Gavin McLeod’s Cannes Diary #3

Gavin McLeod, chief creative officer at CHEP Network is representing Australia on the Cannes Social & Influencer jury. McLeod, along with most of the other Australian and NZ jurors, writes exclusively for CB.

Today we got down the good stuff – debating the Silvers, Golds and Grand Prix. And, it has hands down been one of my favourite days ever in advertising. To be cooped up in a room with nine smart and passionate people, with only one directive to talk about great work, who wouldn’t want that!

Don’t get me wrong, there were plenty of challenging conversations. And, more than a few heated moments. But it always came back to the work and a shared passion to award the standout campaigns from last year.

Collectively, we held ourselves accountable to recognise creativity from across the globe. And, on that level I’m proud that we’ve gone big on a campaign that packed a powerful emotional punch from a country that I’m pretty sure has never been awarded at Cannes Lions before.

Another highlight was our fellow judge, Hamza Amjad, asking us to celebrate with him as he became the first Pakistani juror to ever vote on a piece of work at the Cannes Lions. A moment of deep personal meaning that I’ll long remember!

I also appreciated how passionately Lui Lima, representing Brazil, stood up for work for his region. His commitment to ensuring that the cultural context of the work was understood and appreciated by the jury was inspiring.

Ultimately, we ended up with a body of envy-inducing work that we believe showcases the very best work of the year. With a Grand Prix that our inspirational president, Amy Ferguson, insisted that we make sure is the yardstick for creativity in Social & Influencer for years to come.