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Writer's pictureJiayi Chang

The Perfect CANNES Professional Study - Witness the Convergence of World Creativity at LIONS

Updated: Jul 8, 2023





Cannes has always been famous for the star-studded film festival that gathers every summer.


But there is more than just a film festival in this beautiful town.


More sparks related to creativity belong to Cannes.


And so does summer.










The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the home to the world’s most prestigious advertising awards, celebrates creativity, effectiveness and innovation in the global advertising, marketing and communication industries.










As students, we were invited to join in a session held by Havas, a global advertising and communication company. It was an eye-opening experience for me to see their outstanding work among the best of the best.


To provide an accessible use of electronic devices for Parkinson's patients, Havas launched the ‘Staybl' app. It can keep moving in the opposite direction of a tremor in real time when the tablet is shaken, to make the display on the screen steady.


Inheritance Pass’ to Yellowstone is another incredibly creative project. By donating $1,500, you can get a pass for your future generations, valid until 2172. Meanwhile, the donation will help preserve the park for the next 150 years.




Besides, Havas even developed a strategy of using Marvel characters to advertise the Covid booster.


It is a part of their effort to close the health equity gap with entertainment content. They call the plan ‘Welltainment’.


Linking Superheroes and vaccinations seems childlike, but was seriously considered and realized at Havas. I felt the power of creation coming to life.








Along the Boulevard de la Croisette, many companies set up venues on the beach to host sessions. LinkedIn and TikTok were set up in meeting rooms and an outdoor garden of the Carlton Hotel.




I attended a guest lecture by TikTok about how they make creativity easy, introducing the proudly produced CapCut and their cooperation with Adobe. While another session held by LinkedIn was focusing on LGBTQ and DEI futures. By the way, they all offered wonderful afternoon tea!



One of the most enjoyable and memorable sessions for me is Sound of Creativity, a Live performance by the legendary Japanese musician Tetsuya Komuro. At Terrace Stage, he performed 6 pieces of electronic music. His mastery of rhythm and skillful manipulation of the mixer shaped this top-notch sonic experience.






In Lumiere Theater, the same auditorium of the Cannes Film Festival, the Awards show was held every day.


From Monday to Friday, winners of 38 tracks were selected one after another.


Winners from all over the world came up to the stage to celebrate their moment of glory.






To my greatest surprise, on the last day of the awards ceremony, Spike Lee walked right past me. As the short film played on the screen, the cameraman and lights gathered behind me, I looked back and realized he was standing there.



Every time I see people of great achievement up close, it's as if I subconsciously put an aura of glorified glory on them. But if I didn't know how special he was, I wouldn't have been able to distinguish him from the crowd. Is each person ordinary or does he or she have his or her own frequency of starlight shining all the time? This may be a similar matter to Schrodinger's theorem.



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