• by Le Riff , June 18, 2007

CANNES, FRANCE - There was a very short list of American agencies on the Cannes Media Lions' short list announced here this morning at the 54th International Advertising Festival. Twenty-five out of the 191 finalists come from the U.S., with OMD leading the way with six, primarily on the strength of its consumer-generated "Doritos Crash the Super Bowl" commercial, which took half of those nominations in a variety of categories.

Leo Burnett was runner-up with four finalists, three of them for its work for McDonald's. BBDO was short-listed three times; Carat and Starcom two; and Arc Worldwide, Cheil, Digitas, Drogas, Fallon, JST and Mindshare a single shortlist each.

Otherwise, rain greeted the first wave of Lions Festival guests as they trickled into Cannes on a sleepy Sunday, which saw an opening day of presentations that addressed familiar but essential challenges facing the marketing business today.

The biggest headlined session was Tribal DDB's "When World's Collide," presented by the Omnicom agency's Worldwide Planning Director Matt Dyke, who tackled the diminishing distinction between the digital and physical worlds, and suggested the largest roadblock to amalgamation of the two approaches is privacy concerns.

In a morning session, Digitas' Managing Director Norm Johnston both trumpeted digital agencies' increasingly taking above-the-line work from traditional agencies, and warned that the flip side of this trend was that digital agencies increasingly would become more like traditional shops. He also acknowledged the widespread shortage of online industry talent.

The hottest ticket so far - even outdistancing a Friday session from former American Vice President Al Gore and Y&R - is Tuesday's presentation from the U.K. soccer team Manchester United, "Creating the Future of a Legendary Brand," which will be led the by team's group commercial director and former Saatchi & Saatchi London CEO Lee Daley and its most famous player, Sir Bobby Charlton.

One on-site marketing trend that has mushroomed is the appearance of VIP lounges with food, drinks and wireless service. First started by MPG three years ago, there are now at least four such locations, the premiere locale so far is outdoor company JCDecaux's beach canapé directly off the main drag and looking out at the French Mediterranean.