It's reaching peak time in the French Riviera as the major Cannes Lions are starting to be awarded. Along with the pomp & circumstance, hardware and pats on the back, other events have unfolded including bigwig speeches, fireside chats, nonstop schmooze-fests and interactive rivalry.

-Today was a good day for South Africa, with TBWA\Hunt\Lasgaris, Johannesburg nabbing the Outdoor Grand Prix for the Zimbabwean-based 'Fight the Regime', 'Cheaper than Money', 'Trillion Dollar Billboard', 'Z$250 000 000' and 'Wallpaper' efforts.

Net#work BBDO, Johannesburg, meanwhile, won the Radio Grand Prix for its trio of Virgin Atlantic Airlines executions. link

-JWT, Tokyo took home a Media Grand Prix for its "Kit Kat Mail" effort, pleasing recipients with sweet, edible postcards while miraculously eliciting positive emotions from postal workers. Neighbor Dentsu also celebrated a win for Media Agency of the Year. link

-U.K.-based ZenithOptimedia took home a Gold Media Lion for its "The World is Noisy Enough" campaign for AEG washing machines. The setting couldn't be more fitting. link

-Schematic's interactive "Touchwall" continues to do battle 15 yards away from Microsoft's "Surface" for interactive touch-screen dominance. link

-Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer left Redmond for Cannes to discuss his company's increasing focus on digital advertising. Mentions of the "G" word were surely sprinkled throughout. link

-Raconteurs rejoice! Leo Burnett Worldwide and Contagious sat a packed audience down for a fourth round of Wildfire Stories, which examines how seven types of narrative influence today's advertising. link

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