When attending so many seminars, screenings, workshops, and master
classes, it starts to become easy to recognize a trend in the type of events
you naturally gravitate to and attend. Today, my seminars seemed to tell a
story, or at least inform audiences of the importance of telling a good story.
McGarrybower: Iconic
Storytelling
This seminar invited audiences into
understanding what happens when you cross “Once upon a time” with “A picture is
worth a thousand words.” It was a collaboration of celebrities in popular
culture and Disney’s iconic culture. Headed by Annie Leibovitz, Disney and
Mcgarrybower, the team created a cultural phenomenon.
Annie Leibovitz, known for her
incredible celebrity photography, usually snaps still images to capture one
moment. However, this project needed to do more than just an average static
photo; it needed to tell a story.
In order to create the story,
Leibovitz had her actors tell a story and play a role, instead of just posing.
It was essential to pick someone who not only looks like the iconic Disney
character, but also identifies with that Disney persona.
After hair, makeup, costume and set
are in place it is so important to establish a setting and scene that really
tells the story without any animation or drawing. In Cinderella, this is when
she loses her slipper. In Peter Pan, this is when Peter meets Wendy.
Establishing movement and a story in a photograph is not easy, especially when
dealing with such icons, but Annie Leibovitz managed to engage her audience and
create a magnificent story collection.
I have always been told that I look
like Scarlett Johansson, though I do not always see the resemblance, maybe this
Disney ‘who wore it better’ can show some similarities (although Scarlett is
wearing a Harry Winston tiara and Manolo Blahnik, so she definitely wins here).
Sapientnitro: Stories are More Than A
Narrative. And Fashion is More Than Design
Once again, the audience is informed of
the importance of creating and telling a great story. “Ads aren’t about selling
products, they are about creating strong provocative relationships,” Gaston
Legorburu, Worldwide
Chief Creative Officer of Sapientnitro, said. “You can create ads or you can
create worlds.”
He emphasized the importance of shared values and
shared experiences. The combination of those two ideas creates an
overwhelmingly successful story.
Though Legoburu made some interesting points, he was
immediately ignored, and at one point screamed at by the audience, for
interrupting the glamorous Vivienne Westwood. When she walked out on stage, her
presence demanded the room’s attention. Her every word sounded genuine,
powerful, thoughtful and very humane.
Westwood
began sharing her experiences from the 70’s where she ultimately changed the
face of British fashion with a punk rock trend. It became a time of rebellion
for the youth, who wore plaid, ripped shirts, spiky hair and safety pins,
protesting a cause they believed was worth fighting for. “I began to care about suffering in the world. I
thought the world was so mismatched and mismanaged, so I became an activist
through fashion—an urban look,” Westwood recalled.
Westwood’s
Pirates’ collection really caught the attention of the public and is what made
her realize she was a fashion designer. Westwood explained that her clothes are
not just articles of cloth and fabric; rather, each article has a story. When
the clothing is sold, it becomes a part of someone else’s life and given
another story. She is not in the business of selling clothes. Westwood sells
stories.
Legorburu
pointed out that Westwood’s clothes are often called “heroic,” but Westwood
just shrugged that off. She believes her clothes are personal and expressive,
but of course, she graciously accepted the compliment. One of her best
compliments comes from Paloma Picasso who once told Westwood, that her fashion
and work made her realize her true potential. It gave Paloma all the facets of
herself, allowing free expression.
Westwood never had the intention of
creating such a name, image or brand for herself. She just wanted to make a
difference and help create culture. How does she define culture? “Human
evolution, pursuit of our perfection by means of knowing everything.” She
believes that “Get a life,” means, not only knowing where your place is in the
world, but in this whole story.
Vivienne Westwood received a
standing ovation that lasted so long; it went over the seminar time limit. It
was truly an amazing and engaging experience getting to see such a wonderful
fashion icon speak live and tell her
story.
360i (workshop): Data
Driven Creativity
I
really did not care for this workshop. Initially, it seemed like an interesting
topic that really sparked my interest. The workshop focuses on data driven by
creativity, as well as, creativity as data. We (the workshop class) were given
two examples to help us focus our work before we split up into groups: Oscar
Meyer’s Bacon Barter and Ben and Jerry’s Crowdsourcing (coming soon to a city near you). Both campaigns were
so innovative, as 360i really researched and understood the client, but more than
anything, 360i understood consumers and targeted them so efficiently in unique
ways.
After
seeing the campaigns, I was excited to split into groups to create our own
unique campaign. Each group was given a country with a football (soccer) issue.
Our challenge was to create a solution and tell the story to create the
solution.
My
group consisted of Syracuse University students and four other people from
North America. It was not long before ideas got lost, miscommunication and a
sudden tyrannical rule from one woman from Mexico. The idea was presented and
finished with applause. However, the idea was boring and conventional. It was a
typical ‘rags to riches’ story, with no solution and no creativity.
There
were two problems with the group: no group dynamic (Syracuse students worked
well together, but we were all put off by the tyrant, though it was interesting
to watch her get so excited over a terrible idea) and there was little to no
creativity.
Many people began to think like
managers, rather than creators. I chimed in a few times trying to get the
tyrant back on track, as did others, but she seemed to like her idea too much
to change it.
After
the session, Ben and I talked out other options and different targeting
strategies that would have been a better campaign. Had it been a smaller group,
I think the workshop would have been a lot better, but it is really hard to
create a campaign and listen to 15 people’s ideas in 20 minutes.
Overall, it was another nice, long day in Cannes. I ended my
day once again at Google Beach, followed by the award show. Later tonight is
also the Young Lions party, which is another fun benefit of coming to the
Cannes Lions Festival as a student. As another day comes to a close, I am
excited to see what is in store for tomorrow!
Follow the hashtag: #NewhouseIDSM
Follow me on Twitter to find out more about these events
and the ones I did not include in tonight's post: @Mona_lisap
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