Hello, my name is Paddy Treacy and I'm an advertising creative. I once had the chance to enter the Cannes Young Lions contest. But I ignored this chance and instead spent my evenings watching football and CSI: Miami, which was big at the time. My then advertising nemesis (now friends) won the contest, had themselves a wonderful time in the south of France and quickly became lauded and revered creatives. This was a blow I've never really recovered from.

Time passed and in the intervening years I've worked in Rothco (when it was small), DDFH+B (when it was big) and Wieden+Kennedy London (its size hasn't really fluctuated). In conclusion, if you're a young advertising person, please, don't make the same mistakes I did. Or you two could be wistfully writing about them, in approximately 8 years time. Thank you and don't forget to enter the Cannes Young Lions contest.