In Cannes, VCCP’s Jonny Parker and Matt MacDonald set aside some valuable time to talk about cultural differences, the decisive advantage of creativity, and of course the World Cup.
Even with the Cannes Lions in full roar, the breakfast room at the Hotel Martinez remains an elegant and relatively quiet place to meet. It’s the temporal and emotional opposite of what the notorious Gutter Bar across the street (its real name is 72 Croisette) will become much later in the day.
I’m at the Martinez to meet not one, but two VCCP chief creative officers: Jonny Parker from London and Matt MacDonald from New York. Below is a lightly edited version of our conversation.
I thought we’d kick off with the World Cup. Obviously the UK is a nation of football fans. But Matt – what’s the feeling in the US?
Matt: It’s kind of unfair to start with me! But actually I think there’s genuine excitement. I must say it didn’t quite take over the way it did when the Knicks won the championship in New York. That literally took over New York City. So I don’t think it’s exactly at that level.
Having said that, a lot of people are talking about getting tickets to a match. And just as a small anecdotal piece, my kids – who weren’t really into football that much before – just got their first Panini sticker books. And now they’re completely obsessed with them. If there’s one economic indicator that football is catching on, it’s the fact that they’re selling those sticker books at Costco, which is basically the temple to capitalism in the US.
And Jonny, what about in the UK? How is the agency getting involved?
Jonny: Well, we certainly got the flags out for the first game in our office. We watched it on a massive screen in our atrium. It didn’t start until 9 o’clock at night, but the place was buzzing. So it’s good for team building – it brings us together.
Creatively speaking, it’s interesting because none of our clients are official World Cup sponsors. That means we have to operate around the edges, which is often the most interesting place to play. We’ve created fun, tactical campaigns for Müller and Tinder and our latest O2 spot focused on Brits finding the best local places to watch games abroad using O2 Roaming.
What we’ve always had as an agency is a very entrepreneurial drive.
You’ve been there a long time, haven’t you?
Jonny: I think it’s 20 years. Me and Chris (Birch, joint CCO) talk about being very spoilt. Kids in a sweet shop. It’s a bit of a cliché, but there’s so much opportunity, so many amazing brands, so many incredible briefs live at any one point in time. I think Chris came from a network where he was used to having probably one blockbuster brief a year that everyone fights over. But I’ve probably got about 30 of those right now, just with Cadbury alone.
Staying with VCCP in the UK, it’s been a great year for you. Yellow Pencil, Drum Awards, Kinsale Sharks, Contagious, Creative Leaders of the Year. What’s happened? What did you change?
Jonny: Thank you, it’s been an incredible time for everyone at VCCP. Chris and I have worked hard over the last five years to build a department that creates work that earns its place in cultural conversation. Historically we’ve always been very good at giving the right answers to client briefs, now we’ve started to focus on giving the more wonky answers. Things like Cadbury “Made To share” and “Daisy vs the Scammers” for O2. It’s about creating ideas people actually want to engage with.
As for what we’ve changed? Honestly, very little. We haven’t changed the way we go about our business. But I suppose you could say there’s been a slow evolution. Some of our best work now has been built on trust earned over many years. We’re also incredibly lucky that we can now attract some of the best talent in the business. It’s a never-ending job.
What impact has the current economy had? It’s been pretty turbulent in the States, right?
Matt: Trust me, I’m no economist, so asking a creative about economic indicators is always dangerous. But it’s a strange economy right now. Wall Street’s doing phenomenally well, yet consumers are feeling the pressure of inflation. For many of our clients, that means people are spending less.
There’s incredible competition in the marketplace. Everyone’s fighting tooth and nail for consumers, with new packaging or promotions trying to lure customers away. So our clients are under pressure from a variety of directions.
But they’re still investing in creativity, because it’s the only real change-maker. Everything else has been optimised to death, maybe to the point where it can’t be optimised any further. Creativity is what cuts through. It’s not just about the number of eyeballs you reach; it’s about the magic of the idea.
Creativity is the only real change-maker.
What about in the UK? I mean, you’ve just lost another Prime Minister…
Jonny: I think there’s a bit more caution in the air than there was a year or two ago. We’re seeing more research and a greater reliance on the findings, where before people were more willing to trust their instincts. Clients are still spending, and they’re spending well. They just want to validate their thinking – and ours.
Matt, you mentioned the Spectrum win. As a Brit, I’m not overly familiar with them. What’s the challenge for them?
Matt: The challenge is keeping up with one of the most competitive industries in the US. It’s about growing in a market where everyone’s trying to steal your customers. There’s also very little positive consumer sentiment. People don’t love their telecom providers, and they’re quick to vent on social media whenever their internet goes down. So we’re trying to build brand love in a really difficult category while also growing the business.
Spectrum is also a major TV provider at a time when everyone’s cutting the cord. So that’s another big challenge we’re thinking about every day.
Finally, since we’re in Cannes, I want to know what both of you think about the evolution of the festival. What would you keep and what would you change? I’ll start with you Jonny.
Jonny: I’ve been coming to Cannes for 25 years, since I first started in advertising, and of course it’s changed enormously. It used to be a celebration of creativity, craft and production, a place where creatives met just to talk about the work. It was smaller, more intimate.
It’s great to be back at Cannes again. Like our industry, Cannes Lions never stands still. It’s still an important date in the diary to see colleagues and clients, and to remind ourselves and celebrate what an incredible industry we work in. I still love coming here and seeing work that I haven’t seen.
Bringing clients into that world has been a hugely positive change because they go home inspired and help us make better work. But it does feel as though people seem just as likely to be talking about ad tech, platforms and media as they are about the awards. So you sense that shift a bit.
Matt, what would you change?
Matt: The weather. About 15 degrees cooler would be great…But I agree we need to make sure Cannes doesn’t lose its soul as a celebration of creativity and craft. That conversation shouldn’t just happen inside the Palais, it needs to extend to the off-festival panels and mini-conferences as well. Often those discussions revolve around platforms, technology and AI. Creativity needs to be at the centre of those conversations too, so that Cannes remains a true festival of creativity.
