UGA students attend Cannes Lions festival for third straight year

Students meet with Advertising Age's
Associate Publisher Jackie Ghedine

June 2012 marks the third consecutive year UGA students studied abroad at the infamous Cannes Lions festival. The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is the largest international advertising and marketing communication event with 9,000 delegates, and over 34,000 entries from 87 countries.

With 31 students participating in this year’s program, UGA has the largest presence of any university during the week of the festival. Students hear about state-of-the-art theory and practice in the areas of global communication, media, and entertainment from CEOs and CMOs, to directors of holding companies and agencies, to copywriters and art directors.

Lineup in 2012

This year, students had the opportunity to sit in on sessions with Facebook’s Paul Adams, Time Warner’s Jeff Bewkes, Viacom’s Phillipe Dauman, Blondie’s Debbie Harry, and former President Bill Clinton, among many others. Students also listened to advertising icons such as Martin Sorrell, John Hegarty, Maurice Levy, and Jeff Goodby. The festival offers a full week of seminars, workshops and master classes.

UGA students also get special opportunities to meet exclusively with leading professionals. This year's lineup included:

• Susan Lilley, MediaLink
• Ellen Mardiks, Vice Chair, Golin Harris
• Jackie Ghedine, Associate Publisher, Advertising Age
• Noel Cottrell, Creative Director, Fitzgerald & Co
• Perry Fair, President & CCO, JWT-ATL
• Sung Woo, Global Media Director, Cheil Worldwide (UGA alum)
• Gilad Kat, Media Director, MediaCom, Israel (UGA alum)
• Steve Mykolyn, Chief Creative Officer, TAXI
• Andy Baker, President, MOFILM

For the third consecutive year, students attended a VIP tour of Microsoft Advertising's Experience Center, a showcase of the company's latest consumer technology.

This year’s highlights include: a yacht party, student Taylor Tokarz playing on the USA soccer team, three scuba trips, pilates/yoga, UGA students winning 360i's workshop competition, and meetings with two UGA Grady alums who've won and judged awards.

Students learn about the latest thinking regarding social media, digital, research, cause-related marketing, innovation, and the future of media... and collect as many business cards as possible. The program is co-directed by Drs. Nate Kohn and Tom Reichert, professors in UGA’s Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication.