from being a learning about what other people are doing to a lot of people I need to see since they're all in the same place at the same time."

And as for finding a spot of that sand? Forget it, he says. "It's such a zoo."

Cindy Gustafson, chief strategy officer for Mindshare North America, says her agency puts a lot of stock each year in the work—in who is winning awards at the festival and why. "I was happy to see the limitations put on the awards," she says, referring to new caps on the number of categories in which the same piece of work can be entered. That should mean more work will win, she says, instead of the same work winning a lot.

The curtailed approach thisof the industry congregate on the French Riviera to congratulate each other over rosé: 'You're so creative.' 'No, you're so creative!' "

He wonders what can be done to make the festival feel less elitist and out of touch: "How can it better illustrate the commercial necessity of brands and advertising? How can it be more inclusive in thinking about creators and creativity, drawing on unrepresented voices or the worlds of technology?"

Michael Kassan, chairman and CEO of MediaLink, which is owned by Cannes Lions parent Ascential, thinks of the festival as a miniature representation of the sprawling marketing industry.

"It sets the tone, on the one hand, but it reflects the tone, on the other hand, of what's actually happening," he says. "The Croisette is Main Street, but for five