Advice
Advice for those considering the trip:
Go! I was unsure if I wanted to go on this trip, my main concerns being that I wasn't confident enough in my love for traditional "advertising", so I was worried that I wouldn't be interested in the events of the festival. I was SO wrong. It was all of the most amazing aspects of advertising together in one place. Whether it's learning about the inspiration behind revolutionary campaigns, watching film spots that bring tears to your eyes, drinking rosé and getting free merch from one of your favorite brand's tents, the festival is any creative's dream. I'm the only one of my friends who is an advertising major, and I told all of them they should have gone because I know they would have loved it. If you appreciate creativity in any way you'll love the festival. It is essentially a full class credit for a week of dope stuff in a beautiful part of the world.
Additionally, I was on the fence about studying abroad for my second semester of junior year. I thought it sounded super cool, but I love Miami so much and know that I feel best when I'm settled in one place so I decided not to go. The Cannes Lions Experience was the perfect amount of abroad for me—a one week course with UM classmates and teachers during the summer. I can't recommend this class enough!
Advice for those going on the trip:
My main advice for those going on the trip is as follows:
1. Have fun and be open minded! Make friends with your classmates and step out of your comfort zone.
2. Set up your schedule based on what YOU want to go to. The first day or so its easy to "follow the pack" and go to what everyone else is going to, but it's imperative for your experience that you go to the talks and events that interest you.
3. Wear airy, light clothes. The first day I tried to go way too business casual and ended up sweating BUCKETS. It is hot, hot, hot.
4. Research the fringe events going into the week and add them into your schedule. There are a ton of cool events happening that aren't on the main schedule!
5. Grab a few snacks at the beginning of the week to keep in your bag, but don't overdo it, there is SO much free food EVERYWHERE (our faves for free food were Twitter Beach & Warner Bros.) definitely take advantage of the free stuff.
6. Take notes and lots of photos!! It will make doing this blog a breeze!
7. Definitely make the most of being in Cannes and explore the area outside of the festival when you can!
8. Have fun and get excited about celebrating the wonderful field you're going into!!