In preparing to go to the PROMAX and Broadcast Design Association’s 2001 conference and awards show in Miami’s South Beach last week, I was struck by the number of people who were split between choosing to attend the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival or PROMAX/ BDA. Due to an unfortunate bit of scheduling luck, both events happened simultaneously this year, causing the confusion. While both showcase excellence in advertising, Cannes focuses on consumer-oriented commercials, while PROMAX/BDA concentrates more on spots or promos for television networks and programs. With the growing crossover between these arenas the lines are being blurred—so I’d like to take a moment to look back at the commonalities between our industries; at the way we celebrate outstanding creative work; and, particularly, at some of the things you missed if you chose to fly with a passport instead of a driver’s license.
PROMAX & BDA’s theme this year was "It’s All About the Screen." This may be true to some extent, but the conference itself was also about other things. It’s all about the Flavor. If you went to Cannes this year, as in most years past, you likely saw scantily clad people speaking in a variety of tongues. If you went to South Beach you saw scantily clad people speaking with pierced tongues! The essence of Miami is in these people, in the food that they eat (or nibble on to keep their figures), the clothes that they wear (or in most cases don’t wear) and the manner they act (acting being the key). With all of this flavor, the best way to describe the people is as a XXX salad: sexy, exotic, but light and leaving you still hungry.
It’s all about the Fun. For those who managed to get their blood alcohol levels higher then a typical rep’s fee, there are the foggy memories of great parties and great meals. From the nights with old friends at the Delano, to skinny-dipping in the tepid 85-degree ocean at dawn, to an authentic Cuban meal ordered from an entirely Spanish menu in Little Havana—South Beach is a great host. Sure, you probably suffered from lack of sleep, but each conference allows you to catch up with old friends, and maybe even to make some new ones. And, yes, while we all probably got a little too wild on at least one occasion—having at least one experience that we hope no one else was around to see—as long as nobody is talking about it on wherespot! we’re safe.
It’s all about the Industry. In addition to the diverse breadth of work, the PROMAX & BDA show is punctuated by over 80 seminars that impanel experts on a variety of topics, in a comfortable format. Some of this year’s panelists included keynote speaker Allen Rosenshine, chairman/CEO of BBDO Worldwide, New York; Rob Battles, creative director of Crossroads Television; and Jim Monroe, executive producer, TiVo.
In general, these sessions offered the opportunity to both ask questions and meet people you could otherwise never get on the phone, and to view collections of curated work from the past year. At BDA, "The State of Design," moderated by Elaine Cantwell and Alan Douglas of production company 3 Ring Circus, presented a look at the fusion of design and technology and how it is opening up new windows of creativity. My partners at FDG—executive producer David Edelstein and senior creative director Michael Uman—brought back their popular rolling orgy of sex in advertising, with "Sex," and introduced a new session titled "Violence," which featured some of this past year’s goriest, scariest, and just downright brutal spots from around the world. In addition, the show closed with "The State of Our Art," a 90-minute reality check on today’s promotion and advertising scene that was moderated by Mike Benson, senior VP advertising and promotion, and Alan Cohen, executive VP marketing, advertising and promotion for ABC in Los Angeles.
It’s all about the Statues. Like the awards shows at Cannes, BDA has an awards show with categories as diverse as Best Promo Produced by an Out of House Company, and Best Music Video or Short Subject. And while winning awards, and the ceremonies that go with them, are nice—what is truly valuable is the chance to appreciate, and in some cases appropriate, the groundbreaking work being done by our peers.
One of the underlying, yet fundamental, precepts that rings true in both shows, is the importance of recognizing and rewarding excellence that crosses boundaries and borders to deliver a message or build a brand. These conferences allow this and so much more, because they lend us a measuring stick to gauge how we size up as a company and, more importantly, as a creative community. At these events, at least once a year, we can truly evaluate our own successes, and celebrate all that they have brought to us, while comparing our progress to those whose work we admire and appreciate.
Still, we cannot get mired in comparisons and allow our own progress to be hindered by a simple measuring stick. What I’ve learned by attending a conference like PROMAX/BDA is that in the increasingly global marketplace, it is up to all of us to craft our own unique messages to communicate a global brand, while retaining a local flavor. This is the overall challenge, and whether or not we complicate it with expensive tools or inflated egos means very little. At the end of the day, it is important to be able to look back proudly and say, "We did that."
So now we return to work—with a little more drive, a little more knowledge, and a lot less sleep. But before you put your awards on display for all to see, or stare at the empty space that you wish held those awards, remember that the only thing that separates an award from a paperweight is the paper beneath it. Great work surrounds you every day, and all too often we concentrate on everyone else’s and not enough on our own.
In the end, it is not merely all about the screen, but about what you help to put on it.
