The hottest status symbols at the Cannes ad confab
Happy Saturday! A 51-year-old woman says she's in the best shape of her life after ditching cardio and getting into strength training. Here's how she did it.
On the agenda:
A dietitian explains why eating dessert can help you lose more weight and keep it off.
A heated debate about location sharing is dividing generations.
Creatine is a longevity wonder supplement — and it's not just for gym bros.
The new American dream? Buying and renting out vacation homes in Italy.
But first: Bonjour de Cannes!
This week's dispatch
The status symbols CMOs are into
More than 15,000 marketing leaders and creatives descended on the French Riviera for this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France.
And while the thousands of chief marketing officers traded industry secrets and attended panels and networking events, I spent my time on the lookout for the status symbols they were wearing. You know … the important reporting we all want to know about. Right? Right.
After spending six days with this group, I noticed two beloved items over and over again. One wasn't a shocker, while the other was a nice surprise.
The first status symbol I noticed as soon as I touched down at the airport in Nice, before trekking the 45 minutes to Cannes, was that most of the marketers had Away luggage.
It's not a new hot item, but it's easy to see why the brand is beloved by these busy professionals. They have a sleek, minimalist design. They're quite light, around 7.5 pounds, making it easy to head to Cannes or any other locale, and they have wheels that turn 360 degrees.
Another travel item I saw time and again throughout my week in sunny Cannes was Celine sunglasses.
The French designer's accessory is the ultimate "if you know, you know" product, as they're not deemed trendy. Instead, because of their quality — premium acetate and gold hardware — the sunnies were a favorite among marketers.
During my panel at The FQ Lounge, Jennifer Wilson, the CMO of Lowe's, had also noticed the trend and said she had to pick up a pair, which range in price from $300 to more than $500, before she left France.
Just desserts
You don't have to cut out sweet treats to eat healthier. Having dessert or other favorite foods can actually help dieters reach weight-loss goals, Tara Schmidt, lead dietitian for the Mayo Clinic diet, told BI.
The key is moderation. "Allowing for a balanced way of including your favorite foods, a planned indulgence, really helps people feel less deprived," Schmidt said.
See her tips for indulging healthier.
Do you want to share your location with me?
You're likely to get a different answer depending on who you ask. Sharing your location with friends and family has become a heated debate among generations. BI spoke to people from all age groups to find out why.
Gen Z is generally chill about it, with some citing convenience as a reason. Gen X is indifferent, seeing the pros and cons. Millennials, on the other hand, are more divided, with some saying they outright hated it or felt no need for it.
To share or not to share.
The creatine craze is more than just hype
Researchers typically have a healthy mistrust of supplements, but creatine is the rare exception. Evidence is piling up about its positive effects on your body, brain, and longevity.
Gym bros love creatine because it helps build muscle, but it's not just for bulking up. Early research suggests it can support hormonal health for both women and men. New research suggests creatine can help with brain performance, too.
Plus, it's relatively inexpensive.
Il (nuovo) sogno americano
The new American dream includes buying and managing property outside your main residence. Italy, which boasts Mediterranean charm, a slower pace of life, and plenty of inexpensive real estate, is a prime target for American buyers.
Plus, homeowners can personally enjoy their investments when they're not renting them out. It's a way of combining passive income with a familiar place to stay on vacation.
Three Americans shared what it's like.
What we're watching this weekend
"A Minecraft Movie": One of the biggest movies of the year is now on Max. Travel to the world of Minecraft with Jack Black and Jason Momoa.
"Love Me": Kristen Stewart and Steven Yeun prove love is possible even after humanity's extinction in this unique love story, now available on Amazon Prime.
"The Gilded Age": Season 3 of the acclaimed show set in 1880s New York City, starring Carrie Coon and Cynthia Nixon, returns on Max.
What to shop
Work out in style: Whether you're spending weekends on the pickleball court or out running errands, these super cute exercise dresses will keep you comfy and supported.
