the South of France, and clients' role in the event is growing rapidly: last year, for the first time, they had representation on the competition jury. Some agency traditionalists see the invasion of advertisers as the beginning of the end of what is good about Cannes. They are not just concerned that their presence will enforce the demise of the beach, booze and parties, but also that the awards will lose its 'purity' as a creative showcase and will become more about effectiveness.
But others welcome client participation: 'I think it is a really good thing,' says Rupert Howell, president for EMEA and UK chairman of McCann-Erickson. 'The presence of clients makes the event more professional and businesslike.'
Creativity focus
Set up 52 years ago, the event attracts 8000 industry figures from 75 countries who pay from EUR1375 (拢920) to just over EUR2000 (拢1340), excluding accommodation, to rub shoulders with the creme de la creme of international advertising.
During the festival week, which starts this Sunday (18 June), there is a packed schedule of seminars every day. The festival's climax is a prestigious awards ceremony that attracts entries comprising 5000 commercials, 10,000 outdoor and press ads, 1700 websites and online ads, 900 media plans and 1400 direct marketing entries. This year, delegates will also be able to listen to entries for the Radio Lions, the newest awards section.
The conference is supposed to be an opportunity for delegates to learn more about creativity - an increasingly important issue currently being debated by some of the world's biggest advertisers, such as Procter & Gamble. By viewing advertising from around the world, including emerging markets such as India and China, agencies and their clients are able to pick up ideas, even from unconnected product categories, that can be put to use in their own work.
The festival also attracts well-known faces. One session's panel boasts WPP's Sir Martin Sorrell, Draft chairman and chief executive Howard Draft, and Lachlan Murdoch, deputy chief operating officer of News Corporation.
Christine Costello, Pearl & Dean's chief executive and UK representative for the conference, says efforts to give the conference a more professional tone have helped attract advertiser delegates from 120 companies. McDonald's, Microsoft, Coca-Cola, Henkel and the China Banking Corporation are among those keen to see what the world's best advertising has to offer. 'Multinational companies are taking creativity much more seriously,' she adds.
Sharing knowledge
P&G started taking the festival seriously in 2003, when it sent 20 delegates. This year it will send more than 30. 'We have made it known that we have a "watchability" commitment to our advertising,' says Tami Jones, spokeswoman for P&G in Cincinnati and its Cannes project coordinator. 'Cannes offers us the opportunity to learn more about advertising, and we bring back what we learn.'
There will be little chance for P&G or its agencies to treat the trip like a short holiday. Jones says that in conjunction with the official festival events, P&G runs its own seminars and workshops in which its agency partners are also expected to participate. The P&G marketers are expected to pass on what they have learned by staging their own workshops when they return.
Delegates who spend much of the day in the darkened Palais des Festivals will need even more stamina for the evenings. Networking is one of the most important aspects of the festival. Even P&G concedes that its delegates attend the galas and cocktail parties, although Jones swiftly adds that the company uses this time as an opportunity to get to know its agencies better.
BP Lubricants European marketing manager Andrew Jeffrey, who attended the conference for three days last year, agrees. 'I got to have an unstructured conversation with my agency It's very rare to find the time to do that,' he says. Jeffrey, who was the guest of Ogilvy & Mather, says the socialising freshened his relationship with the agency.
Developing relationships
There are social opportunities from cocktail parties to gala dinners almost every night of the week. Hosted by ad agencies and production houses, they are often held at the beach clubs huddled along Cannes' famous La Croisette, or in glamorous villas up in the hills. Even McDonald's threw its own party last year, although that was met with a frosty reception from some seasoned Cannes attendees, who felt the entertainment 'should be left to the agencies'.
'Serious networking is a lot of what Cannes is about,' says Howell. 'It is one of the most important events in the marketing industry calendar. A huge amount of business is done over there and both agencies and their clients should be there.'
Even with the invasion of advertisers, there remains a frivolous element to the event. There are some members of the advertising industry who part with ludicrous amounts of money to stay in expensive hotels and villas, and spend all night drinking rose in such aptly named establishments as the Gutter Bar.
Many also spend much of the daytime recovering from the night before by lounging about around the pool and on the decks of multimillion-pound yachts, topping up their tans. And, of course, while there may be a festival mood around town, not everyone from the industry who is in Cannes will actually attend any official element of the Advertising Festival. C'est la vie.
Leader, page 28.