Special: Cannes Lions 2023

Bonjour directly from Cannes, where we follow the most important creativity festival in the world, Cannes Lions.

First, a little background: Cannes is a stunning city on the C?te D’Azur, in the south of France. Lions officially takes place at the Palais des Festivals (a space also known worldwide for the Film Festival) – a place with about 10 different spaces for simultaneous programming – but it extends along the entire waterfront (the Croisette), where the beaches and stands from the largest communication companies are installed – Meta, Spotify, TikTok, LinkedIn, WPP, among others. The city is literally taken over by the festival and people from all over the world, in an almost non-stop pace of activity. So, activate the “fomo” and come with us to understand the main learnings we brought from this edition.

Cheers to Ideal's First Lions Awards

To begin with the celebration, Ideal did well in this 70th edition of the Lions: the Uncomfortable Food case, developed by SOKO in partnership with Ideal for Stella Artois was awarded with two Bronze Lions: one in the PR category – Brand Voice & Strategic Storytelling; and another in Glass: The Lion for Change, which recognizes projects that promote diversity and inclusion, with a focus on gender equality.

Diversity, equity and inclusion: Nothing About Us Without Us

Cannes Lions is still not a very diverse event, especially from an ethnic-racial point of view. It is still an elitist space with an excessively high ticket. Walking along the Croisette on festival days means bumping into some of the most powerful people in the world of PR and Advertising, as well as internationally renowned celebrities. But it is worth remembering that the organization has made important moves to expand diversity (and the look), including names in the jury such as the Brazilians Deh Bastos, Director of Content at Publicis, and Samantha Almeida, Director of Diversity, Innovation and Content at Globo, for example.

Organization of the event aside, issues of diversity, equity and inclusion, appeared with force and under new perspectives at the festival.?

Today, according to data released by Creative Equals, a consultancy that promoted a workshop in Cannes, 65% of global advertising is still considered appealing and unrepresentative. And 85% of people believe that advertising is just based on stereotypes. Given the scenario, diversity becomes fundamental to creative excellence. The challenge now is to move the brands that have been betting on greater and more diverse representation in their campaigns and communication actions, towards authentic inclusion, under the motto “Nothing about us without us”.?

Among the topics discussed, one of the most striking was the inclusion of people with so-called “invisible disabilities” – understanding that 1 in every 100 children are diagnosed with autism and 1 in every 5 are dyslexic, for example, or that 80 % of people with autism are unemployed or still working in underemployment. The objective is to guarantee more access to information and reduce discrimination rates in relation to the intellectual and social potential of these people.?

For Creative Equals, five basic factors must be considered to assess the degree of inclusiveness of a campaign:?

1. Ensure a positive portrayal of people

2. Take into account cultural nuances

3. Promote an authentic narrative, with storytelling that gives voice to those who need to have a voice

4. Carry out material, real actions based on campaigns

5. Consider a brand’s permission to take this truth

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Artificial intelligence driving creativity

As expected, Artificial Intelligence was another central theme of the event. And, yes, 65% of children today must work in occupations that do not yet exist, according to Richard Dickson, President of Mattel. Many of them, guided by technologies such as AI. The impact of these intelligences on all industries will undoubtedly be profound. But the general perspective at Cannes was to use these intelligences as drivers of creativity.?

“Around 23,000 advertising jobs worldwide are expected to disappear in one year with advances in artificial intelligence. But we still need human beings to be creative. It’s human imagination that drives technology and not the other way around. So, the future concern is about how language and different cultures can be represented in technology. AI needs to be interesting to all people, in all cultures.”

Brian LightCap, COO of OpenAI

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In his talk with Mark Read, CEO from WPP, Jensen Huang, one of the founders and CEO of Nvidia, said that for the first time in history, companies like WPP, for example, can become artificial intelligence companies in a few years. The advantage, according to Huang, is that of “creating digital twins of everything that has structure on Earth, developing digital scenarios and raising the production of content from that”, creating scale, reducing costs and generating videos and other highly creative pieces. realistic. Production speed, therefore, should increase significantly. “The communications industry will be busier than ever in five years,” said Brian LightCap, COO of OpenAI, responsible for GPT Chat and Dall-E.

