Canada on track for record-breaking year

The Home Stretch

Things get a bit blurry late in the week of Cannes Lions. It’s its own time zone. Yesterday we feted Canada’s ten Young Lions with pizza and rosé. Today we saw them take the podium as they picked up a Gold for Marketing and a Silver for Film. We also made the shortlists for the Media and Digital. Wow. Just wow. It was a very tough field of 444 teams from 70 countries spanning the globe and thus was a sweet victory. Congratulations to all, we are proud.

Speaking of wonderful, last night at the Martinez we celebrated Canada’s creativity with news that we are on track for our best year ever at Cannes Lions. Last year we placed sixth globally out of 78 countries for most awards won. Fingers are crossed for 2023.

The New Nihilists

Carla Buzasi, who is considered one of the world’s leading trend forecasters, keeps tabs on the Gen Z zeitgeist thru analysis of society, politics and culture. She interprets the shifts to predict how they may shape consumer behaviour in the next two years. In this rapid-fire session many facts emerged.

The mindset of the “New Nihilists” is that a quarter believe they will never recover from the pandemic, and 30 per cent think there is no answer to climate change. Grim. A contingent of Gen Z’s are increasingly anti-ad, anti-consumerism. Only values-based, indie brands make it onto their shopping list. Amazon tapped into this shift by increasingly showcasing a number of small, maker-led businesses. 

Your End of Week Celebrity Tally:

• Rihanna + A$AP Rocky
• Beyoncé + Jay-Z
• Spike Lee
• Halle Berry
• Lorne Michaels
• Kevin Hart
• i.am
• Lizzo
• Florence and the Machine

Spike is not so Spiky anymore

Film-maker Spike Lee charmed me this morning. Now there is a sentence I never expected to type. He and his long-time friend and editor Barry Brown reminisced on stage and it was….enchanting. They recounted the breakout Nike campaign they did in 1986 for Air Jordan with superstar Michael Jordan, masterminded by Wieden and Kennedy.  In reliving the Levis campaign you sense their wonderment and gratitude and for the artistic freedom they were entrusted with. How interesting that that kind of faith results in work that defined a brand for a generation.

Hmmmmm. Let’s all take note.

Karen Howe