Kimberley Ragan’s Cannes Diary #3

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Kimberley Ragan’s Cannes Diary #3

(Pictured L-R: Moi, Gaëtan du Peloux, Francine Li, Akhilesh Bagri, Renato Zandoná, Anaïs Hayes, Shayne Millington, Yasuharu Sasaki, André Toledo, Random Bird & Jason Williams)

Kimberley Ragan, group creative director at Colenso BBDO, represented New Zealand on the Cannes Brand Experience & Activation Lions. Ragan, along with most of the other NZ and Australian jurors writes exclusively for CB.

 

I’m not sure what day it is anymore, but that’s a wrap on judging on the Brand Experience & Activation jury. Our last day was our longest yet, as we negotiated our way towards silver, then gold, and finally Grand Prix.

I’ve been blessed with the nicest group of jury-colleagues on earth. Together we’ve participated in smart, compelling and respectful discussion, with everyone bringing their own cultures and lived experiences to the table. While I can’t talk about what we’ve awarded (yet!), I can say that the Gold tier definitely reflected the work everyone liked from the beginning. Grand Prix however, I think wasn’t where any of us thought we’d end up – but through thorough discussion and interrogating every detail it became clear last night that it was the right piece to receive that honour.

After smashing some celebratory champagne in the jury room, myself and my Aussie counterpart dashed to the CB drinks, which we were horribly late for (sorry Campaign Brief!) to finally see some familiar faces.

Everything after that was a bit of a blur. I swear that time doesn’t work normally here, because 5 minutes later it was midnight, and I had taken a wrong turn and ended up in the heaving mass of the Gutter Bar. One star. Would not recommend.

And that friends, was Monday on the Croisette. Tomorrow is Wednesday, when we reveal the fruits of our labours at the BX&A ceremony. See you there!