Advertising and marketing folk frequently offer insightful conversations. They also even more frequently offer some damn funny conversations. As the sun sets on an idyllic Cannes horizon – about 10:30pm – the convergence begins at 71 Boulevard Croisette, the famed ‘Gutter Bar’. And so begins some scary, veil-lifting and always amusing chats. Here are some soundbites:

From an agency head, "We don't make advertising anymore because we learned how to make money."

"Who do you think owns all those yachts out there?" pointing to the vista. "The ad guys, the tech guys or the Russians?"

"We don't build websites anymore, we build PowerPoint presentations about building websites."

"I sat in a meeting with the GAD and explained three times that we charge the client for strategy – it's not a value-add!"

"Do you think the Japanese would get Dame Edna?"

"If he's [the barman] wearing a sponsored T-Shirt, why did I just have to pay for these beers?"

"When client's squeeze our margins, all it means is our ability to pay talent what it's worth shifts in favour of it [talent] working client-side. But more and more to the <expletive> platforms like Google and Facebook."