note-taking envy, heat waves, and pope culture

Hello again from the Rivieria! This is Clara Malley and Eli Williams. Tuesday was the hottest-ever day in France. But nevertheless, we couldn’t be happier to be here for another special edition of As Seen On to report what we’ve been seeing on the ground at Cannes Lions.

In the first of two special edition podcasts this week, we were joined by friend of the show, Ben Dietz. Ben is 1⁄2 of the Hip Replacement podcast alongside another friend Kyle Raymond Fitzpatrick.

Ben is a longtime Cannes attendee, so we pick his brain about how the festival has evolved for better (and worse) over the past decade, why the work matters less and less, Toucan Sam snorting a line of stars, a theory of brands as mammals, and much more. Tune in here. — Clara

I went to check out SPECS, the new AR glasses from Snapchat priced at a cool $2,195. Snap CEO Evan Spiegel told Sara Fischer that the “social network is actually returning to in-person interaction, but empowered through computing.” I’m not sure. To me, wearing AR glasses feels more like a punishment for losing your fantasy football league than groundbreaking innovation at the intersection of luxury and tech, but I was eager to go Steven Meisel-mode and test ‘em out.

Over the past few years as they’ve moved into wearables, Snap’s presence on the Croisette has been defined by its AR art exhibits (lol). This year, the company built out a space in collaboration with portrait artist Jonathan Yeo. When I arrived, I was disappointed to find out that the actual SPECS wouldn’t be available, but the space was air conditioned, the staff was nice, and I wasn’t in any hurry to leave.

I lingered in a holding pen and flipped through a book of Yeo’s work, landing on a portrait of George W. Bush composed of vintage porn clippings. As I waited my turn, I overheard a gaggle of girls who were traveling abroad from Michigan State. They were buzzing, having just come from “Ibeefa.”

These glasses were gargantuan. As I walked past portraits of Jony Ive, Cara Delevigne, and Prince Charles, a British man with a tepid voice played through the glasses, directing me to reach my arm out and nod up and so the portraits would spring to life. When I looked away, the shtick would start over again. All I could think about was how much I looked like Milton Waddams from Office Space. — Eli

Cannes is known for having a lion’s share (sorry) of meh panels: so much so that off-Croisette events like Collins House and Rachel Lowenstein’s “Cannes, Be So For Real” are able to lure people away from the main drag without promising IV drips—just that they will be “unfiltered,” “no lanyards allowed,” etc.

But on the Croisette, the aforementioned Sara Fischer (Axios’ media correspondent) is a true gem. She squeezes good answers out of business leaders and celebrities, even those who—either because their teams or their own temperament—are disposed to be particularly withholding or evasive, like Linda Yaccarino and Amanda Batula in previous years. I bet that’s the first time those two have ever been in the same sentence. My Cannes holy grail is to see the page of notes she annotates during her interviews and uses to very coolly recap the entire interview like a Human GPT (complimentary). I saw her standing by the stairs after her conversation with Maria Sharapova and lost my courage to ask. I couldn’t think of a way of saying it that didn’t feel slightly invasive and weird? Maybe next year. — Clara

I dropped a note about this, but I’m intrigued by how many times I’ve heard Pope Leo’s name mentioned over the past few days. Popeyes shortlisted in the “Social & Creator” category for “pope yes,” a reactive campaign celebrating Leo’s election, and “Vehicle of Hope,” a Leo-blessed Popemobile-turned-mobile clinic for children in Gaza, won the Lions Health & UN Grand Prix. I also heard New York Times CEO Meredith Kopit Levien name drop Leo as one of the world’s most famous daily Wordle players.

I don’t know that it’s, you know, indicative of a major shift towards the Catholic faith—although, there has been a supposed uptick in interest among Gen Z men. But I do think Leo has become culturally ascendant. Maybe it’s his vocal skepticism towards AI, or that he’s become a resistance figure, sparring with JD Vance and Pete Hegseth over their rah-rah war mongering. — Eli

Hoda Kotb said at Axios that people need to focus on finding the joy in the Cannes experience and not the weather. I agree in principle, but as mentioned at the top, it really is SO hot. Shout out to this guy who took matters into his own hands at Collins House. — Clara