With all the 2008 winners on the CANNES LIONS website, and with all the activities concluded, today is the first day of the advertising year in the world, as the road to Cannes 2009 has begun.
In Costa Rica, the recent festival will be long remembered as the one in which a Costa Rican agency won the first gold Lion, and to top it off, added three additional silver Lions for the same piece in different categories. We will have much to reflect on, learn, share and talk about what happened, because it would be a mistake to turn the page without throwing in the sack and soaking our beards in the water. We have to come out of this experience strengthened, focused on returning next year to show that the whole country is authentically creative. Those of us who came this year, as well as all those who stayed in expectation, have as much to learn. For 2009 there will have to be at least five lions, hopefully from two or three different agencies on this great world stage.
2008 will also be the first festival to exceed 10,000 delegates attending Cannes, as well as the first to exceed 28,000 registrations from around the world. It will also be remembered as the one that delivered the first Golden Lion to China and the one that most clearly saw the decisive arrival of India’s enthusiastic advertisers and creatives, who stood out among this tumult of people passionate about advertising creativity.
At the Cannes 2008 festival, the lines were blurred, as ATL and BTL have long since ceased to make sense. It was shown that the future is integrated and digital, as well as innovative and immersive, because nothing will be gained by those who fail to participate.
Since the conference in China on Monday, it was also clear that the idea of Lovemarks is becoming more and more valid every day, and not for nothing, Procter Gamble, one of Saatchi Saatchi’s main clients, was declared advertiser of the year. Betting on creativity that emotionally connects brands and people makes perfect sense, and no one has developed it more than Lovemarks and Saatchi in the world, as well as Tribu in Costa Rica.
Today is a kind of first day of the advertising year, and for this reason, as is customary on January 1, it would not hurt to make a few good and new resolutions, focused on raising the creative level of our work.
Cheers!
