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Free pizza and masturbation: the keys to creativity
To be popular in Cannes you don’t have to win a lot of Lions. Just give away free pizza to tired, drunk and/or stoned people. That’s what Deutsch LA is doing. The agency teamed up with a Cannes pizzeria to deliver 1800 slices of free pizza, from midnight to 2am over the last few nights of the festival, to those most in need at places like the Gutter bar and the Carlton Terrace. In return, the agency is getting a big old slice of love.
The power of free food was further underlined by the star attraction at Cannes today, Lou Reed (left). Reed said at a seminar at the Palais that one of the reasons he and his Velvet Underground chums hung about with Andy Warhol in the sixties and seventies was “because he fed us”. Reed also spent a good part of his talk at the Palais slagging off MP3s, which he said: “sound like shit”. He went on to reveal he has a guitar made out of a former muse of his, the Chelsea Hotel (the guitar is made from wood saved from the renovation and partial demolition of the legendary rock hang out).
The 71-year-old, who is recovering after a liver transplant, was on good form. This may be down to the fact that he masturbates every day – a fact he revealed at the Speakers Corner after his session when asked how he stays creative.
When celebrities attack
Advertising has never been the most popular of industries, but it has its moments – like Cannes week for example. The Cannes festival allows the ad industry to step out from the underskirts of seemingly nobler arts, such as film, and have a bit of time in the sunshine. Sadly, it rained a bit on delegates this year, as some of the celebrity speakers went a bit off message.
Sean Combs, aka P Diddy (left), said in his session yesterday: “I hate watching ads as much as everyone else”. Even more shockingly the global superstar described himself as: “a really introverted person”.
Creatives also got a jibe from Jimmy Wales, the Wikipedia founder. Wales, one of the world’s biggest proponents of crowd-sourcing, had news for any creatives out there who think they have the monopoly on ideas. “Great ideas don’t just come from creatives. Now they can come from anywhere or anyone,” he warned.
Meanwhile, US chat show host Conan O’Brien opened his session by saying: “Advertisers are scum, they need to be told what to do and when to do it…There are none here I am told.”
Who paid for their tickets?
