What Is The Future Of Cannes Lions? What About #MeToo? Why Aren’t You At Cannes?

Cindy Answers Your #CannesLions Questions

Last week, large numbers of the global advertising industry, brand marketers and big tech companies convened in the south of France for the annual Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. For this week’s Dear Cindy, I’m rolling up and answering the questions I’ve been asked related to Cannes.

Twenty years ago, I took a big leap into the unknown. I left the corporate advertising world, resigning as Chair of Bartle Bogle Hegarty New York after working at BBH for 16 years, because I felt it was time to do something different. Once the news became public, I found myself fielding a large number of calls about various opportunities. One of those calls, in the fall of 2005, was from a headhunter who said, I’m calling because Cannes Lions is looking for a new CEO. The job is based in London.

I said, no, it’s not - because I’m extremely interested, but there’s no way I’m leaving New York.

The reason I was interested, in a way I wasn’t with most of the other approaches I received from the ad industry, was because I believed then that Cannes Lions had the opportunity to set the agenda for our industry, versus simply reflecting it.

So I interviewed for the role of Cannes Lions CEO with the then-owners of the Festival, EMAP.