Hey friend – Rob here.

I had a whole newsletter prepared for you.

And then i remembered... d'oh, it's Cannes Lions season!

So i wanted to be a biiiiiit more topical instead.

Looking at the archives, it made sense to re-publish (and mildly adapt) something i wrote last year.

About Cannes Lions, mental health, and... well, just read it below.

The usual weekly newsletter is coming later in the week.

But in the meantime, come reflect with me...

🤔 Is Cannes Lions good for our mental health?

I’ve had this funny feeling for a while.

There’s a bit of a problem with our industry, or frankly a lot of industries.

They expect greatness at all costs, a bit like measuring GDP while disregarding human flourishing.

So, after 15+ years in the game (👴), i've collected some notes around this hypothesis i've been noodling for a while.

While Cannes Lions is great for our career progressions, is it good for our mental health?

This isn’t meant to be a rant or hate piece (hate pieces are boring and unimaginative).

It's more of a series of pros and cons that make me think about my own career ambitions and trajectory.

They may help you think too, because spoiler alert: the answer to the question is "only you will know".

And you will know by measuring as many pros and cons, and seeing if it's a net positive for you.

So, let's get into it.

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😿 Con.

Many years ago, i was obsessed with reading strategy books.

And while they made me feel smarter, they also made me feel dumb as shit, and guilty, and not good enough.

What the hell was going on?

Well, it's because they sounded awesome and also awesomely unlike what my day to day work looked like.

In essence, all those great expectations not matching up to the reality of work created a deep sense of guilt.

And that definitely did not help with the anxiety and depression i was already feeling at the time.

I wonder if Cannes has a similar effect for some of us.

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🦁 Pro.

On the other hand of course, aspiring to that level of greatness is what keeps us going.

And if nothing else this newsletter is about things that have helped me keep going.

So while your mileage may vary, perhaps aspiring to that seemingly-unachievable-but-possible-level is useful.

It can help create a generation of more driven, focused individuals who can transform brands and businesses.

And while i am driven, not sure i was ever that focused (apart from my hyperfocus episodes, thanks ADHD!).

My drive is more around things like:

• What's timeless about human nature?
• How does this help me make sense of the world?
• How does it give me enough insight to want to act?

The advertising part happens to be an outcome of this process, but i am in it for the process.

While for you it might be about becoming part of the creative elite of the industry.

And that's ok too.

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😿 Con.

This isn’t to say it’s all on Cannes of course, all awards events are like this.

In fact, you could argue it’s by design: only a few get to go on stage.

And it’s (supposedly) a meritocracy, therefore those who rise deserve the spoils of all their hard work.

Which is well and good, until you realise many environments don't seem to balance being creative with thoughtful.

And you end up with a very strange laws of the jungle, dog eat dog world, everyone’s on the verge of burnout.

All because you may end up having one great week in the south of France.

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🦁 Pro.

But but but, is it burnout, or is it passion?

Because of course if you combine passion and focus you end up with massive productivity machines.

People who – no judgement whatsoever – live for their careers because that maximises economic security.

My passion has often led to burnout, but for many this may not be the case.

So, some questions for anyone reading this:

• Would it happen to you too?
• If so, how does that change your expectations around success?
• Did your mind automatically equate success with "personal" or "professional"?
• Is reflecting on the answer to that a useful thing to do as well?

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😿 Con.

I once asked a friend if he’d commit a whole year of his life working weekends if that guaranteed him a Grand Prix.

Back then, he said yes (we've spoken since, it's now a "probably not").

I said no at the time, and i’d continue to say no today.

Maybe it’s a life stage thing.

I’m in my mid-30s, i know what burnout feels like, have a kid, like free time, and prefer solving problems to prizes.

I’m not that built for networking, because my networking is writing things and talking to people about them.

I don’t drink or do drugs, so frankly i’d only be there for the views and food.

Or maybe whatever ambition i had in my 20s has given way to some complacency, but i’m not sure that’s true.

It’s just my life’s ambitions have many more shades now that go beyond ‘work stuff’.

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🦁 Pro.

People say Cannes is political and politics is dirty, but kinda… ish?

Sure, politics can be dirty, but it’s also a tool to get shit done, and ignoring this is probably a luxury of the few.

It's not how most of the world really works.

Politics being a tool of course, like technology, whether it’s good or bad depends on what you make of it.

And it can be naive to assume you can build a great team or company without understanding industry politics.

So perhaps a lot of the hate posts out there come from a place of not having that much skin in the game.

While those who do have skin in the game know what it takes to stay competitive.

I dunno, but i have suspicions now that i run my own business too.

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😿 Con.

It’s… not real?

We keep saying we should make work for real people.

And then one of the most coveted awards in the industry has, let's say, questions attached to it on that front.

You see work that is creatively rich, often strategically right (enough), but not always little real world impact.

Now, i know for a fact the team behind Cannes Lions encourage impact as much as insight and ideas.

So part of the onus might be on the people submitting the work to give a bit more of a crap about it.

I've been on the fence about this, but these days i prefer to see Cannes Lions as a place for creative prototyping.

A bit of R&D for where the industry could head next.

If businesses invest in R&D to see where they could go, it doesn't matter if all the prototypes make it to market.

Perhaps this is a healthier way to treat the 'made for awards' work instead of just bashing it on LinkedIn.

It's all inspiration and learning, one way or another.

(Did i just turn a 'con' into a 'pro'?)

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🦁 Pro.

If you do pass the threshold of getting to the top, it can indeed make careers.

I’ve known enough people who rode fantastic careers in this industry off the back of their award-winning work.

And you know what, kudos to them and the people who gave them a shot at it!

Just because it’s not my game individually, it would be extremely arrogant to assume it's not a game for others.

And i should remind you this comes from someone who is most definitely not an ad nerd, just a regular nerd.

But i absolutely understand the irrational commitment to the things that make us go all nerdy level 9,000.

So if Cannes fills your life with meaning and forward-motion, go forth!

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📝 In summary.

And that last point is indeed the point of this whole thing.

Not to tell you i am right (again, so boring and unimaginative), but to leave you with a suggestion.

Evaluate who you are deep down and therefore whether aspiring to cruise around la Croisette is right for you.

And know that whatever your answer is, fuck what the critics would say about you or your dreams in life.

Because criticising is 100x easier than committing to a path.

The biggest mental health troubles we face are perhaps not linked to industry events per se.

But rather the expectation that you absolutely must aspire to what everyone else is aspiring.

Instead, consider that life’s too short to not find your own path and walk it with less fear.

So, is Cannes good for our mental health?

I Cannot (hey) answer this conclusively.

All i can say it’s not been great for mine, but it might be outstanding for yours.

But amid all the envy, pressure, hate, joy, resentment, achievement, tweets, posts, substacks, cocktails and cockups...

You get to decide.