Made-to-measure suits: Our men's style editor knows a thing or two about looking sharp. He tested Suitsupply's custom, made-to-measure suits and got the best fit he's ever experienced. Here's what it's like to order from them, and what to keep in mind.
Cloud Couch dupe: We tested a modular sofa from Sundays that's just like Restoration Hardware's famous Cloud Couch, but way less expensive. If you're looking for a comfy couch to sink into, we can't recommend this one enough.
More of this week's top reads:
I was diagnosed with stage 4 colon cancer at 31 despite being fit and healthy. Doctors brushed off my concerns as pregnancy symptoms.
Jason Isaacs reveals the " very low price" the "White Lotus" cast was paid per episode.
I spent every summer in Greece as a kid. Here are seven places you should visit that aren't Mykonos or Athens.
We moved to rural Oregon to save money. It's been great, but small-town life has its downsides.
Ten items from your summer wardrobe to get rid of, according to stylists and designers.
I spent a night in a brand-new luxury hotel in Seattle. I wasn't familiar with the chain, but now I'll book it worldwide.
McDonald's was ranked the biggest restaurant chain in the US. Here are the other chains that topped the list.
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Review: Giancarlo Guerrero steps into new Grant Park Music Fest role with a pair of genial and dynamic programs
Talk about a perfect storm. On Wednesday, Giancarlo Guerrero's much-fêted debut as principal conductor and artistic director of the Grant Park Music Festival was dampened by relentless rain. Audiences scrunched under the Jay Pritzker Pavilion fringe, only to play musical chairs dodging the structure's many (and ever-changing) leaky spots. When they weren't doing that, seat shuffles and squabbles competed with the evening's violin concerto. But if Guerrero appeared unflappable onstage, it's because he's been there before. He made his sophomore appearance with the orchestra in 2014 under nearly identical circumstances, down to the solo string showcase and contemporary American opener. Despite the lousy weather, that appearance impressed festival musicians enough to fast-track Guerrero to the top of their director wishlist a decade later. While last week's storm never erupted into thunder, musical lightning struck twice here with yet another exuberant, water-resistant stand by Guerrero on Wednesday, followed by a masterful account of Mahler's Symphony No. 1 on Friday. Wednesday's concert included two harbor works: 'An American Port of Call,' by Virginia-based composer Adolphus Hailstork, and Leonard Bernstein's 'On the Waterfront' suite. Conducting with his pointer fingers rather than a baton, and sporting a new goatee, Guerrero led a sparky, whistle-clean run of Hailstork's eight-minute curtain raiser. But when the music dissipated into quietude — recalling a boat drifting far off from shore, surrounded only by blue horizon — Guerrero guided the music with expansive ease. Bernstein's 'Waterfront' benefited from the same balance of gusto and intuitive pacing. Patrick Walle's horn solo up top sounded suspended in time, before an increasingly feral orchestra jerked us back to street level. Amid the ferocity, the Grant Parkers always sounded whetted and clean, moving through the works' shifting meters with fearsome precision. In the final windup to the end, electric energy gave way to ringing, Mussorgskyan grandeur. Between the Hailstork and Bernstein, Jeremy Black returned to the festival as both concertmaster and featured soloist, offering up the Mendelssohn Violin Concerto. Even the brunt of the evening's downpour couldn't wash away the strong impression left by this filigree, soulful performance. Black's sound in the opening theme and balladic second movement was sugared but never treacly. Meanwhile, the Allegro molto vivace coasted along serenely, Black's bel canto phrasing and pristine intonation never betraying its finger-flying briskness. Promisingly, Guerrero's orchestral accompaniment was every bit as tasteful. Negotiating solo string balance in the park is always just that — a negotiation — but Guerrero hit the sweet spot of clarity and restraint. The orchestra was able to be a bit more gutsy under Friday's soloist, Pacho Flores. The Venezuelan trumpeter has a sparkling sound, which