We are screwed - KEYLEARNINGS FROM CANNES LIONS 2024 | 3

We are so screwed. At least if we believe Elon Musk, who appeared at the Lumiere Theater, which was packed to the rafters. Most of the over 20,000 attendees at Cannes Lions 2024 were eager to hear the eccentric man speak. His words sent chills down their spines. According to Musk, AI is indeed a remarkable technology capable of fulfilling our wildest dreams. He proclaimed these as the most exciting times in history, ominously adding, "Enjoy the ride!"

I didn't attend the session myself (swimming against the tide can feel odd in moments like these). But I didn't miss much either. There was no enthusiastic, beaming crowd exiting the theater. Quite the opposite. During the subsequent session by DDB—who must have been relieved not to follow directly after Musk—their Chief Creative Officer asked the audience, "How was Elon?" The response was a somber silence (is there still hope?). But now, let's shift to something different, to something truly important:

Let's Talk About the Weather

While people sipped rosé along the Croisette at a pleasant 28 degrees Celsius, over 1,000 individuals succumbed to heat exhaustion at the Hajj in Mecca, enduring a scorching 50 degrees Celsius (122°F). In Düsseldorf, torrential rains flooded the European Championship stadium, and California issued yet another storm warning. Is this a concern at Cannes Lions 2024? Not at all.

However, there were a few climate-related events, such as a heavily promoted session by the UN and the American Weather Channel, a medium with the highest trust in the USA (which says a lot about the state of the U.S., but more on that later). They presented the only major discussion on global warming and climate change, intriguingly titled "What will the Weather Forecast Be in Cannes in 2050."

A promising idea, but the event was a disaster, in my opinion, for several reasons. Firstly, there was a lack of interest. The Debussy Theater, the second largest in the Palais, was less than half full. Climate change may involve heat, but it’s not a hot topic. The session featured a poorly scripted news program, awkwardly presented by a host lacking both interest and acting skills. (please note: It’s a bad idea to stage a sketch without professionals).

And then there's the repetitive narrative that comes up in so many sustainability talks – and also here: records. The hottest year, the worst hurricanes, the greatest destruction. This narrative—and yes this is a true narrative: fixation on faster, higher, further—yields no new insights and has no effect. Also repetition isn’t the answer.

But there was one interesting takeaway: The idea to talk about the weather instead of the climate because climate is too complex. No surprise as this aligns with the Weather Channel's business model, but it’s not a bad idea. Meteorologists may cringe since weather is not climate, but we no longer have time for nuances. We need quick, real solutions. We need new communication strategies because our current methods are too sluggish.

Unfortunately, the advertising and PR industry offers little help in this respect. "Sustainability" and "Climate Change"—once popular topics for winning a Golden Lion—played almost no role this year. There were hardly any substantial proposals, demands, or solutions. Aside from a small pub event by Clean Creative in a side street of Cannes, the major stage had no calls for industry self-limitation, no discussion on festival CO2 emissions, no transparency on energy consumption, no mention of the EU's Green Deal and it′s effect on brands and corporations, and no exploration of how communicative power could better serve the climate cause. Instead, we got this dreadful news program.

Using children to draw attention to climate issues, like the "Weather Kids," seems cute – but somehow desperate.

At least there was one idea with potential – in my opinion: the UN and the Weather Channel proposed that every company should have its own "Chief Weather Officer." This concept could be innovative, but no one really talked about it. Instead, everyone is after the next energy-consuming beast: AI.

AI: More of the Same

TBWA had a critical view take on AI – that′s not a surprise since the agency prides itself as "The Disruption Company." TBWA aims to challenge conventions, break standards, and communicate disruptively. They highlighted that algorithms and AI often provide "the Same Same." Kyle Chayka’s book "Filter World" fits perfectly with this theme, revealing how globally we see, post, and do the same things: identical coffee shops, same lounge music everywhere, same interior designs, films, and memes. And social media algorithms keep recycling the same content.

