Green with Envy: A Cannes state of mind
There’s a particular pantone that defines Cannes. It’s not just the turquoise water (3258C) or the pale pink rosé (489C) —though both do flow in abundance. It’s 3435C (green, the green of envy). Because Cannes, at its heart, is a week-long, sun-soaked reminder of all the brilliant work you didn’t make.
Let’s be honest: the best work at Cannes doesn’t make you applaud. It makes you seethe. The sharpest ideas—the ones with elegance, audacity, and craft—don’t just win Lions; they burrow under your skin. They make you wish you’d thought of it first. That’s not bitterness. That’s the honest, ugly beauty of envy. And in this industry, it’s a surprisingly healthy signal: if you’re not envious, you’re not paying attention.
So, in the spirit of celebrating the work that will almost certainly pick up Lions this year and drive you quietly mad, here are three that have earned my envy.
Lynx – “Catnip”
Let’s talk about Lynx. Or more accurately, let’s curse under our breath about Lynx. Because for the past few years, they’ve been pulling off one of the most quietly masterful brand reinventions in recent memory. Somehow, they’ve revived that signature swagger—equal parts unhinged and unapologetically bold—without slipping into parody or nostalgia. It’s been… irritatingly good.
Catnip, continues this streak. Surreal, sardonic, and just the right shade of wrong, it manages to fuse product innovation with cultural relevance in a way that feels effortless. It’s cheeky. It’s clever. And it sticks. They’ve turned the tired old tropes of masculinity and attraction into something fresh and absurd. I don’t just hope it wins—I hope it keeps annoying people like me, one strange, spray-scented film at a time.
Telstra – “Better on a Better Network”
Then there’s the Southern Hemisphere problem. Specifically, Australia and New Zealand. There must be something in the ozone-depleted air, because their creative output continues to feel maddeningly fresh. Case in point: Telstra’s Better on a Better Network, developed with the brilliant Bear Meets Eagle On Fire.
If you were to build a creative graveyard, it would be lined with campaigns for telcos. But this one? This one sings. A single-minded proposition—better experiences on a better network—transformed into a series of vignettes that are visually rich, warmly funny, and gently self-aware. There’s no overwrought earnestness, no generic coverage stats—just a deeply human lens on the everyday, elevated by exceptional craft. It’s deceptively simple. Enviously so.
BHF – “England till I died”
This definitely sits in the work you wish you had made or got close to. Playing with culture and entertainment to educate and raise awareness of heart disease has always been a core principle of BHF work dating back to Vinnie. But this work really gets me. Beautifully simple, leveraging football that can often feel like life and death, and turning it into something that truly is that important.
So yes, Cannes is annoying. And no, not because you’re stuck in a meeting room while someone else is sabering champagne. It’s annoying because it reminds you just how good things can be when strategy, craft, and creative confidence collide. It holds up a mirror, not to what you’ve done, but to what you could havedone.
Which is why we keep watching. Keep entering. Keep creating. Because next year, maybe someone will be seething at something you made. And what a glorious, envious feeling that will be.
Matt Tanter is head of strategy at Mother London
