Diary of a Jurist: Jonathan Kneebone, Titanium

Writer, Director, The Glue Society, Sydney and New YorkJune 20 The day started unnaturally early for a man with a hangover. But having sat through our first day of Titanium judging, I now suspect the day will end very much the way this one started.I had heard judging here was hell-like. Dark rooms, hours of endless commercials to sit through, arguments, rows and political skullduggery...The Titanium experience has been extremely pleasurable, however. The integrated jury boasts more previous jury presidents than any other and we have all been getting on "famously." You could say we have integrated well.We even have a rather nice room with a wonderful view of under-dressed people tanning themselves. Many of them are quite probably delegates whose work we are judging.The only problem thus far seems to be a shortage of wonderful work to compete with this view. Work that's actually worthy of one of these new awards. Work that defines this new category.We all agreed Titanium should be harder to win than gold. In fact, it should quite possibly be harder to win than a Grand Prix in any one medium.We agreed we were looking for ideas which redefine communication, redefine how we talk to people. Ideas which will not only stand the test of time, but perhaps set the agenda for the industry for years to come.Having set the bar this high has strangely made the judging comparatively easy. Something is either groundbreaking or it isn't. But unfortunately, it hasn't made it quicker...Each entry takes 10 minutes to view. And we have 133 to get through. At current estimates, we might be finished in time for the ceremony on Saturday...just.So, nowȄrightly or wronglyȄI need a beer. Oh dear, I fear tomorrow's diary may well be very similar to today's...June 21 The 10 of us have got the hang of the judging devices now. A good thing. No longer are we accidentally giving campaigns ridiculously high scores without meaning to.The other good news is that today felt good. We saw a few things that made us react and engage. Today we felt like we had something to get our heads around. Hell, today it felt like the category had a reason to exist.Which is good. Because today we also managed to break the back of what we have to see.As the day began, I didn't imagine that I'd be feeling this way. Mainly because this morning I felt like an overripe potato. Seedy and somewhat dirty, sprouting all kinds of stuff.Last night became huger than the night before. And the hangover was considerably larger.Gary—my fellow Glue Society partner—had flown in from New York via Paris and we had a fair amount of catching up to do. You are prone to wanting to forget that outside of the judging rooms there's work to be done. And since we opened the office in New York, we've been getting a fair few calls to write and direct projects from not just the States but Europe too. All good. And worthy of a chat over a few beers but...Come 4.30 this morning in the Gutter Bar I was spotted by one of my fellow jurors and he suggested that maybe it was time to get some sleep so that we might survive another day of button pushing.But somehow, the day has been not just bearable but enjoyable.We actually laughed at some of the stuff today—for the right reasons. And that made the room more spirited than yesterday.I just hope I get more than three hours sleep between now (5 p.m. Cannes time) and judging in the morning. This being Cannes, this is probably unlikely.June 22 Today we moved with the grace and elegance of a Lycra-skinned mountain climber and completed our mission. Possibly in record-breaking time and refreshingly ahead of schedule.Yes, today under the guidance of our leader Jeff Goodby we finished our task.What had appeared to be a mountain on the first day, we had whittled down to a small hillock by this morning. By coffee time we had arrived at a shortlist. And we then went through it with a fine-tooth comb and discussed every one of those on the list in intimate detail.By 3 p.m. our judging peak had been scaled.I can't reveal too much. But what I can say is that there was consensus. And the decision of the jury hopefully won't be as much of a shock as the one delivered by Michael Jackson's.The most fascinating and enjoyable thing about being on this panel was meeting so many high-profile people. None with anything to prove. And together working out what we hoped the effects of our decisions would be.We genuinely wanted and do want the Titanium category to make a difference to the business of creativity and for it to give advertising, and perhaps this festival, a new focus for the future.Winning one of these things should mean the work in question has redefined how someone has been engaged by a brand through truly innovative and integrated communication.The ideas that win Titanium by their very nature should be beacons for the future of the business. They should give the business a new impetus. And hopefully in years to come this category will be the most significant.From day one we wanted to set the bar very, very high. On Saturday I guess the industry will get to find out whether anything has got over it.We believe we have made a good start on the exciting new future. We hope the rest of the business is equally inspired.In the meantime, I'm looking forward to reaching a totally different type of bar and just getting a cold beer in my hand.It's been short but very sweet. I'd be very interested in getting your feedback to the reaction. Whether through the pages of Adweek or via my e-mail, hello@gluesociety.com.Au revoir.

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Diary of a Jurist: Jonathan Kneebone, Titanium

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