Fiona Leeming’s Cannes Diary #1

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Fiona Leeming’s Cannes Diary #1

Fiona Leeming, executive creative director at Honey Communications is on the Cannes Design Lions jury. Here Leeming writes exclusively for Campaign Brief.

 

Brilliant cloudless skies and massive, glittering yachts that have their own door bells and an army of people polishing them to perfection. Welcome to Cannes. First two days of judging with my peers on the Design jury and happy to report the work is truly outstanding, as are my fellow jurors.

We are strictly forbidden to discuss any of the work so it really only leaves observations up for grabs. There is a ‘tour de force’ of dedicated people that oil the wheels of the Cannes Lions. Most are Brits and they have assured me this is a pleasant break from Boris and Brexit. Nothing is too much trouble and they are managing hundreds of pieces of work daily just for Design alone and a jury of fifteen people. We have been given strict criteria to judge the work on but the big four are not surprisingly idea, craft, impact and innovation. But who judges the judges? One of the organisers who personally scrutinises and selects the members of the jury told me how thoroughly they do their research on each juror, speaking and cross referencing with many trusted sources. And still I managed to be invited.

A labyrinth of ‘dungeons’ hold the judges in secure confinement beneath the Palais des Festivals et des Congres, as it is busily being transformed into the next festival incarnation on the many floors above us.

My ‘Franglaise’ is getting a workout, as I continue to torture the locals with my well-meaning attempts at French. But I know they are just gearing up for the onslaught that is about to descend from just about everywhere next week.

À bientôt.

Fiona Leeming’s Cannes Diary #1 Fiona Leeming’s Cannes Diary #1