The “idea engineers” at SapientNitro have teamed up with the Cannes Lions committee to bring you a handful of infographics, which should provide enough numbers to tell you what’s going down during the French Riviera fest. Here are a whole bunch of stats from yesterday’s goings on including a picture of Don Draper himself, Jon Hamm, who we were told showed up at the McGarryBowen party this week.

Check out one more “Yesterday @ Cannes Lions” social stat sheet after the jump and get more info on the effort here.

Read more

Last year, 4A’s released a study showing that one-third of agency professionals plan to leave their workplace each year. Deutsch LA calls this the “agency talent rotisserie,” because we are all just slowly roasting chickens, moving from flame to flame.

But agency professionals are not normal chickens by any means. In a new report from Deutsch LA and the 4A’s called Ending the Agency Talent Rotisserie, which we first mentioned last week when the agency sent some amusing promo videos, the two organizations interviewed 1500 ad men and women to find out why one flame is never enough.

Compared to other industries, advertising people see themselves as creative, extroverted, and rule-breakers. The number-one reason people left their agencies was growth opportunity, but growth might not be fueled at another agency. Instead, 50 percent of the survey group said it wouldn’t be hard for them to fit into other industries, and most don’t see agencies as super creative. 60 percent said Apple is the most creative company they know, followed by Google and then Nike.

So we’ve got a bunch of boundary-breaking birds, looking to do something else besides the painful agency slow burn. They’re not afraid to leave, taking talent, brand knowledge, and client relationships with them.

The numbers show some change has to be made. Predictably, Deutsch LA’s solution to the Agency Talent Rotisserie involves creating more playful, startup-like environments where agency pros can test their skills, get creative, and learn from each other. Whether you like it or not, it’s time to cut the crap and shake up a traditional system. Chickens can’t get creative when they’re standing in boxes with their beaks cut off.

Check out more images from Deutsch LA’s presentation along with their more detailed steps for improvement after the jump.

Read more

While we’re stuck Stateside, we’ll give you quick Cannes Lions field reports from our roving reporter, Yunilda Esquivel, an executive producer at Michael Bay and Scott Gardenhour‘s commercial production company, The Institute. Without further ado, the floor is yours, Yunilda.

After picking up my Festival credentials, I stumbled upon Ogilvy & Mather Asia’s display for their impressive new release, RAW: Pervasive Creativity in Asia. Two years in the making, the book explores the cultural richness of things like local markets and millenary traditions in a grassroots Asia, showcasing how creativity is being used everywhere and everyday to get ahead. I was completely blown away by the ingenuity and the message. Here I am with the authors, David Mayo, president of Ogilvy & Mather ASEAN and Kunal Sinha, chief knowledge officer for Ogilvy & Mather Asia Pacific. The book’s photographer, walking legend, Steffan Billhardt, is in the background. To everyone out there: this (expanding your mind) is what Cannes is all about.

Last month, we showcased a short PSA titled “We’re Better Together,” an effort from two young creatives at WPP-owned Latino-focused shop Wing Advertising. Created as part of a film competition for “Circulo Creativo Latino de Estados Unidos,” an organization that encourages Latino-American creatives to have each other’s backs in the cutthroat world of marketing, the winning spot won Said Fayad and Marc Duran an all-expenses paid trip to Cannes this year.

But, just because Fayad and Duran were given the unique opportunity to rub shoulders with the advertising elite doesn’t mean Wing was about to let this be a vacation for the two young creatives. In fact, Fayad and Duran are chronicling their time on the French Riviera with a Tumblr called “Flip Flops and Socks,” a title that salutes geeky tourists’ stereotypically chosen style of footwear. Throughout the week, Fayad and Duran are posting pictures, videos, interviews, blog posts and animated gifs of their experiences, at least as long as the copywriter/art director team can stay sober. Stalk the duo as they transform from wide-eyed newbies into jaded, grizzled old pros here.

Sure, we will have our own reporters at Cannes, and since yours truly will try to avoid that mess back here in NYC, let us tell you about something called “Agency Peephole” from Draftfcb San Francisco. We don’t know whether to be interested, flattered, or pissed the fuck off, but what is this, some preemptive strike? Alright, we’ll catch our breath, calm down and let you know that this is an app that lets you shake, swipe, flip, smack and rub down your iPhone to access Instagram photos tagged #agencypeephole from the event. FYI, this comes to us from Draft’s San Francisco office as well as UDC Interactive, but don’t worry, our eyes are on you.