The 53rd annual Cannes International Advertising Festival, slated for June 18-24, has seen its entries increase 12.5 percent as compared to last year. Fueling this growth have been a high level of submitted work in new media as reflected in the Cyber Lion and Titanium categories which went up a whopping nearly 32 and 52 percent, respectively.
Indeed grappling with new ways and varied outlets to break through creatively to audiences is the lynchpin of the Titanium Lions competition. Titanium jury president David Lubars of BBDO North America related, “The Titanium is for creative people who’ve thought of something so unique and pure, it cannot be labeled in a conventional way. It recognizes and rewards the brave thinkers who are reconsidering the way forward, who are breaking the rules–even rules set down by famous award shows.”
There were 2,502 Cyber Lion entries, 605 more than in ’05. Titanium entries went from 133 in ’05 to 202 this year.
Meanwhile the Cannes film competition held its own, with a slight decrease in entries of about three percent. Still there were 4,860 film entries this time around, signaling that broadcast/cinema outlets remain viable. David Droga, creative chairman of Drogafive, is the president of both the film and press juries.
Handicapping the Lions derby is an annual ritual, with assorted spots on preview lists, such as work for Honda out of Wieden+Kennedy, London (“Impossible Dream,” “Choir), Carlton Draught from George Patterson Y&R, Sydney (“Big Ad”), adidas from TBWA/Chiat/Day, San Francisco (“Hello Tomorrow”), Xbox 360 via McCann Erickson, San Francisco, and 72 and Sunny, El Segundo, Calif. (“Jump Rope,” “Water Balloons”), Sony Bravia out of Fallon, London (“Balls”), Hummer from Modernista!, Boston (“Monster,” “Three Bears,” “Giants”), and Guinness via Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London (“noitulovE”).
Beyond the awards, several sessions of interest are on the Cannes calendar, including: a discussion about brands building relationships with prospective consumers in the gaming sector. Featured speakers will be from Reza Ghaem-Maghami, director of Proximity, Paris, and Simon Bond, head of international clients (Asia), from Proximity, Singapore. Also on tap are: a presentation by the Screen Advertising World Association on 3D digital cinema; a digital media discussion with panelists such as Nick Brien, president/CEO of Universal McCann, New York, and Alastair Duncan, CEO of MRM Worldwide, London; an exploration of Web opportunities by Farah Golant, chief exec of Abbott Mead Vickers BBDO, London, and Leslie Dance, VP, global marketing, Motorola, among others; a Heads of Production session moderated by Tim Mellors, chief creative officer, Grey, New York, with such panelists as Wiliam Gelner, creative director, BBH, New York, and David Rolfe, head of branded production, DDB Chicago; Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Directors Showcase presentation; and a new agency business model discussion featuring Bob Greenberg, chairman/CEO/chief creative officer, R/GA, New York and London.
Apple and Google Face UK Investigation Into Mobile Browser Dominance
Apple and Google aren't giving consumers a genuine choice of mobile web browsers, a British watchdog said Friday in a report that recommends they face an investigation under new U.K. digital rules taking effect next year.
The Competition and Markets Authority took aim at Apple, saying the iPhone maker's tactics hold back innovation by stopping rivals from giving users new features like faster webpage loading. Apple does this by restricting progressive web apps, which don't need to be downloaded from an app store and aren't subject to app store commissions, the report said.
"This technology is not able to fully take off on iOS devices," the watchdog said in a provisional report on its investigation into mobile browsers that it opened after an initial study concluded that Apple and Google effectively have a chokehold on "mobile ecosystems."
The CMA's report also found that Apple and Google manipulate the choices given to mobile phone users to make their own browsers "the clearest or easiest option."
And it said that the a revenue-sharing deal between the two U.S. Big Tech companies "significantly reduces their financial incentives" to compete in mobile browsers on Apple's iOS operating system for iPhones.
Both companies said they will "engage constructively" with the CMA.
Apple said it disagreed with the findings and said it was concerned that the recommendations would undermine user privacy and security.
Google said the openness of its Android mobile operating system "has helped to expand choice, reduce prices and democratize access to smartphones and apps" and that it's "committed to open platforms that empower consumers."
It's the latest move by regulators on both sides of the Atlantic to crack down on the... Read More