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Ageism, women's health and representativeness

When we pay attention to the lectures and works entered in the Festival, some themes seem to emerge in the campaigns and causes defended by the brands. Much has been said about ageism – especially considering that 1 in 6 people in the world will be 60 years old or older in 2030 (which means the existence of a huge potential market and little embraced by brands); about women's health and the breaking of taboos related to sexuality, menopause, the search for beauty, etc.; and about representativeness in communication actions in an authentic way that leaves a legacy.

Halle Berry drew crowds to the Palais II stage to speak openly about “vaginas and menopause”, accompanied by the Bayer team – taking discussions about women's health to a new level of naturalness and with access to information facilitated, as it should be.

But the good surprise was in charge of Chidiebere Ibe, medical illustrator – who took the opportunity at Cannes Lions to announce, under the sponsorship of Johnson & Johnson and Deloitte, the Illustrate Change project: creating the world's largest library of medical illustrations representing black people (which are now less than 5% of the global medical literature).

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Creative excellence, unafraid to take risks

When did it all start to feel so risky? It was with this question that NYU professor Scott Galloway began his panel at the Debussy Theater. And clichés aside – the famous “take risks and be more creative!” – this conversation has never been so true and important, especially for the universe of public relations (which is always evaluating any and all reputational risks before putting any action into practice).?

Creativity and impact are intimately connected. And a communication that does not take risks into account becomes a 'lukewarm' communication with reduced impact right from the start.?

“Let's think: when did it all start to get so risky? Every communication professional should put themselves in uncomfortable situations on a daily basis, take risks and come out of their homes. Advertising, today, is just a way to generate brand awareness. You have to think a lot further and work better on storytelling.”

Scott Galloway, Professor of Marketing at NYU Stern School of Business and host of Prof G and Pivot podcasts

Even though the world today imposes a series of reflections related to social inequalities, diversity, inclusion, the need to respect and value cultural differences, among other topics, it is essential to rethink the way we act and once again take on significant risks, but connected to representativeness, purpose and brand truths. The PR jury in this edition of Cannes Lions sent clear messages about the winning projects: “Everyone wants to be challenged. We need to make people want to be part of something”, said Sam Almeida, at the press conference for the festival's PR and Influence awards. This is only possible with excellent planning, clear insights, powerful content that cannot be ignored, clear “call to action”, different tactics for different audiences and, of course, relevant social impact.

Trends for 2025: Is your brand human enough?

Looking to the future, WGSN presented a series of trends for 2025: behaviors that will guide campaigns and that could be decisive in the success of brands. As emerging feelings, the consultancy highlighted dissociation, idleness, radical acceptance and neo-altruism. All this, evidently guided by technology and new ways of looking at time and the activities we carry out in our routine.

WGSN also highlighted four major emerging consumer groups:

1. The New Nihilists: Consumers who haven't necessarily given up caring, but who are finding new meaning and happiness outside of the mainstream.

2. The Reductionists: In a world fascinated by everything that's bigger, better and faster, these consumers are trying to reduce their interactions to a more human scale.

3. The Time Keepers: consumers who are fighting the “snack culture” of social media, investing their minutes and hours in things that add value to their world.

4. The Pioneers: these consumers are like light bulbs – they need to be turned on. Pioneers are movers, shakers, and opportunity-makers who thrive on change and new ideas.

In summary, it is about seeking new ways of living, more creative and truly human, supported by technology. This, without a doubt, was the central message of Cannes Lions in its 70th edition.?

So, has your brand been bold and human enough in times of AI?

We hope to see you at the next edition of Cannes Lions. Until then, may the lessons learned reverberate and become more impactful projects. Creativity always unlocking the potential of people, brands and communities. à bient?t!

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