1. The return of humor
« A joke can become a Grand Prix » [Une blague peut remporter un Grand Prix]. Anselmo Ramos, co-founder of the Gut agency and president of the Brand Experience & Activation jury, was full of praise for the big winner, Pop Tarts cereal and their agency Weber Shandwick New York for “The First Edible Mascot”. A marvel of absurd humor in the operation, which sees the ultra-cute little mascot commit suicide live in a toaster, before being devoured by supporters of “college football” matches. “It’s weird, it’s uncomfortable, it’s genius!” It’s stupid in the best sense of the word.”, enthused Anselmo Ramos. Another example, in the Health & Wellness category, it was also a campaign using derision which won the Grand Prix. In FCB Chicago’s “The Last Barf Bag” for Dramamine, vomit bags, rendered useless by motion sickness medication, become collector’s items. It’s not too early: finally, that’s it, humor is coming back to Cannes! As Lucie Vallotton, senior creative at TBWA Paris and Design Prize juror, summarizes: “Overall, there is a real return of humor and playfulness, we feel that, with the world being so anxious lately, brands need to touch their audience in a more personal, more inclusive, more universal way . And humor is definitely a great way to break down barriers and bring people together. »
2. The post-purpose era
We no longer dared to dream of it. We were so tired of it… For years, the Cannes Lions were playing superheroes, Doctors of the World of Communications, with these campaigns whose name we no longer even translated into French – the “purpose” [communication responsable ?]. During the awards announcement conference on June 17, Marco Venturelli, president in charge of creation of Publicis Conseil and president of the Outdoor jury, dropped a bombshell: “We are now in the post-purpose era. For too many years, brands have been offering “purpose” campaigns with no real link to their business model, sometimes, moreover, with a certain cynicism. Now, the purpose is a prerequisite, it’s the basis. We’re here to show that you can run truly useful campaigns, while remaining true to your brand, and without jumping on trending topics. »
For his part, John-Paul Forero, president & CCO of DDB Colombia and president of the Print & Publishing jury, was definitive: “We can no longer reward just any cause for just any brand. » Had the jurors also been fully aware of the purpose for years, without daring to say it? Simon Vicars, chief creative officer at Colenso BBDO and president of the Audio & Radio jury, was keen to “thank the Cannes Lions, who allowed us to study the “purpose” campaigns at length and in detail and to question them. Today, the brands that are the real bearers of “purpose” are not those that do philanthropy on the side. They are those who link their identity to causes, while giving an impact to their business. » “Our three Golds and our Grand Prix did several things: create profit, generate conversations and challenge norms”for her part highlighted Rose Herceg, Australia and New Zealand president of WPP and president of the Creative Data jury, whose Grand Prize was awarded to McCann Poland, Warsaw for an operation which made it possible to combat xenophobia against Ukrainian refugees in Poland through the analysis of financial data.
Ultimately, what face will post-purpose have? A bit the same, except for the necklace, as Lucie Vallotton explains: “The purpose is always present but in a less anecdotal way, it serves a real brand point of view as we can see in projects like Orange × WoMen’s football, Sol Cement × Sightwalks or Pedigree. » “It is now a matter of finding the right balance between commercial approach and creativity”, supported Kat Thomas, founder, CCO of One Green Bean and president of the PR jury. A question also of credibility for the brand. “Deep down, like many of us, brands want to be useful, to give meaning to their actions, to have an impact on the world in which they operate. But by staying in their place. Where in recent years we have had the feeling that companies are buying a good conscience with a lot of soothing communications, not always very sincere and sometimes even missing the point”, summarizes Matthieu Elkaim, president and chief creative officer of Ogilvy Paris. The “purpose” must be “game-changing”, but also “scalable” [adaptable à grande échelle]. A “purpose” whose primary “purpose”… is to generate ROI!
3. Is the AI getting tired already?
We heard it for the first time on the Croisette: like before it the “ad fatigue” of consumers hounded by brands, the “dating fatigue” of those disappointed with dating apps, “AI fatigue” is already lurking, it seems, the advertising environment… It must be said that between the different platforms developed by the large communications groups, the various tools presented during the festival by the tech and ad tech giants, Cannes had the air of AI ZAC… Exhausting. Especially since, this year, we have once again not given up on the incredible possibilities of AI. “The truth is that technology becomes invisible, but we can guess it, for our greatest pleasure”nuance Amy Ferguson, chief creative officer of Special US and president of the Social & Influencer jury – which awarded “Handshake Hunt” for Mercado, a retail chain that offers discounts to its customers every time a handshake is broadcast on television.
Basically, in the opinion of several experts, after last year’s AI hysteria, we currently find ourselves in an in-between. We are not yet able to fully understand the capabilities of generative intelligence, the results of which are still often ugly. And even the creative trick which consists of making fun of the failures of the AI already smells old… Not to mention that it is not systematically useful to shine and stand out, quite the contrary. As evidenced by the “Meet Marina Prieto” campaign imagined by David Madrid for JCDecaux in Spain, crowned with the Creative B to B Grand Prix. In this context, the face of an unknown little granny was plastered all over the metro, arousing growing curiosity and numerous benefits for the brand… which therefore fulfilled its objective, to promote the effectiveness of display media. “A simple, smart B2B idea that proves you don’t always need to use AI or next-generation technologies to break through”particularly noted Andisa Ntsubane, executive director of brand, marketing and communications at Vodacom Group and president of the Creative B to B jury.
4. Impact entertainment
“Entertainment” does not, it seems, come without “impact”. Little or big. We of course think of the Grand Prix won by Marcel for Orange in the Entertainment for Sport category. Women’s football can say thank you, for helping to change the way it is perceived. Another notable prize, the Grand Prix Entertainment won by Creative X (Meta) and Modern Arts for their WhatsApp client. “We are Ayenda” shows how Afghan footballers were able to escape an Afghanistan that had fallen into the hands of the Taliban by communicating via the application. A hymn to “power of sisterhood and [un rappel du] human right to privacy », greeted Geoffrey Edwards, managing director of the Gale agency and president of the Entertainment jury. Same thing in the Entertainment for Gaming category. The film which received the Grand Prize, “The Everyday Tactician” by McCann London for Xbox, tells the (true) story of a gamer who became football manager of the English club Bromley after applying via the game Football Manager 24 – the only way to do it – and demonstrates his skills in virtual matches. A very concrete impact therefore, both for the first person concerned, for the club and for Xbox. The campaign ticks all the boxes: “community engagement, multifacetedness as well as brand impact and tangible results”, appreciated Lydia Winters, chief storyteller of Mojang Studios and president of the jury. Without forgetting the demonstration that skills acquired in a video game can be transferred to the real world.
“Entertainment has become the new Film”, confessed Olivier Lefebvre, president and creative director of the Fred & Farid Paris agency, also a juror in the Entertainment category. All you have to do is see one of the two winners of the Grand Prix Film: once again it is the film Marcel for Orange. A campaign that is certainly very well executed, with a strong message, but whose production only called on archive images and post-production work. Alongside him, also winner of the Grand Prix Film, the musical comedy “Play It Safe” produced by the agency The Monkeys for the Sydney Opera House, is superbly orchestrated, with very committed lyrics reminding us that sometimes you have to know how to break the rules and get out of the box to see beautiful things born. Once again, the idea is beautiful but the craft seems to have been put aside…
