Michelle Melky’s Cannes Diary #1: Closed-toe shoes and Chumbawamba wisdom
Michelle Melky, Global Creative Director at Amplify, is one of the Australian representatives at the Cannes Lions Creative Academy. In her first diary entry, exclusive to CB, Michelle reflects on a whirlwind first day full of inspiration and insights.
“Wear closed-toe shoes when you’re on The Terrace, and don’t go hard until Wednesday night.”
This was just one of many sage insights that I gleaned on my first day, of my first ever Cannes Lions experience. Going into Cannes, I honestly had no expectations or ideas of what to expect. Participating in the Creative Academy means that my days are scheduled down to the minute, which was a relief because it meant I could just strap in and enjoy the ride. Day 1 already proved to be a thrill.
Our morning kicked off with a fantastic presentation on resilience from Jamie Robinson, co-founder of JOAN, the first female-founded agency. I was most taken by how open Jamie was about her own personal experience, sharing intimate stories about her road to success and letting us ask even more personal follow ups. Her use of Chumbawamba’s “Tubthumping” ie I get knocked down, but I get up again, was nothing short of inspired and taught us that in this business resilience is everything. The biggest take away from her talk was actually the reminder that your team also needs your leadership to find their own resilience, and team members might need something different from you each time. This journey we’re on is never a solo one, and Julian drove home the importance of nurturing those relationships.
Next we heard from Mike Barrett, co-founder of Supergood, who had the ominous session name Is AI coming for your job? The summary was – eh, kinda, but not really. If anything, AI is creating new jobs for the creatives that can adapt. And wow, I was absolutely drawn in by Mike’s talk, both the content and the clearly passionate way he delivered it – this is a guy who knows his stuff. Supergood’s AI models are so expertly designed that you can test your creative ideas on uniquely built AI customers. My key takeaway here – AI should be easy to use and understand, and remember that any AI tool is only as powerful as the data it draws from.
We then went down a completely different route with my Kiwi neighbour from across the pond, James Hurman – strategy icon. James’ session focused heavily on the importance of creativity in marketing. Not just because it’s fun, but also because creativity has been proven to be, time and again, a more effective driver of growth in every possible measurement. For someone whose talk was focused on creativity, I was happily surprised with the amount of data points provided – many of which I hastily scribbled in my notebook for future decks. I loved his advice on getting clients to be open to bold ideas by laying the groundwork before you pitch, and not throwing all the info at them in 1 hour.
Before lunch we were even given a private tour of the Lumiere Theatre, where the award ceremony at the end of the week will take place. We got to see the whole space empty and even reverently touch the stage, hopeful eyes picturing the day we’d step up there to collect our own Gold Lions.
After lunch we all got a confidence boost with Helen Tiffany, the CEO of The Coach House. Her session, Confidence Tricks for Creative People, helped the cohort open up about what affects our confidence. Now, if you know me I don’t think ‘shy’ is the word that comes to mind, but as we wrote up what things cut our confidence down, I had to admit I related to a lot of those points. Helen said one thing that really stuck with me – when you have a negative thought, ask yourself – where is the evidence that this is true? Simple, but effective.
We wrapped the day at the Pinterest Manifestival with a panel discussing with Judy Lee and Xanthe Wells from Pinterest, and Christyna Conway, who is also from Pinterest but happens to be in the Creative Academy as well! Judy and Xanthe had great insights about their experience, but it was also great to see how supportive they were towards Christyna. I particularly loved Xanthe’s no-bullshit attitude – show up, do the work, and you’ll get what you want.
Many people have said to me, this could be the best week of your life. After one day in, I can easily see how that could shape out to be true. The Cannes Lions Creative Academy experience is truly money can’t buy. One thing that has stood out to me early on is how much time the speakers have given us, and how we were able to ask so many questions. At any other panel in Cannes, I doubt you get that opportunity.
Day 2, I’m ready for you.
