InspiRAYtion 27 - You Cannes do it, but ought you?

By Rayomand J Patell

At the time of writing, we’re smack bang in the middle of the Cannes advertising festival.

Apparently if you go there, you instantly become a superior human being.

God forbid you should win, for then, chances are, you will become an insufferable creative person, which to my mind is even worse.

Don't get me wrong. I love awards. Especially if they're won for real work on real brands that did tremendously better as a result of the campaign you created. A certain campaign I helped create even managed to get my community who's faced with extinction to have 400 babies (and counting). Got a few shiny gold things and even two blue pachyderms for that one. But I digress.

Somewhere along the way the purpose of winning awards got changed.

And not for the better.

The thinking by the Bean Counters went like this. If you could get your minions in Creative departments to routinely set targets and win awards, then they'd unalive themselves over it and on a good day you may even win a few of those gold plated Lions.

And you know what that does? Kicks up the stock price of the agency network or holding company. And allegedly even (lol) gets clients to choose agencies basis their rankings.

Imagine that. You're now effectively, a little hamster, churning out 'proactive' work, prostituting your God-given talent, for someone else to get rich with.

It's not even like you're going to get rich, at best there'll be a Town Hall where your achievements are lauded for about five minutes. You may get an unprecedented seven percent hike even. Hurrah!

Stock options? Perish the thought.

Share of profit? blank stares will follow

Creative people have got to wonder if this is really the system they want to be a part of.

Read More: InspiRAYtion 26: Vive La Independents!

To me it reduces and diminishes us to the worst form of sweatshop worker. To not have talent is one thing, to wilfully ignore the immense power you truly wield but seem to have forgotten about is another.

You have the power to change a brand's destiny.

For it is you that tells the people out there, what to do with their money. It is you that shows them what it means to be a better man, a better woman, a better parent or a better friend. It is you, that gives them a dream. And what is life without a dream?

Instead of working with utmost passion to figure out what you need to say and how you need to say it, will you put the cart before the horse and bother about how much of an award you're going to win?

There's a word for that. Four actually. A lack of integrity.

It's why your client views you with suspicion. Are you trying to make his brand win or yourself win?

There's a place and a time for awards. On a beach with plenty of firecrackers and definitely after the work has already won staggering results in the marketplace.

Do yourself a favour. Tune in to yourself and realise you have two choices. Find yourself and be a great advertising person or lose your self and be an 'awardising' person.

Watch the seminars. Share the work. Critique it. Celebrate a friend who wins by all means this week.

But remember this. An award is just a mirror to your Creative soul, the Sorting Hat so to speak out of the Potterverse.

You Cannes go over to the Dark Side, or you Cannes be a Jedi.

Choose wisely, young Skywalker.

Rayomand J Patell is an advertising veteran and InspiRAYtion is a weekly column on everything about advertising and marketing.