Cannes Lions ad festival may not roar so loudly this year

ByABC News
January 12, 2009, 5:33 PM

— -- The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival on the French Riviera the ad world's biggest annual awards competition and trade show is as known for its revelry as it is for its educational seminars and trophy ceremonies.

Lavish dinners, bottles of champagne and luxury hotel suites are among the charges frequently showing up on corporate credit cards.

But this year's show, for which registration just opened, is shaping up to be a smaller and more muted affair. The industry is coping with still falling ad budgets and media spending amid a global recession. Much of the glitz as well as the more serious and professional endeavors will fall by the wayside at the week-long festival in June.

The cutbacks come as the cost to send a single U.S. "delegate" could easily hit more than $8,000 for registration (2,601 euros including tax, or about $3,500), airfare, food and lodging.

The event had more than 10,000 attendees in 2008, 8% from the U.S., but is not likely to repeat that this year, festival CEO Phil Thomas says.

"It would be naive of us to imagine that (the festival) alone as a business would not be affected in 2009," he says. "There's no point in pretending it won't be a difficult year."

Big ad and media agencies including BBDO, Saatchi & Saatchi and Initiative say they will be selective in deciding which employees to send.

"We are reviewing attendance across the board in relation to industry events and conferences," Initiative CEO Richard Beaven says.

Some agencies say they'll also reduce Cannes expenses by submitting fewer entries for the prestigious competition to be named best ads in the world. Fees for each ad entered range from 270 euros to 1,150 euros (about $365 to $1,550.)

But even as they slice spending, ad firms won't abandon Cannes completely.

"Inevitably, this degree of careful selection will mean fewer delegates overall but we must continue to develop our industry and invest in thought leadership, even in the toughest of times," Beaven says.