From sex creams to fast cars – cashing in on Cannes

Agence France-Presse Cannes, May 22

Seen at the Cannes film festival this week: The world launch of a cream to make vaginas happy, and the latest BMW. With TV networks, global press and celebrities all in town for a 12-day film extravanganza said to be the world's second biggest media event after the Olympics, savvy entrepreneurs are wasting no opportunity to snatch a few seconds of limelight. The Belgian firm behind the new Viagra for women – a cream claiming to heighten sensitivity of the clitoris – rustled up interest in the product with a free "salsa and sangria" party on the beach and samples for the women. "Pleasure's quest have no age" said the strangely-worded English PR leaflet. The next night BMW threw a giant celebrity party on another piece of private beach to launch its latest model, erecting a screen big enough to allow the crowds of uninvited plebs passing by to get glimpse of the new yuppie roadster. What did either event have to do with the world of movies? The cream, Belgian exec Andre Stas told AFP, "is the same price as a movie ticket and we plan a campaign of ads in European cinemas." His event was rated Cannes' worst party so far – the film fest ends on Sunday, May 25 – but the product did succeed in getting into the press. BMW, which notably featured its vehicles in the James Bond movies, sees itself as a fixture of cinema's dream machine, and is a regular organiser of big bashes at the world's annual premier movie showcase. Cashing in on Cannes is part and party of the festival. Plying the seaside strip are kids hauling cappuccino and hot chocolate machines on their backs, offering free cups for the Swiss company Nestle that is one of the festival's 34 official sponsors. Most of the sponsors are linked to cinema, like Kodak or Canon; the tie-in for others is not so obvious. A French cosmetics giant for instance has flown in a star-studded cast of actresses including Andie MacDowell of the United States and French actresses Laetitia Casta and Virginie Ledoyen, who strut up the red carpet most evenings, winning a free plug for the firm. Big bucks is what Cannes' underbelly is really all about as testified by the unabashed hype along the Croisette, the Riviera city's famed seaside strip. The big Carlton and Majestic hotels frequented by the world's richest people are grotesquely placarded in billboards, with only the Martinez choosing to keep its stylish white facade clear of glaring full-colour ads. Those walking through the portals of the Majestic have to pass between images of two giant panthers advertising a French film firm, while the entrance to the Carlton has been transformed into a giant set for Terminator 3: The Rise of the Machines. "These are the real machines in real metal from the set," said the security man outside. The remainder of the hotel facade is hung in strip pictures of Matrix stars Morpheus, Neo and Trinity. Nearby, people sipping quietly at a cafe terrace are framed by billboards for The Italian Job and Pirates of the Caribbean. A placard for the new Tomb Raider stands across the road at the end of a pier. This is a place where fame sells – much to the chagrin of those who view Cannes as a celebration of art over Hollywood-style conspicuous consumption. Thus, ads for an upmarket Italian fashion chain featuring Oscar-winning US actor Adrien Brody flogging a brand of shirts incensed French actor Jean Rochefort, who had loved Brody's performance in The Pianist. Said Rochefort: "When this morning I saw him showing off a shirt, I felt I'd been orphaned. It made me sad." ( thanks Hindustan T. )

Links:

Hotel Martinez Cannes

Hotel Californias

Cannes Film Festival

next story ..go..