Cannes – beyond the canapees

Comparing my anticipation to Cannes to my kids looking forward to a Hamleys visit is probably close. Amidst all the meetings with clients and agencies and press and important and also superimportant people, there is a simple highlight beyond the canapees: our drinks with the winners of the Mouse Awards.  5 years ago I kicked off this initiative to showcase & champion online as an effective and creative marketing platform, to encourage even greater awareness of the power of online and its potential in the future. I still remember our very first judging session in Paris with Matias and I since I handed off that highlight of the year to more qualified creative people in my team I have heard things got even worse after judging hours. But anyway: in those 5 years we have established great relationships with the digital creative communities. It’s people I truly appreciate and like for their conviction & courage. This year particularly was an interesting year for me personally as our Grand Prix went to the Belgian agency Boondoggle for their ‘Banner Concerts’ campaign for a Belgian youth bank Axion.  When I see the endless possibilities of digital, the rich story telling thru cross platform applications, and to be fair once in a while overcomplex & overengineerd techie scenario’s – it’s such a breath of fresh air to see ‘simple’ creativity, creativity within the simple borders of the banner, being awarded. It takes 2 seconds to ‘do’ something to you. Dead easy. Simple. Impactfull. A home run. Looking forward to toast on all the winners & the online creative community on wednesday !

Video: MOUSE Awards 2009