Neil French has the extraordinary talent of being both in Cannes and not in Cannes at the same time. In previous Lions festivals, the advertising legend has been spotted at his favorite restaurant, waiting for visiting admen to pay homage. For the rest of us not fortunate enough to have a private audience with the man, it’s still possible to take a peek into the French life online.
Mediterranean lifestyle website AzurTV follows the former WPP chief creative officer around Cannes far from the hustle and bustle of the Palais. The video, recorded during Cannes Lions 2009, condenses French’s life before and after advertising in just under seven minutes.
In the featured video, French candidly recalls his failure as a pornographer, band manager and gangster, and shares what he learned in six months of matador training in Spain. He reveals his reason for his flight to Singapore: to evade the police and the taxman. He found fame and fortune in Singapore, and a notoriety to rival his Hemingway’s. Narrating how he imparts his Englishness to his young son, French appears proud of raising the boy into a fine and very proper young man indeed.
Azur TV features fine food, luxury accommodations, social gatherings, yachts and interesting personalities. " All you need to know about restaurants you can’t afford, cars that Jeremy Clarkson couldn’t even insure, and yachts that are, frankly, gobsmacking," he describes the site in an email to industry friends. "I can’t, for the life of me, figure out what the hell I’m doing in there!" (But we can.) How very typically French.
Watch the video at www.AzurTV.com.
