First day at Cannes Lion - NOT impressed

So... my very first Cannes Lion day completed. What to say...? Actually, I am disappointed. I must admit I expected more – more brilliance, more insights, more wow. At the moment I´m in this crowded room, feeling a little empty. The theme of the day is void.

I listened to Lindstrom, who is so interesting in his books, but who didn´t get enough time to dig deep into anything. I would have liked the facts to be analysed, questioned, made sense of – to be useful and complex for the people here. Now, we were fed some statistics, some facts, some random thoughts. Leaving at least me with a sense of “what happened? Now what?”

I listened to a trend seminar and got to hear about all the new macro trends – of course presented in fancy language to appear cooler than they are... Hyper culture, radical neutrality, eco hedonism... Just words. Nothing really about “why”, the dynamics behind, the tension between old and new, back and forth, up and down that drives strong trends and gives evidence. Just: This is how it will be!

I listened to a bunch of people who were supposed to talk about the value of peer-to-peer influence, but who lacked focus, lost track and bounced some thoughts about campaigns and technology and being famous (Well Nick Jonas was there...) Nick said he and his band was successful on Facebook because “it is important to really know your customer”. The audience nodded. Aha... Ahaaaaaaa? OK, not really an eureka moment, but the kid is 18 for god sake, and was there to attract attendants. 5 men in stage – I wished one of them have had gotten time to explain, develop, bring intelligence to the table.

Should I also be a feminist bitch and point out that this panel as well as many were populated by men (and boys)? Sure, I saw a couple of women on stage during the day, but the male dominance was a bit disturbing. They use loads of fancy words, but the content of the day was airy.

I am aware of that “stupid critique, smart create” and that I should do something better myself instead of complaining about others work. And I am humble; I would probably frown at my own talks as well, but I was hoping for much more here in Cannes. Perhaps someone who arranges the next years´ event can invite me for next year; that may shut me up J

Actually listening to Naked seminar now and it´s giving me something... Yes!! The Lego film and the Nokia snowboard cases are Awesome. http://www.pushsnowboarding.com/