Or, should I say, are we going to Cannes? In 2006 I woke up to my life mistake and discovered how late I was going for the first time to the great advertising festival in the world. There I told Pablo del Campo that I could not explain how I had not gone before. With his characteristic kindness and in his fine Argentine accent, he told me that it was never too late, trying to lift my spirits in view of my astonishment at the size of the festival, and he commented: “Do you know how many times I’ve been here in a row? Let’s see it here in an interview from years ago, but that still has a lot of validity. First Pablo Gil (ex-DC of Del Campo) and then Pablo del Campo himself appear:

You know what? I think there is a key to success in these festivals: YOU HAVE TO GO. YOU HAVE TO COME! And often! For this reason, this year I intend to attend once again, with the only difference that I would love it if we were several ticos, connected by the illusion of learning and growing. By the way, and I say “ticos” because of all those who work in Costa Rica, and by this, I am talking about Uruguayan ticos, Ecuadorian ticos, Chilean ticos, Argentinean ticos, Central American ticos, in short, colleagues of illusion and creative advertising struggle in this tiny corner of the world.
Well, that’s how it is. On June 17, a new edition of the most important advertising festival in the world kicks off. For this reason, ASCAP has organized some different travel packages, with different costs and types of transportation and lodging. Lilly Gonzalez has the information available, and for this, you can contact her. The experience is worth every Euro invested and is the ultimate way to connect with what is happening in the world.
The costs are indeed astronomical. However, as a Young Creative, anyone in the industry who is 28 years old or younger has access to the entire festival for half the normal price of participation as a delegate. The registration fee is in the order of 2,240 Euros, even without buying breakfast, tickets or accommodation. This means that, without fear of being mistaken, traveling to Cannes and participating as a delegate takes up a total budget of at least $5,000, although the Young Creatives can significantly lower these costs. Therefore, it is imperative to organize finances, support from the agencies, seek funding, generate facilities to meet more Ticos in La Croisette, a kind of fine boardwalk in front of the sea and next to the Palais des Festivals. I have not been able to talk to many colleagues on the subject, however, I am very excited about the fact that Alberto Quiros of JBQ has already told me that he will most likely be there as a delegate this year.
For anyone who is convinced that nothing is impossible… first put it in your heart and in your mind… then it is clear that it can and does happen. My recommendation, however, is that everyone who has a very good level of English should attend, otherwise you will miss out on a lot.
In the meantime, at Tribu we have invited our creative team to participate also through the Young Creatives Competition, for people under 28 years of age. We would love to see people from the country, opening space in this competition that happens in a very similar modality to the one we live in Brother’s Superschool, in Print, Cyber and TV. However, we also discovered that there is no Cannes representative in CR, and for this reason, we have taken steps to resolve such a small unforgivable detail.
I can not fail to remember that all this has a direct business relationship, because brands are nourished by winning creative ideas, precisely those ideas that get more attention, achieve greater impact and generate more attraction. An advertising festival is a way to stimulate talent in our agencies, to ignite their potential and take it to the maximum possible. Innovation is the best friend a brand can have, and for this reason, it is essential to remind our clients in particular, that groundbreaking creativity is what their brands are crying out for, because the conventional is boring and the past is past. So this is hard business, business focused on filling the world with brands that inspire loyalty, beyond reason, full of mystery, intimacy, sensuality.
So Cannes is coming! Or should I say… Are we going to Cannes?
For anyone who cares, here’s the official Cannes festival website: https://www.canneslions.com/home/index.cfm>.