There was an afternoon in Cannes when I was totally bored. I've been coming to this event since the 1990s and it suddenly struck me that nothing had really changed. Despite all the new technology and the talk about innovation and authenticity, it was still about a bunch of people selling bank accounts, sports shoes and detergent. And many of them seemed to be doing it in less honest and more furtive ways than ever before - mostly by observing our online habits.
Then came the Dentsu presentation. I didn't mean to see it at all: in fact I arrived at the auditorium early for AKQA's Future Lions. Dentsu were talking about a Japanese pop band called Perfume, who cleverly blend electro-pop, robotic dance moves and digital effects to become something between virtual and real - living avatars. So far, though, this was just another case study film. Yawn. Then Perfume suddenly appeared live on stage. Three svelte Japanese girls dancing in a maelstrom of sound and light effects. Now I was awake. It was like being plunged into a William Gibson novel (specifically Idoru). After all the chatter and the jargon, here was something fresh and fun. And the only thing it sold were the band themselves. Perfume not only woke me up, they cheered me up. It was as if they had stepped out of a world of screens to remind us that live is still the most magical form of entertainment.
