Because we are better today than yesterday and tomorrow we will be better than today

Because we are better today than yesterday and tomorrow we will be better than today

by Julia Hartmann

Every journey has its own soundtrack. That’s what I thought when I arrived in Cannes. My goal for the week is to find Cannes’ soundtrack. What does the Croisette, located at the Côte d’Azur, sound like during this one week in June?

The whole thing started as a bit of a joke. To shazam every song that stands out. Always bearing in mind that the mission is to find the Sound of Cannes. 

After one day in Cannes, I still find this thought exciting. And notice that something else resonates within me. Something else moves me. It’s not just the music playing at the different beaches of Meta & Co. It is not the clinking of glasses freshly filled with rosé. And it’s not just the babble of voices in all languages all around.

It is the voice of Tarana Burke, founder of the MeToo movement, who touches an entire audience as she tells how she founded MeToo. And how a single hashtag moved the whole world to stand up, get loud and break open a taboo subject. A hashtag that did not initially come from her movement.

It is the voice of a woman who was never about credits, who was never about finger-pointing, but always about creating a sense of shared healing. She always puts the cause above her personal ego. A woman who has a clear WHY, a clear purpose that is deeply rooted in her values. These values are her inner compass and drive. She knows: For a better global community, we need to move forward. 

On the first day Nike also focused on what lies ahead. “There is no finish line” is both an attitude and a direction: Don’t stand still. Become better. Does everyone suddenly have an urge to optimise? No. The world is changing and it is changing fast. 

Anyone who looks at the programme of this year’s Cannes Lions will notice disruptive themes that question the status quo.

There is something in the air this year – in Cannes and also in the creative industry. You can already feel it on day one. It resonates, hums along. I can spot it in conversations with creatives from India and Barcelona. And we will hear it at home in Baden-Württemberg, too. 

The only question that remains is: Is this the sound of Cannes? And when will it reach The Länd?