ADCN live from Cannes: Mark Woerde

door Mark Woerde

Only a few minutes before I had the honor to do a masterclass, titled: Creative Under Fire. This was the last of a one-year tryout tour during which I tested my ideas on audiences around Europe.

Creatives, like you and me, have the power to solve big, complex, scary real-world problems.  I learned this through my experience working on the Sweetie campaign, in which we created a virtual girl to catch online pedophiles and put Webcam Child Sex Tourism on the global agenda. I found that the same talent that allows us to create also hinders us from confronting bigger, more frightening problems than those outlined in marketing briefs. Creatives are extremely sensitive—we have to be in order to perceive deep truths about the human condition.

But to enjoy a long, productive career in the creative industry, we must be able to protect ourselves from breakdowns and blockages that can result from too close an encounter with harsh realities. It could very well be true that the self defense mechanisms that help creative people maintain a sense of comfort and security actually prevent us from being able to consider more serious global problems in the first place.

I shared the ins and outs of the Sweetie campaign but also some tools. Tools that can help creatives in solving big global problems without losing your sanity. What I really liked about this session is that they really opened the heart during the session, For some it was a very emotional session, as it is for me as well.

It was a nice and very receptive audience and I will make sure that all their great questions and input will be part of my upcoming book Creative Under Fire (due to be out in 2016).

And now, it’s all over, what a great place to end the try-out tour. it was great to be able to do sessions in Moscow, London, Hamburg (at the ADC), Brussels, but now time has come to go home and finish the book.

Finally got to meet  the incredible nice Dr. Jerry Kliatchko, the initiator of the Tambuli Awards, the Asian Ad Award for social good. There’s some great Asian work on their website: http://tambuliawards.asia/

I met so many people today, but it’s always nice to finish the day with your friends, Luiz (now Google, used to be Lemzer), Mark (now RTL, used to be a Lemzer), Bram (thank God he is still a Lemzer)

On this second day of ADCN live from Cannes Lions we also feature the report of our board member Wesley ter Haar from MediaMonks. Yesterday we covered the day of Dutch Young Creatives (Jonge Honden) Timon Zijderlaan & Daphne Koenen and Media Lions jury member Gijs de Beus. Come back tomorrow for the ADCN live from Cannes Lions reports of Heineken’s Mark van Iterson and RA*W Reporters Jill van Emmerik & Valentine Valé.

De ADCN doet onder de noemer 'ADCN Live from Cannes' verslag van het 62ste Cannes Lions Festival.

Lees alles over het 62ste Cannes Lions Festival in het Cannes Lions 2015 dossier van Adformatie.