MxMIndia

Tag: Cannes 2012

  • There's loads to do at Cannes, if you want to look beyond the festival, writes Rahul Kishore

    By Invitation | Rahul Kishore: In Cannes you can!

     

    By Rahul Kishore

     

    Having been to Cannes twice, I can give you a fair assessment of the place as well as what to do and what you must do.

     

    First of all, the hotel. Try and book a smallish one about 200 metres max from the Palais, since all the action is there, at least in the day time. There are a host of them just behind the Croissiette and they come with nice decent rooms with attached showers and so on. The breakfast is adequate, a lot better than the hotels in Paris, and helps you stock up. One word of advice: the eggs are always cold and hardboiled and you can ask the steward to warm them up. The croissants and coffee are great!

     

    What one needs to do is to head straight for the tourist office which is beside the Palais and closes for lunch. The girls there will fill you in as to whatever there is to do in and around. Book a trip to St Tropez as the ferry does not go daily. It’s a wonderful journey with the French Alps in the background and the trip is a full day one. St Tropez is the home of the bikini, so it looks promising all the time.

     

    The town is a small one and picture postcard perfect. One can take a small trip for 6 euros to Nikki Beach, the Ibiza of this area, and be back in time to catch the ferry back. I think it costs 40 euros return.

     

    Another trip, though a short one is to the Le Marguirite island which costs 10 euros and you can have lunch on or in the sea which is cobalt blue and cold. Lovely pizzas and pasta. Food gets over by 3pm, so keep that in mind.

     

    Now onto the night scene. Old Cannes is totally romantic and one should have dinner there. It’s about a 15-minute walk from the Palais and the church at the top is worth a look. One gets an overview of the harbour with all the yachts in the marina. The food is cheap and so is the wine, cocktails too – about 5 euros each. And if you are lucky, there will be the odd musician singing and playing the accordion. Most people are well-dressed for dinner, so make sure to wear a pair of jeans at least, as that is considered well dressed in ad circles!

     

    The best place to party is the Baoli. It’s a 10-minute taxi ride and costs 10 euros to go and 30 to come back, since one comes back at 4 am. Beware of a short Frenchie with a beard and a black Ferrari with red seats. He picked me up, hit on me and nearly got hit by me. I had to feign a headache and he dropped me off midway to the hotel. I had a long walk back to the hotel and saw some 20 people skinny dipping in the sea at 4am. With freezing water, they couldn’t have gotten up to much. But the French will always try!

     

    I used to hit the sack at around 4am, and be up and running on the Marina or behind the main street at 7am. It’s cool, fresh and Europe, one can get by with three hours of sound sleep.

     

    More ideas: Make a trip to Grasse to buy perfumes. There is a factory and a museum, both of  which are worth looking at. The bus costs 1 euro and it leaves from the bus stop next to the station. Next,Monte Carlo. Went there twice. Great train ride costing 40 euros, return. Hop off at Eze and explore. Take the bus up to the fort and have lunch there. Then come back and continue on to Monte Carlo. While there: walk on the race track; have ice cream sundaes opposite the casino; and make a trip to the place. It’s worth it… and walk, walk and walk… the editor of this site died doing it, but it made him a better person!

     

    If you have the bucks, then the casino is just right…I didn’t waste any time on it. You can extend your train ride toS an Remo in Italy. Twenty minutes away, you’ll find a large market, lovely Maserati police cars and no passport required. The food is great. Have lunch and come back for that ice cream sundae in Monte Carlo. The sun sets at 9pm, so all is safe.

     

    There is some shopping in Cannes. There is a Zara, and a small market where one gets amazing gift items and clothes. All cheap. Friday is the food and antique bazaar day near Mcdonald’s which wraps up by 10am, so one should make a trip. The fruits and fish are amazing. Also check out the bakery. You will fall in love with it.

     

    All in all it’s a great place to visit, too much to do, and yes, the dull ones do manage attend a few sessions there as well. I am told, there are some pretty good and informative sessions this year. Me? Did the Zuckerberg one. Got bored to tears. But the good thing is, in Cannes, you can.

     

    PS: If you are the type who wants loads of fun and with the prospects of happy endings, mail me at rahulkis[at]gmail.com

     

    Rahul Kishore is senior vice-president, Mogae Media

     

  • This year, Lowe Lintas, will take to the stage to present 'Global India' – the first time the Cannes Lions Festival has featured a seminar dedicated to Indian creativity and its influence globally

    Balki & Shekhar Kapur to present ‘Global India’ at Cannes Lions 2012

    By A Correspondent

     

    R Balki

    The annual Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity kicks off on June 17. Every year a select number of world class advertising networks are invited to speak to the assembled delegates, who converge onCannesfrom all over the world. Some 10,000 delegates, from the agency and client world, attend the festival each year.

     

    This year, Lowe Lintas, will take to the stage to present ‘Global India’ – the first time the Cannes Lions Festival has featured a seminar dedicated to Indian creativity and its influence globally.

     

    Shehkar Kapur

    Chairman and Chief Creative Officer of Lowe LintasIndia, R Balki, will be joined on stage by special guest, Oscar nominated Director, Actor, Producer and new media entrepreneur, Shehkar Kapur. Wired magazine Editor, David Rowan, will interview Mr Balki and Mr Kapur on stage, while the seminar will be introduced by Michael Roth, Chairman and CEO of Lowe and Partners parent company, IPG.

     

    Michael Wall, Global CEO of Lowe and Partners said: “At Lowe and Partners, we pride ourselves on our strong capability in emerging markets. We have great, talented leaders like Balki, who manages to successfully meet the challenges presented by globalization ofIndia, while preserving the local culture. We can look forward to a thought provoking seminar from Balki and Shekhar at Cannes Lions, the first time the festival has dedicated a session toIndia.”

     

    Wall added: “This seminar isn’t just for the Indian Cannes delegates to attend,India’s future will play a large role in our industry’s future and should be of interest to all delegates.”

     

    Mr Balki and Mr Kapur will share their thoughts on a variety of topics, including the creative heritage ofIndia, the future ofIndiaon a world stage, Indian advertising,Indiain the digital age and the film and entertainment industry, and discuss their views on the impact of the nation around the world.

     

    Mr Balki commented: “We are very excited to bringIndiato Cannes Lions for the first time and to have Shekhar join us. He has been, of course, a leading Indian creative force, with a world profile, for some years now and is set to inspire the gathered creatives from all over the world, who attend the event. Cannes Lions is really the only truly global festival that celebrates our industry and looks to its future andIndiais at the forefront of that future. We plan to bring all the diversity, colour, creativity and passion that is modernIndia, on stage with us.”

     

    Mr Kapur added: “I am happy for the opportunity to be on the same platform with creative leaders like Balki and Lowe and Partners and look forward to a great, in depth discussion. Social Media is a new force that is asking us to redefine Advertising’s role in society – we have great challenges, but huge opportunities available to us too, by working within communities”.