At Cannes, The Ad Industry Confronts The Rise Of Facebook: The NYT
CANNES, France — The invasion has begun.
In the gray light of a summer dawn, the invaders threw their great American force into action here, quickly taking the beach with their blue flags, white beach chairs and wood-slat cabanas, a sturdy if sumptuous operating base from which to storm this seaside resort — conference room by conference room, rooftop bar by rooftop bar.
The frightened townsfolk — top executives from the biggest media companies and advertising agencies in the world — debated in whispers their grim choice between bloody resistance or total surrender.
A correspondent broadcasting from the Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic here reported the words from the blue shirts’ communiqué in a quivering voice: “As we connect the world, we believe very deeply in the importance of helping creators build businesses on Facebook [STOP] … We are only here to help [STOP] … Why don’t you believe us? [STOP]”
The preceding paragraphs were based on The New York Times’s report on the Allied invasion of Normandy on June 6, 1944 — loosely, very loosely.
They capture the sense of siege that was palpable here last week during the annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where Facebook has one of the most visible pop-up headquarters along the beach, with a pier festooned with its logo and a club on the sand. But in this case, no one was prepared to view the seaside regiment as a liberating force.
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While we couldn't get to Cannes this year, we found this piece by Jim Rutenberg for The New York Times rather telling of what the future potentially holds. It's a good piece, and well worth a read.