With over 28,000 entries from more than 85 countries one would have expected to see a Maltese entry. But despite the island having an advertising industry big enough to provide full-time jobs and careers, Malta yet again did a "no-show" at this year's Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival.

This was the 55th festival, which is recognised as the most prestigious international annual advertising awards as well as the world's largest global meeting place for those interested in creativity in communications. Over 9,500 delegates and more than 12,000 visitors attended. Awards are given in several categories.

Workshops, seminars, exhibitions and master-classes took place over the whole week of the event held at the same venue used only last month for the world-renowned film festival.

The absence of one single Maltese entry raises questions. It is bad enough that Malta's home-grown film industry is inexistent and there is never any serious Maltese entry at the Cannes Film Festival, but for an existing advertising industry could Malta's "no show" be indicative of lack of talent or lack of motivation? Or, perhaps, is it simply ignorance of the festival's existence? Whatever the reason, it is a shame.

One might begin to understand the (unacceptable) excuse that making a film, feature-length or short, involves quite a feat and sometimes quite a budget. But some commercial adverts can cost as little as €1,000 or indeed even as little as a few hundred euros. Some of the festival's winning entries have such small budgets as it is the "idea" that really wins. Winning commercials do not need to be big in production but rather big in the idea. As one expert put it: "The person who has the most money doesn't necessarily win". The same applies to film production. One could delve deeper on this subject with the famous quote: "The enemy of art is the absence of limitations".

In 2009, Maltese advertising agencies should be sending at least their young creative artistes to this festival. This is not to emulate the innovative ideas they shall see but to seek inspiration.

The Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival is as much about ceremonies and seminars as it is about parties. Set on the famous Riviera coastline only a minute's walk from the beach, most delegates hold their meetings on the beach and network in the evenings during the several private parties held.

The Maltese government should encourage such attendance especially given the absence of a specialised and professional school of advertising. If there is such a school or course it certainly is not producing many results. One should never forget that the advertising industry is often a platform also for young film-makers wanting to direct or produce in the film industry. One such film maker is Ridley Scott, who made his mark through commercials before getting his serious break in film. Serious development of careers and creativity in the advertising industry could lead to various other growths in the arts and media sectors.

Resonating in this year's festival was the fact that advertising is changing. Television is no longer regarded as the main medium but it is simply one of the many avenues available. The internet is playing almost a dominant role in advertising and there is an excitement about growth in digital media and, especially, in interactive applications.

There were some interesting advertising ideas such as that of an American fast food chain that decided to deprive its customers of the "whopper" burger for one day. Staff simply told customers that the whopper has been discontinued. Hidden cameras recorded the hysterical reactions of some customers and then placed them in a TV advert, leading to a successful campaign with increased sales.

One campaign in a Hamburg cinema involved a woman being rushed to hospital by her husband after experiencing labour pains. Moments later the cinemagoers watch on the widescreen an advert by a German newspaper with a headline about a woman in labour in a Hamburg cinema.

Their slogan promoted fast reporting.

In Belgium, a young black boy ran into a TV live show, much to the surprise of everyone, snatching the TV host's glass of water. This is all on camera witnessed by viewers nationwide. People were later asking each other: Did you see that black boy run in on the TV show last night? This campaign helped raise over €3.5 million for drinking water in Africa.

Various personalities from the world of advertising and the media attended this year's festival.

Lord David Puttnam, a legendary British film maker, was quick to recall his experience shooting Midnight Express (1977) in Malta as a good but yet depressing experience.

'The set in Malta was perfect for us," he explained, "but the story of the film was very hard and depressing and we all began to feel the negativity six or eight weeks into the shooting".

Midnight Express, a film based on a true story about the serious abuse of human rights in Turkey at that time, went on to become a box-office hit and as Lord Puttnam himself recalls: "Alan Parker (the director) and myself were not allowed to enter Turkey for 20 years".

Another personality attending the festival was media mogul Rupert Murdoch who claims that there is so much more that can and will be done in terms of digital services. He believes that there are opportunities to be had from a recession and, ultimately, more poor people are becoming less poor. As for his acquisition of MySpace, he claims not to be worried of his competitor Facebook, saying this only took the lead for six months last year.

One may expect Mr Murdoch to be biased when talking about such argumentative topics but one sure thing that was widely acknowledged throughout the festival was that consumers today are becoming smarter thanks to the internet and the blogging sites.

Advertisers today face the challenge of getting consumers to actually believe more in the product. And grabbing consumer's attention is becoming even more challenging when considering all the different types of information media available today.