Film Lions Predictions With Publicis' Dave Monk

What’s your definition of what this category means in 2017?

I think the principles will be the same as always. Unforgettable ideas and rich storytelling. The only difference in recent years has been the sheer amount of screens that filmmaking brilliance can pour out of. This year there’ll be inventive new filmic techniques, work that pushes posh new platforms into new directions that we didn’t expect and AI and VR films will ooze through the sweet mangle of the judging process. At least that’s what I hope will happen.

As is the case every year, though, when push comes to shove, the pieces of work that move us, make us laugh, blow our tiny minds and dazzle us with inventive filmic wizardry, leave us with unforgettable images. These will be the things that help define the category, push the medium in new directions and get the world’s creatives excited. The lucky Film jury has the responsibility of defining how the industry judges what’s possible with film and how we define what brilliance looks, feels and even smells like (you never know).

As long as the jury untangles all the entries with that in mind, the Film category will continue to be one of the richest and most anticipated categories of the week.

What makes a great Film entry?

You know it when you first watch a great piece of work, and you really feel the joy when they’re announced in the Palais. You also find yourself wanting the best to win. Even if the winning agency’s just nicked all the new business, awards and talent, a great piece of film is unquestionable and should be applauded.

Meet The Superhumans [above] had it. Dumb Ways to Die [below] had it. They’re ideas that don’t rely on media impressions, it’s just you watching a screen and feeling something. I remember gawping at Philips’ Parallel Lines project and standing up and applauding.

An old creative mate once described a famous ad as “pub silencing”. He was standing with lager-fuelled humans (the toughest focus group on earth), and the entire pub was hushed by 90 seconds of cog and cars. No one, in or out of the industry, denies great film stops you in your tracks.

What’s your favourite film campaign from the past 12 months and why was it so effective?

I think The World’s Biggest Asshole spot [below]  is right up there. Cracking idea, ballsy and great writing. However, I think We’re The Superhumans is above everything else I’ve seen. A masterpiece from beginning to end. Hearing 4Creative relate how it came about, the process, the level of craft and mastery from Dougal [Wilson, director], and the respect they showed the talent throughout the production process, makes it truly stonking work.

I also think when the artistic director of Rio’s opening ceremony is talking about the power of your TV ad, then you know you’ve made something culturally significant. You’ve leapt out of being a promotional spot for a big running, jumping and swimming event, to something that acts as a beacon for disability itself and puts a big healthy dent in culture. It’s a piece of film that resonated with people all around the world, abled and disabled. Grand Prix written all over it.

If you were on the jury what would you be looking for and taking into consideration this year in Film?

Universal brilliance. Not a single pointless frame. There’ll always be a cauldron of variety – how do you measure an emotional film against a sporting blockbuster or some post production magnificence?

And then there’s the funny. Humour always does well at award shows, often because it offers relief for a jury sat in a darkened room chewing pencils. That said, it’s a cliché, but it always comes back to originality. Harvey Nichols’ Sorry I Spent it on Myself [below] campaign was undoubtedly brilliant. But did it deserve a Film Grand Prix? Some said that the acting was laboured, but I thought that was irrelevant. It was the sheer genius of thought that shone.

It also wasn’t an idea that stood out for just that year. Out of the hundred-and-odd Christmases and the millions of brands and products and campaigns there have been since Adland began, the honesty and originality of that idea was fresher and crisper than North Pole snow. That kind of originality is what I’d be looking for.

How do you think the Film category has changed over the past few years in advertising?

2015 was a shift. That year the Film jury, led by the brilliant Tor Myhren, tore the lid off things by handing a Grand Prix to GEICO’s genius Unskippable campaign [below]. The simplest of the simple romped home against competition such as the mighty IKEA Beds. You could feel the love for it at the award ceremony. But it was more than just the great idea, the jury sent a message to the industry that great film can live anywhere as long as it’s relevant.

Pre-rolls were unsexy and largely irritating. This spot broke the mould. Last year it was followed by the equally rebellious Harvey Nichols Shoplifters. Another smart decision by the jury to push things.

With the introduction of mobile and VR the gloves are off as to what you can enter and what will win. It would be great to see a VR spot win the Film Grand Prix. Field Trip to Mars had Innovation and Titanium Lions pouring out of its ears, but it was actually a cracking new use of film. Breaking mediums no one thinks can be cracked with film will be where the glory lies.

How should film content work with other platforms in order to remain relevant and is there still a place for traditional stand-alone film content?

There’s definitely still a place for stand-alone pieces, no question, but what’s noticeable is that some of the best pieces of work from the last few years have taken the platforms and fucked around with them; Honda The Other Side and again, Unskippable broke the mould on what you could do, and once something has been broken that’s when we all fall in love with it again. It reminds us all to pull our finger out and break something else. Instagram Stories, Facebook Carousel… these things are all just sitting there waiting to be snapped and bent into a shape that we can fall in love with.

What sort of work are you anticipating seeing at the Palais this year?

Hopefully a brilliant mixture of all of the above. There’ll be all the big films we’ve already seen and been served up via our industry channels, but I think we’ll see an increase in a variety of executions. I love the little surprises that Cannes always finds. The genius that comes out of the woodwork.

What can you see for the future of the Film category in years to come?

It’s obviously just going to keep getting better. How can it not? Weirdly, apart from a bunch of print executions, almost every single idea in every category showcased at Cannes was presented in the format of film. I love the fact that a radio campaign gets a case study. The art of filmmaking couldn’t be more relevant now.