Ditch Cannes for Coney! Here Are 8 Reasons Why

Ric Kallaher, the photographer who took all those awesome shots at One Show in May, ditched the Cannes International Ad Festival for the Coney Island freak show, otherwise known as the Second Annual Wrath of Cannes.

And he's not sorry.

"Who needs Cannes?! Beter yet: who WANTS Cannes?!" he concluded, having obviously returned a changed man.

"THIS is everything an advertising awards show should be: last minute, no hassle entries open to anyone & everyone, free beer, rockin' surfer-guitar music (blasted out by the ever-cool Tarantinos), raucous fun on the beach, and on-site, in full-view judging for clients that could never exist for ad campaigns that could never air.

"But, hey, with modern mobile platforms, why not?!"

Below: 8 Freakish Things We Learned About Wrath of Cannes. (Illustrated.)

1. There is only ONE statue. You can lick it if you win -- which Rob Wenger and Carly Heims did -- but you'll have to give it back. Can't hate on an awards show that recycles. (See Wenger's winning work: VirtualDrinkingBuddy.com, an ad campaign for Irish whiskey The Knot.)

2. You can buy tickets AT A CARNIVAL BOOTH! Get 'em while they're hot. Maybe with mustard.

3. Security's tight. But once you're in, they feed you like a rock star.

4. The judges can pole dance.

5. Creative pitches are passionate, submissions happen on a whim. It's anarchy!

6. There's a ferris wheel. And while I loved One Show, I'd rather ride a ferris wheel than the hipster bus that conveyed all those moody limo-less creatives to the after party.

7. You get to shoot freaks! And if that's something you've never wanted to do, then you don't work in advertising.

8. Creative doesn't have to pass ordinary channels of approval. Reach under your bed and enter that quiet horror of a print campaign. And your worst Hawaiian print shirt. You'll fit right in.

Want more? Witness the magic. Then consider indulging agency Woods Witt Dealy & Sons and making a cameo next year.