The Orgy of Egos...

... aka Cannes Lions 2024 is almost upon us.

And as usual, it's an incoming smorgasbord of industry buzzwords and overhyped trends. I wonder if I only go to reinforce my cognitive bias that leaving advertising was the best thing I did. Seems like glamour, fun and laughter are in precious short supply these days. Like the all the joy has been sucked out of the industry. 

Rather I expect a lot of chatter about sustainability, inclusivity, sports marketing, and data privacy. Plus the usual parade of self-congratulatory sessions, sun-burned data wonks but perhaps a few genuinely interesting ideas. I am looking forward to a few nights in Nice pre-fest and a long, leisurely couple of weeks in St Tropez post Lions.

Business wise, it's a good time to ride the tech tsunami that's drenched the festival over recent years. I'm looking forward to some intriguing breakfast meetings with some big brained beings on Rue Hoche, pictured above. I've switched focus to my strategy practice: Saas 2.0: Storytelling as a Service so this year I should have an even split of tech leaders and directors.

I have the requisite list of villa parties but I rather think the AA meetings - they have one a day during the festival - will be the high spots for me. Let’s be real. This year, the only thing truly worth our attention is AI. Forget the rest of the fluff—AI is where the real game-changing stuff's happening. So I’ll be at on La Croisette and no doubt the Gutter bar, sifting through the noise, hanging out with a few select production houses.

If you’re coming, let’s find some time to catch up and talk about how we can cut through the BS. Before it all goes bot to bot and human communication disappears altogether. 

À bientôt!