Cannes Contenders: USA

Apple Detectives

Such a perfect example of an absurd premise taken very seriously and dramatically, which to us is a sweet spot for comedy. Right off the bat, their dry awareness of the camera effect is surprising and odd. Not to mention dumb (in a great way) that they’re having such an intense conversation over this guy’s insecurity being a blurry supporting character. 

From there, the script, the direction (David Shane at his finest), the performances, the sound design and most importantly the rack focus (the real star of the story) just build that tension until it deflates perfectly. 

So good.

Change The Ref The Lost Class

The audacity it took to even attempt this idea is impressive. 

Not to mention all the stars that had to align to fool a former NRA president to speak at a fake graduation, the whole thing could have fallen apart at any moment. And then the simple irony of the idea, seeing this man speak live to thousands of empty seats, but recontextualizing his pro-gun words through the lens of 3,499 graduation seats that are empty due to gun violence. 

Extremely powerful. And unfortunately even more relevant with recent tragedies. 

FTX Don’t Miss Out

We love this one and we also hate it. 

Love it because it’s literally the best possible use of Larry, an untapped gem in advertising, leaning into his cynicism over everything and especially crypto which totally rings true. And while the 'throughout history' construct is a thing, and the scenarios are somewhat broad, the writing and art direction are pointed and specific enough to make it really, really entertaining. 

Hate it because now both Larry David ideas and “throughout history” construct ideas are off the table. 

Thanks a lot.

Apple Tracked

This is the kind of film that Apple does best - great visually-driven storytelling, bringing to life a smart, simple human insight, with solid casting, and an unexpected earworm of a song that adds to the story. 

Playing off insecurities we can all relate to since we all unknowingly invite god-knows-who into every corner of lives on our phones, it’s fun-to-watch delicious ear & eye & brain candy that explains their privacy features in a crystal clear way.

Urologists United For Vaccination Education Reflections

This one comes from the small creative shop Quality Meats (shameless self-promotion). We noticed there wasn’t a ton of breakthrough work that was tackling the vaccine efforts, and even if it did, it came across as divisive since it’s such a touchy subject. 

This piece was able to shine a light on a surprising fact where the sun didn’t shine, but in a disarming fashion where even if you were anti-vax, you still might find enjoyment and/or share and talk about it. Plus it was bigger than just a film - the client, 'Urologists United For Vaccination Education', was assembled from scratch and brought together over 45 renowned urologists from around the globe who never would have normally met otherwise. 

Even if it doesn’t win, at least we now have a small army of really smart doctors in case anyone needs a recommendation.