The Year That Wasn't

It's funny (or maybe it isn't), but this year seems to be filled with a series of non-events in the advertising world. The Super Bowl (or Stupid Bowl) was a big dud. The upfront came and went with a whimper. Then Cannes happened, although people back home were too busy working to notice.Am I being harsh? Am I wrong? You tell me.All I know is that when the big news that comes out of Cannes is that we've finally woken up to the fact that video is video is Video, irrespective of where it plays, you'll have to forgive me for yawning. So does this mean we're going to see a monstrous creative renaissance, with a plethora of black-bespectacled creatives diving headfirst into YouTube, discarding their portfolios en masse for the lure of a Promised Land powered by links, embedded HTML and tag clouds?Perhaps.For what it's worth, this year's awesome twosome that walked away with the coveted Film Grand Prix were lauded as the yin-yang of the world that was and the one that will be, i.e., broadcast TV (Cadbury's "Gorilla") and Web (Halo 3).Incorrect.The corrected score should read: Web 2, broadcast 0.Both, in fact, were 100 percent tributes to the all-digital, communally powered marketplace for attention that is, for the most part, advertising resistant.Cadbury's commercial was nothing -- and I mean nothing -- without the groundswell of consumer-generated content (CGC) that continued to elevate and propel it to the forefront of pop culture. Here's a link to the "Total Eclipse of the Heart" CGC spoof on YouTube: www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdgI0j1odkY.Does the original "conversation starter" deserve credit? Of course it does. Does this credit merit its Grand Prix? For the most part, yes. But let's not lose sight of the real catalyst and difference maker here: Community, which deserves to takes its place on the winner's podium alongside the "idea," if not instead of it.Besides, the nontraditional length of "Gorilla" made it virtually impossible to buy and deploy with any degree of scale and consistency in most television markets -- led by the conventional U.S.Semantics aside, what I'm more interested in is tackling issues other than classifying and defining "film." Let's start with the assumption that video (sight + sound + motion) is the richest form of communication. Is it really? Who said so? Who made this unilateral decree? What about the recipe for complete engagement domination? For seven years now, I've been referring to the fourth dimension: interactivity. Sight + sound + motion + interactivity easily trump the passive and linear consumption of video (whose purpose is to ultimately sell some stuff).We may not yet have figured out how to introduce and embed smell and taste into a brand-based value exchange (which is not necessarily a bad thing). However, we most certainly do have "touch" to mix in handily with our eyes and ears in the gourmet recipe for engagement, namely the consumer's participation and interaction via mouse.While the industry rejoices in the realization that the walls separating film from film are finally crumbling, all that we really have now is a unified group of culprits, bound by a common purpose of interrupting consumers' lives with a selfish and often out-of-touch agenda. This brings me to my second point of discussion: real exponential evolution and innovation, bordering on the lines of revolution.Fast-forward five years. What does Cannes look like? Does it even exist? More importantly, is it conceivable that a black-spectacled geek, armed with a pocket-protector, scientific calculator and spare tape could take the stage to win the Grand Prix for Database?Over the past few years, we've seen the introduction of the Titanium award, which reluctantly acknowledges the undeniable supremacy of the media industry by throwing it a bone in the form of an integration prize. But where there's Titanium, there's also an entire periodic chart of elements left to employ. So in the spirit of innovation, here is my list of some of the new awards we might hope to see in the near (or far) future in Cannes:The Plutonium Award: the best virtual world program involving Second Life.The Krypton Award: the best example of how a brand joined the conversation by turning a negative consumer experience into a positive brand program. Thus far, there has been no interest in this category or entries for that matter, although Dell will sponsor it.The Uranium Award: the best example of a conversation-focused, organic commitment that didn't use any advertising. Quite unpredictable and potentially explosive.The Helium Award: the best example of a brand that demonstrated authenticity in the form of humor, humanity and/or humility and in doing so was prepared to take itself a little less seriously, even if it meant being parodied or laughed at.The Platinum Award: actual proof of efficacy and return on investment. There, I said it. What are you gonna do about it? Ban me from Cannes?Joseph Jaffe is president and chief interruptor at Crayon and author of Join the Conversation. He blogs at www.jaffejuice.com and can be reached at jaffe@crayonville.com.

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The Year That Wasn't

Joseph Jaffe

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Joseph Jaffe