With Cannes Lions each year comes a conversation about the prohibitive cost of award entry for independent agencies vying against the capital might of major networks—as well as the lavishness of the occasion.
This year, one independent agency is making that point through a parody of the classic game Battleship—only this time it’s set in Cannes, titled “Yachtleship” and bears the tagline “sink the rich.”
Developed by Brooklyn-based creative agency Scout Lab, the single-player game is a “tongue-in-cheek activation” that underscores the point that while creative ideas are free, entering Cannes is anything but, creating a lack of access to businesses that wish to compete.
The key differences to the familiar game of Battleship are the use of yachts, with each one being captained by an agency network CEO. Instead of bombs being used to blow up other ships, players will compete by sending a fleet of killer whales to attack opponents’ yachts (although they are rarely sighted from La Croisette, in reality.)
“The creative industry prides itself in the ability to represent and reflect culture, though agency leadership continues to be homogenous. The game was born from the idea of subverting the elitist culture of Cannes by creating something anyone could participate in. Since Cannes is known for its yacht parties, we started there,” Scout Lab’s chief executive Kaitlyn Barclay told Adweek.
The game will go live today ahead of this year’s festival. While there is no prize attached to winning the game, Barclay described it as “a coping mechanism.”
She added: “Representation and equity are two of the most important topics in the creative field. When briefs consistently ask for more representation, why is it the same class of homogenous leadership that benefit? When we let diverse voices into leadership roles, we get more compelling work, more innovation within agencies and more inclusive storytelling for clients.”
The same point was made with the launch of the website “Love the Work More” in 2021. It was made by creatives Quynh Tran and Toan Mai, who chose to build their own site featuring the award-winning work from Cannes Lions. The website showcased it for free to help offset the cost of access to the official website, where agency case studies are held.
The site itself went on to win a bronze Lion in the PR category in 2022 and will continue to be updated this year, including with case studies on award winners from the last 70 years.
