#1 "If you do what you always did, You will get what you always got."

GoViral:

The group rushed into the GoViral seminar, anxiously awaiting Jimmy Maymann and Martin Lindstrom's advice on "The Long Idea" vs. the big idea. I had no idea what to expect with my first experience, but I was thrilled to learn about their opinions regarding European football. Lindstrom compared advertising strategies with religion. It was interesting (yet embarrassing) to learn that 37% of our conversations were focused around brands. Lindstrom performed various tests on the brain in order to prove that 60% the time our brains shared the same activation while talking about religion and advertising. In Lindstrom's opinion, any subject that included grandeur, vision, rituals, symbols, sensory appeal, belonging, evangelism, mystery, storytelling, and power would be the most effective with people. Apple vs. Pc was a familiar example. This was an appealing seminar to open my festival experience, and I will look into buying  Lindstrom's book Brandwashing.

USA Today:

Susan Lilley from USA Today was delightful to hear from. She explained the process of choosing the judges for Cannes Lions. Very Interesting. 

Thenetworkone:
"If you do what you always did, You will get what you always got."

Networkone was my favorite seminar today. Ali Ali, John Matejczyk, and Rob Jack provided an energy that kept the crowd interested while constantly making the audience laugh. Their dry humor captured everyone in the room. Jack listed his three values of advertising: 1. If it makes you nervous that's good. (showing an example of New Zealanders playing music) 2. If it looks like and ad start again. (showing an example of Smirnoff night project and the end parties) 3. Make a lot of noise (example of a giant rubber duck in a New Zealand marina). I completely agree with all of his points, and hope one day to work with an agency with the same simple values. Matejczyk listed his values next: 1. Don't identify with a trend (advertising is always expanding) 2. Creativity is too important to restrain in ad briefs (Vincent  Van Gough and IMeet). They showed the Google ad "Pizza". Ali was last (my absolute favorite) with his ideas: 1. Don't be afraid to have fun and try new things! 2. It's not rocket science 3. Most consumers are smarter than the average client. He showed a tribute to the "Like" button on facebook and showed the importance of feedback and positive energy after the turmoil in Cairo. Right before ending the seminar, he showed a wonderful commercial for Panda cheese. The panda destroys different settings, making the people know that you can not resist the panda.

Oh, and saw Nick Jonas.

I ventured into the Entertainment & Leisure screenings with Mary Catherine, Claire, and Suzanne. I thoroughly enjoy commercials and film, so this was interesting to me. I wish that I had sat closer to random people talking so that I could get their insight on the screenings. I have a list of the commercials to look out for throughout the festival. Most, I noticed, had a more serious tone; however, I could not stop laughing during the Planet Fitness "Not his planet. It's yours" commercials. 

Overall, today was amazing. I am exhausted from the first day, yet anxiously awaiting tomorrow. Maybe I'll get to dish out some business cards. A few of the UGA students were filmed today; not my greatest shot...http://www.lionsdailynews.com/archive.htm?lid=146