http://www.canneslions.com/news/archive.cfm?newsid=152

GO BOLDY FORTH, CONRAD TELLS ACADEMY STUDENTS
21 June 2005

Michael Conrad, Dean of the Roger Hatchuel Lion's Academy, has urged students to be bold.

"Don't play it safe," he told the 29 members of the academy, who have come together from 22 territories for a one-week immersion course in the best of what the advertising world has to offer. "Don't be afraid to rock the boat and don't be held back by the existing expectations of managers or agencies."

From initial observations, the students - all of whom range in age from 18- 23 - have brought with them "a much more human approach" to the advertising industry, said Conrad, who is the former Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett.

The academy members have also brought with them the idea "that advertising and communication must serve human interest", he added.

The academy, now in its third year, is the brainchild of the former Festival Chairman, Roger Hatchuel. "The buzz word of these younger creatives is viral marketing," Conrad said. "This generation demands that an idea be interesting enough that they'd want to pass it on to their friends."

The students come in for a week under the guidance of Tutor Clive Challis, Head of the advertising ourse at Central Saint Martins in London. In the coming days, more students are due to arrive from Asia, as well as from Central and Eastern Europe. "These are students who are completely cool with multiple platforms and new media, and are totally comfortable with bringing both concept and empathy to their work," Challis said. "In that, they are ahead of the industry."

"Usually when people enter the industry, the technology is a barrier and the process of overcoming it can have a diluting effect on the ideas," Conrad added. "But that's not likely to happen here."

Noting that the students represent the "the créme de la créme" of the younger generation, Conrad said he worries the academy members may be held back by the current generation of managers and agencies, many of whom are not that comfortable with new technology. "They also have a fear of rocking the boat," he added. "They don't want to lose clients. But what I want to tell these academy members is that our clients are here to rediscover creativity. This is not the place to play it safe."

The students are also being taught by the créme de la créme of the advertising world. In addition to attending the seminars, they will participate in intimate sessions with the likes of Ogilvy Toronto's Janet Kesten and Nancy Vonk, WAM's Pierre Marcus, IdeaMangement's Ralf Langwost, and McCann Worldwide's Marcio Moreira.

by "http://www.canneslions.com/news/archive.cfm?newsid=152"