Heading to Cannes Lions 2025 to Celebrate Our Craft #FeelingFriday
Source: Cannes Lions
I’m in route to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity once again, the annual homage to our collective marketing, communications, and advertising industry (all of the above and more). It’s anchored by the most prestigious awards show that exists in our field but it’s oh-so-much more than that … and not just because it’s held in the south of France every year.
Yes it’s also the biggest networking moment for colleagues past, present, and future. We literally can’t walk ten feet without hugging an old friend, talking about a project with a current team member, or meeting someone new who we know we’ll end up working with sometime soon. It’s that kind of magic.
Cannes Lions magic.
But there’s more to it that basks in the direct sunshine (there’s very little shade of any kind) in the thirty-three degree celsius heat on the Croisette (main boulevard) in Cannes … it’s all the forward thinking, the creative inspiration, and the deep-seeded desire to propel our Craft that’s really the magic.
The magic that is our Craft.
For the entire rest of the fifty-one weeks of the year, we are focused on work. Getting work done. Deadlines. Deliverables. Teams meetings. But for this one week, we are focused on our Craft. Our passion for the careers we chose so long ago, or maybe just a couple of years ago. For one week a year, we get to really think through, together, how we make ourselves better while we celebrate the best of us.
We talk about what’s coming next, and we share so we can all get there together. We examine the creations of the past year, so we can do better next year. And yes we strut our wares because we are proud of what we do and there is nothing wrong with that. We don’t have much time to do it during the rest of the year.
So excuse me if I relish in the moment these next few moments, because I love my Craft. It’s the creative inspiration that comes out of Cannes Lions and the thought leadership that keeps me motivated year after year, day after day. And, truthfully, its the engine that keeps me writing these posts which is honestly all about celebrating the work we collectively do, whomever it is that is doing it.
Our Craft.
That’s what I love the most. What’s your experience? JIM
P.S. Hope to give you a hug in Cannes next week!