French prices in Radio and Promotion categories conspicuous by their absence

The scene more classically starts of the world: three men, accoudés at a counter, enjoy a glass of beer. When suddenly a vertiginous zoom propelled them far, far away in time, in uncertain times where they were that monkeys jumping in the trees, or even more early again, when they were only fish, ptérodactyles, or, at the dawn of our era... of miserable larvae tasting water of a lake and the recrachant, because water, decidedly, none ever a good beer. Their primitive brain the role confused, but did not yet the means to check. Hence the sarcastic signature of the Guiness campaign which won the 53rd Grand Prix of the international Festival of advertising film: "Good things come to those who wait" ("good things come to those who wait").

Grand Prix classic invoice, designed by the London agency AMV/BBDO (Omnicom), in line with the Cannes Grand Prix, from reward, as noted by the Chairman of the Board, David Droga, boss of the Agency us Droga5 "a great idea, simple, popular, accompanied by a remarkable artistic achievement". The Cannes recipe par excellence.

In the Anglo-Saxon agencies have done nearly sans-faute, posting to the press through the CyberLions, French structures were largely disappointed. Monday 19 June, the Festival starts on the hats of wheel with "campaign" a vibrant tribute to the "French creative revolution." Real Bible of the profession, the British weekly said "the breath of fresh air" by the many creations of agencies mounted a year the thing, Marcel (Publicis), MC Saatchi Gad, Naked... Better, he completes his demonstration highlighting the new creativity of campaigns such as "Canal / March of the Emperor", Ikea, Air France, Playstation... suggestive advertising having finally abandoned a spirit too long franco-français for slipping into a more simple, more Visual, resolutely international culture to be included in the elbow-to-elbow with the leading Anglo-Saxon.

Cold shower

But, very quickly, is the cold shower, with the assignment of thirteen trophies in press and display, against 20 last year. French prices in Radio and Promotion categories conspicuous by their absence. Only six small Lions (about 25 presets) will join in the final French shelves: a Lion d'Or for the film "Canal / March of the Emperor" (BETC Euro RSCG), three Lions of money for the two campaigns Amora and aid (TBWA/Paris) and the two Lions of bronze for Charal (Leo Burnett, Publicis group) and United Biscuits (Marcel, Publicis group). Publicis Board, DDB and BBDO, traditionally pointed, appear as large forgotten of the competition.

What fly so piqued French creation "For the France, Cannes 2006 was a very small year, admits Olivier Altmann, co-Chairman and Creative Director of Publicis Board. But the level of competing agencies Anglo-Saxon including English and Australian was particularly high: there was at least in five great possible price. Perhaps we are also lagging behind in terms of writing advertising, with focus on classicism, to arbitrate what has already been done and that worked well and do not take our brands far enough... Then the future of advertising is written instead in entertainment films, at a time where it is construct a relationship of very high level between the brand and its public.

The Creative Director of Publicis Board also point the absence of a French advertising lobby "which would have included the Canada, the Belgium and the Switzerland and could have during, on the Board, these informal lobbying of the jury of Anglo-Saxon origin, Nordic and Latin." Culturally, we are minority.

Campaigns ghosts

The 53rd Edition was also poisoned throughout the week by a growing controversy over ghost campaigns ("ghosts ads" or "scam ads") concocted only to get creative, neither broadcast nor published, price or even for a fictitious advertiser. Winning for the fourth consecutive year, agency of the year, TBWA/Paris faced, like last year, the noisy suspicion of French competitors. Even if no proven facts support the charge, the discomfort was palpable throughout a Festival considered tenaille between nostalgia for advertising film of great cannoises years, flamboyant and dramatic, and the destabilization that almost inevitably induces the emergence of the digital age, by advertising on PC, mobile and video games.

In a context where the tension the then argued to the disappointment, the rehabilitation of the CyberLions yet done blowing a breath of fresh air rescue. For the first time, indeed, could see a new advertising writing that, far from being mere veneer of the traditional 30-second spot, strikes by its originality of treatment, his ability to play with the graphics, technology design and interactivity on the Internet media. What bring water to the mill of Maurice Saatchi, President of MC Saatchi: "traditional advertising is dead and I have the strange feeling live at his funeral.""But the good news is that there is life after death and that the entry into force of the digital world offers a new chance to exist provided that it radically approach changes in its content and its modes of expression".