Michelle Melky’s Final Cannes Diary: The Work, The People, The Moments That Stuck
Michelle Melky, Global Creative Director at Amplify, was one of the Australian representatives at this year’s Cannes Lions Creative Academy. In her final diary entry, exclusive to Campaign Brief, Michelle reflects not only on the inspiration, insight and world-class creative shared throughout the week, but on the unexpectedly profound human connections that made the experience unforgettable.
Okay, I was a bit naughty and didn’t write a day 4 diary, but I’m here with an epic conclusion to the Cannes saga. Consider it a double whammy.
I’ve written a lot about what I’ve learned during the last few days, but I wanted to take some time to reflect on the other ways this experience has affected me. The Academy team spoke a lot on Monday how we’d all end up trauma bonded by Friday and that there would be some tears. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how that would turn out – I get attached quickly, but I know not everyone is like that. Turns out that’s exactly what happened. I want to call out a few memories with my classmates that will stick with me.
On Day 1 I danced to Brazilian music with Maria, a copywriter from Rio. She was completely in her element, but at the same time welcomed me in and excitedly gave me the history of the songs playing. Maria led with kindness and creativity during this whole experience. Maybe she learned that from her mother, who followed me on Instagram after I posted a photo of Maria on my Stories.
I only got one opportunity to actually swim in the ocean as the sun was setting on Thursday night. Trying to catch the last rays of sunshine, a few of us dashed into the water. That first cold splash was heavenly. I floated in that water with Liza, a 19 year old designer from Ukraine. A girl who, up until this trip, has never been out past midnight due to the curfew currently in place in Ukraine. We bobbed around and talked about the lakes she learned to swim in growing up, for a while without a care in the world.
I took a long walk with Nia, an art director from Atlanta. We wandered around the old town, swapping stories of our struggles to get to this city at all. This was Nia’s first time outside of the United States. She fought tooth and nail to get herself to Cannes, and as we sat at the top of the hills overlooking the Croisette, I think it felt like in some way for both of us that we’d conquered the whole thing – the festival, the city, and our struggles.
I could write an anecdote for every single student in the academy if I had the space. At the end of the day, what I learned was nothing I didn’t know already; that diversity of thought makes you a better and more interesting person. That empathy is the key to growth. That you absorb all the perspectives around you, which ultimately make you a stronger creative. But isn’t it nice to learn it all over again?
Before we graduated we had to answer three questions, so I might as well share my answers here with you too.
What was your favourite piece of work? There were many grand, excellent pieces of work but I found myself drawn to the smaller and simpler ones. I want to shout of The Black Dog from Seconde Chance, a French animal adoption centre. Their idea was to hijack the recent release of Taylor Swift’s The Black Dog by renaming all their black dogs “Taylor Swift” to increase SEO results. $0 production budget, $0 media budget. I love it, and I’m not just saying that because I’m a Swiftie.
Who was your favourite speaker? My vote was for Ste Rogers. Ste’s talk focused on the crippling anxiety he dealt with for over a decade, and how he slowly conquered it. He repeatedly told us that even giving this talk was making him anxious, and that he felt he was a terrible presenter. Ironically, the biggest thing I took away from his talk was his presentation style. Open on a joke. Interact with hecklers. Misdirect in your slides. I hope to be that good of a presenter some day.
What was your favourite moment? At the time, I told the group the story of my day with Nia in the Old Town. But you’ve already heard that one, so here’s another. Our academy dean Alan Kelly (or Dean Kelly as he insisted we refer to him, knob) closed out our final session by telling us a personal story about the last few years of his life. I won’t recount the story here, but fair to say he moved most of us to tears (not a knob after all). Alan was a steady and reassuring presence over the week, seemingly just as curious as us students and always asking questions of the speakers. And of course I’m familiar with his excellent work. But just then, I saw an expert storyteller connecting with 30 people from entirely different countries and childhoods, and he made us all feel the same thing at the same time. It was honest and moving and the perfect way to end the week.
So was there anything wrong with the mighty Lions? When I hopefully return to Cannes next year, I want to see even more conversations about the creator economy. There was a lot of buzz about creators this year, but still a somewhat surface level exploration around the potential and growth of the creator economy. TVCs are awesome, billboards are killer, but what about the creators who have started their own brands? The ones who serve as CEO, CMO and CCO all at once? There’s a lot to learn about these expert marketers, and a lot to gain from meaningful partnerships with them. But besides that – the whole thing was pretty great.
Right, are you still reading this? Get a life, darl. Myself, I’m groggily typing away at the Nice Airport, waiting to begin the 24 hour journey home. When I get back I imagine there will be some more groggy typing as I turn this week’s chicken scratch notes into comprehensible slides to present to the Amplify team. Ah well, the least I can do.
They’re calling my gate. Allons-y!