he dispatched with doting attention to phrase and line in Arturo Márquez's lively, if unseasonal, 'Concierto de Otoño' ('Autumn Concerto'). The work was specifically composed for Flores in 2018, taking unabashed advantage of not just the trumpeter's lyricism but his gatling-gun articulation, unflappable stamina and chameleon flexibility. (He traded four different horns across the 20-minute piece: C and D trumpets in the outer movements, then a flugelhorn and soprano cornet in the middle.) Flores also knows how to work a crowd. Rather than shooting to the stratosphere in his third-movement cadenza, he crawled to the bottom of his range — an amusing subversion of trumpet tropes. He then turned his bell directly at Guerrero and playfully pppththhed at him through his horn, prompting a teasing 'what gives?' shrug from the conductor. That said, it's hard to endorse Márquez's concerto beyond a mere virtuoso vehicle. The orchestral backing is often trite, cycling through the same progressions for what feels like minutes at a time. If the concerto's many flavors of theme-and-variation were engrossing at all, it was entirely thanks to Friday's soloist and orchestra, both playing with tempera-rich color and joie d'vivre. For pops-adjacent music under a more skillful hand, look to Flores himself. He opened and closed his appearance with two self-penned numbers: 'Morocota' (named for a $20 Venezuelan coin) and 'Lábios Vermelhos' ('Red Lips'). Originally recording both with guitar accompaniment for a 2017 Deutsche Grammophon release, Flores sang through his horn with a suave melodiousness that would have done the Rat Pack proud, with just a shimmer of vibrato where it counted. His lush orchestral arrangements would have been right at home in that milieu, too. At one point in 'Lábios Vermelhos,' section trumpets got in on the fun, with a sneering little interjection. Yet another short, Latin-inspired curtain raiser opened the concert: 'Baião n' Blues,' by Chicago composer Clarice Assad. A staple of the Carlos Kalmar years, Assad's inclusion in Guerrero's opening week bodes well for the new festival chief's attention to local composers. Ultimately, though, this performance had some of the same early-season jitters as last week's opener, with a scraggly opening and subdivision disagreement among the violins. 'Baião n' Blues' already isn't Assad's most compellingly structured piece, but a more honed performance might have made a better case. While Mahler sought to depict the world's natural beauty and bizarre juxtapositions in his music, he perhaps didn't anticipate contending with throbbing helicopters, the squeal of a coach's whistle, and hot rods sputtering down Lake Shore Drive on Friday. The Grant Park corps rose above the usual downtown backing track with a fresh, focused Mahler 1. Guerrero cued the unearthly, whistling first bars with an ambiguous gesture that invited the orchestra to melt in freely. Offstage trumpets were piped through the crown of the pavilion stage, sounding mysteriously heaven-sent. When the theme arrived in the cellos, Guerrero maintained their levity and grace throughout the movement — and, in fact, throughout much of the piece, bringing an aerodynamic lightness even to the symphony's final cadence. Because Grant Park 'does things a little differently,' per Guerrero, Friday's performance reinserted Mahler's discarded 'Blumine' movement. Through a complex change of hands, the only surviving manuscript copy of 'Blumine' ended up in in New Haven, Connecticut, where it was rediscovered as part of the Mahler renaissance of the 1960s. If 'Blumine' is heard at all, it's usually as a standalone piece, for good reason: It's arresting but nearly always out-of-place amid the lustiness of the rest of the symphony. Friday's performance gave the same impression — gauzy and subtle, but stopping short of the richness and emotional abandon that would make a better case for its inclusion. Elsewhere, other idiosyncratic touches intrigued and often convinced: more perky staccatos by oboist Alex Liedtke, orchestral accents like bitter twists of a knife in the funeral march, and a slower reading of the klezmer-band interludes. In all, it endorsed Guerrero's warhorse chops as enthusiastically as his new-music acumen. Rain or shine, Grant Park is looking like a fair place to be under his baton.
