Cannes Lions has moved to update one of the dafter elements of its annual jamboree, “retiring” (a newly-popular word in adland as elsewhere) its Creative Company of the Year award. This simply seems to have rewarded the ad holding company that made the most shortlists – that is, had the most entries – last year going to WPP.
Which looked rather odd because just as then CEO Mark Read and the troops were celebrating this on stage it must have been evident to even the most rosé-soaked client that the wheels were coming off the British-owned holding company in all directions.
With Omnicom buying IPG the number of contenders has reduced anyway (Publicis, which ditched Cannes entries entirely one year to save a reported €50m) doesn’t seem to take the event as seriously as its US and UK rivals.
In line with this are changes to Network of the Year, presumably now a replacement for Creative Company of the Year. This too has had its issues, Omnicom’s DDB winning last year even though it had to withdraw three ads for cheating. DDB has now joined the list of retirees – folded into TBWA – suggesting the connection between supposed creative excellence and commercial performance isn’t as direct as many (including the Cannes organisers) suggest.
Cannes Lions says: “By introducing a cap on shortlist contribution, reinforcing the importance of quality over quantity through adjusted weighting, and ensuring consistent judging practices, our aim is to provide a refreshed benchmark that reflects today’s creative landscape – grounded in credibility, integrity and excellence.”
That would be nice.
