Cannes Q&A: Film with Katie Keith

What do you think the Film category means in 2018?

Excellence in all areas from relevance, strength and originality of idea, to execution and craft.

What makes a great Film entry, in your opinion?

A standout piece of work. An original idea. The best creative expression of that idea.

As is often said – you can’t make a bad idea good but you can make a good idea bad!

What’s your favourite Film campaign from the past 12 months and why it can be considered so effective?

Ian Pons Jewell’s Phones Are Good for Three. It’s a hugely debated and current topic yet is handled with humour and irreverence. Simple idea. Sublimely directed. The details and nuances are faultlessly crafted. It shows the richness of a good idea: that it can gather its own momentum and run away with itself. It also shows the impact craft has on an idea and how essential it is in taking something to the next level. As is often said – you can’t make a bad idea good but you can make a good idea bad!

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

It feels a little like everyone is playing it safe because of the current climate. Brave is a dirty word in advertising, but I would look for anything doing what our industry can do so well – taking original ideas and pushing them to the limit. Being brave in the execution – doing the best by the idea.

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

It feels like the Film category features more of the blockbusters, with fewer pieces of work picking up the majority of the awards. I’d like to see a more diverse selection of work being awarded across the numerous categories.

If an idea is good enough or executed well enough, you only need to see it once in one environment for it to have the intended impact.

How can, or must, the Film content work with other platforms in order to remain relevant and is there still a place for traditional film content as stand-alone pieces?

I don’t think that just by putting an idea across other platforms it necessarily results in a piece of film content more relevant. I think we need to ask why and not just do something because we can… As Sue Higgs [Group Creative Director] at Grey London perfectly surmised at a recent APA event: “It’s just more channels for us to be shit on”. The idea should be specific to the platform it’s on, not just spread across the board to break up a campaign and tick all the media boxes. 

Of course there is still a place for traditional film content as stand-alone if it’s the best way of communicating the idea to the target audience. Because of the new possibilities in the digital age, it feels like we are often unnecessarily over-complicating things and chasing what’s shiny and new.

Can a lone film do enough? If an idea is good enough or executed well enough, you only need to see it once in one environment for it to have the intended impact.