Abby Clark (hag one) and Laura Murphy (hag two), copywriter and creative art director, respectively, at Mediabrands Content Studio, snagged themselves two free tickets to Cannes in Cairns for being the runners up in the Digital category at this year’s Cannes Young Lions competition. Here, the pair chronicle their time in Queensland and their biggest takeaways through the lens of “Hag-dom,” apparently.
“You’re a bitter, twisted old hag.” The hate-filled comment reverberated around the room, a line pulled directly from Jane Caro’s very own comment section.
‘Well, let’s break it down, shall we!’ Inciting peals of laughter, Jane executed a masterful takedown that carefully dissected each word.
Bitter – no. Angry – yes.
Twisted – my body doesn’t move that way anymore.
Dried Up – yes thank god that’s over! The female body only gets better to live in.
Hag – I HOPE SO – I’m trying really hard to be a hag.
And so, Laura and Abby’s aspirations were born. In aspiring to be a hag like our newfound hero Jane, we would be choosing to safeguard our older selves and the future of our careers from the ageism that’s rampant in our industry and society – along with all the supposedly condemned amplifiers such as sexism along the way.
Hag tip one: Set the agenda
Jane’s talk helped us clarify the unspoken agenda we saw in our week in Cairns: the platforming of traditionally female issues and acknowledging that they pertain to all genders.
This hidden and perhaps unconscious agenda was clear from the start, in the opening keynote speech led by Sunita Gloster AM in conversation with Taryn Brumfitt and Melinda Petrunoff. They discussed the plague of body image on all forms, bringing the issue out of female-dominated bubbles and into the limelight. They asked: What regulations and standards can we set as an industry? How can we use AI for efficiencies without perpetuating pre-existing stereotypes?
Hag tip two: Leave your bag of poo at the door
Even talks that skewed toward traditionally ‘male’ audiences like Luc Longley, NBA legend, elevated issues like mental health and work-life balance that women have championed for so long. The lesson? Balance lets you leave your bag of poo at the door so you can show up for your team. But don’t forget to work through that shit in your own time.
Hag tip 3: Speak up
We heard Dee Madigan championing the conversations we need to be having around ethics in advertising. Even without the answers, Dee taught us the economic impact of not doing the right thing can be a powerful tool to convince clients they need to care.
Hag tip 4: Be unapologetically yourself
When discussing the power of trust and authenticity, Gina, winner of Alone season one, proved that storytelling from unconventional sources (in her case, a post-menopausal woman talking about grief) was a powerful tool to connect audiences. This was a glimmer of hope for the future – that our menopausal selves might not become invisible within our own industry.
Now you’re an aspiring hag
Cannes in Cairns was not just a convention of brilliant minds collaborating to strengthen the future of our industry. It was one that gave us tools to talk about hard issues like ageism, sexism, mental health and ethics, and to be brave enough to do it in the first place.
Amongst the official agenda found online, the hidden agenda of platforming traditionally sidelined and routinely ‘feminine’ issues on the mainstage as issues for all was a dear diary moment for these young hags.
Thank you to everyone we met along the way, as well as B&T, TikTok and our panel of Young Lions judges who awarded us the prize of attending this homegrown, hag-loving event.
