Kanye in Cannes: Inside the decadent world of advertising
Video: Gonzo journalist Nimrod Kamer delves into the world of advertising as the industry enjoys celebrating its moneyed success on the Cote d'Azur
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Your support makes all the difference.Cannes may be best known for the annual film festival that draws Hollywood's elites as they battle for the European Oscar that is the Palme d'Or, but another industry also uses the Côte d'Azur base for a celebration of the best and the brightest.
Cannes Lions is the advertising world's annual back-slapping schmooze-fest.
Large media companies splurge even larger sums of money as they buy up big plots from which to promote their brands.
Despite being an advertising conference, the Cannes Lions bills itself as the Festival of Creativity, perhaps with some justification, because like a festival, loads of people wear wristbands to get into parties before drinking gallons for four days before returning back to where they came from.
The ‘creativity’ claim, however, is less easy to quantify.
Scroll down to watch video.
Mega-media companies compete with each other, lavishing millions on parties or buying up beaches to woe potential clients (Google had two, Microsoft and Yahoo! only managed one) and hiring A-list acts like Mariah Carey to perform.
Gonzo journalist Nimrod Kamer’s purpose in coming to Cannes was to peek behind the curtain and get under the skin of the industry with the guise of setting up an agency.
In a series of four films he pitches to Rob Lowe using an underage orgy as a lure; discovers from a straight-faced exec that radio advertising is the best way to influence a foetus; dissects sexism in the industry and joins Kanye West’s entourage before getting a job offer from one of the biggest players in the business.
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