?We only recycle past.“ Kyle Chayka

Chayka warns of a reality where only the past matters, and we see only what is familiar, leading to a culture with the highest common denominator: smooth, boring, and predictable. This is why TBWA highlights the resurgence of newsletters and emails, which are curated by people, not algorithms. They are authentic and therefore attractive.

"AI is automation. And culture does not want to be automated." - Kyle Chayka

Google, unsurprisingly, takes a different stance. Vidhya Srinivasan, Google's Ads Product Vice President, and Alex Chen, Director of Creative Labs, praised the new era of AI. They demonstrated AI’s capabilities: having a conversation with Google's Gemini, identifying ingredients in recipes, transcribing videos, and animating photos into movies. For Google, the future looks bright.

Polarization of the World

Edelman offers a contrasting view. Richard Edelman, founder and CEO of the largest PR agency, is live on stage at Cannes Lions and doesn't seem to be ageing. He is one of the few PR people who has managed to be accepted into the circle of advertisers - simply because of the size of his agency, but above all because of the great opinion poll that Edelman conducts every year - the Trust Barometer. Year after year, the agency asks consumers around the world who they trust and what they trust in politics, the press, companies and brands.

Richard Edelman paints a gloomy picture from the results of this year's survey. He points to the increasing radicalization and polarization of opinions and the growing importance of conservative and ultra-right attitudes and ideas - where DeepFakes are used as an accelerator. And he does not shy away from confronting the Cannes Lions audience with the fact that it tends to be – in general - left-liberal. Edelman also warns that we all have to start listening to these conservative opinions, cater to them and even include them in our own teams. Edelman calls for a diversity of opinion.

But nobody wants to listen. On stage the same happens than in reality. Edelman's call for listening to diverse opinions was met with reluctance. Even his panelists tried to downplay his concerns. Edelman's follow-up "This is not an American thing," doesn't help either, his warning goes unheard. As bitter as the realization is that the increasingly critical political climate is not an issue at Cannes Lions 2024, the scene on stage is just as typical. PR people are familiar with this when they meet colleagues from other communication disciplines in interdisciplinary teams. PR people are always the admonishers, the doubters, the colleagues with the bad news who see the world complex than others. And as is so often the case ... nobody listens to us. I felt a bit sorry for Richard on stage.

Advertisers, meanwhile, have found their escape two other directions: in humor—at least 13 sessions at Cannes Lions 2024 addressed "Humor in advertising/communication to reach target groups." And another escape route lies in celebrating "the small moment."

The Small Moment

The Future Consumer Report by WGSN highlighted two interesting trends: "Yearning". And "Glimmers." Hard to translate, but this term refers to micro-moments in life that bring joy, such as a ray of sunshine, a perfect strawberry, or the satisfaction of completing a task. It’s a return to the small and cozy. Sounds like Biedermeier, right? Though "glimmer" sounds more appealing.

P&G’s communication strategy, presented by Chief Brand Officer Marcel Pritchard, exemplifies this trend. Pritchard emphasized that the average human lives 26,000 days—two billion seconds—and each second can hold "Creativity in the Everyday." This is what Pritchard expects from his agencies.

Similarly, An InBev’s Olympic campaign, particularly the Corona Zero spot, doesn't celebrate grand achievements but draws analogies from Olympia to small, everyday victories. Welcome to the land of the dwarves, where the complex world drives us to find refuge in the tiny moments.

In line with this, you should also take a look at the four consumer types that WGSN predicts for 2026: there are the Gleamers, but then there are also the Autonomics (I'm pinning all my hopes on them), the tech-savvy Synergists and the Impartialists. You can download the report here.

And the Winner Is...

Even the PR category at Cannes Lions 2024 went to the little ones. The winner was ... not a major topic such as climate change and environment or a relevant political topic such as the EU or migration. No, this year's Grand Prix for the best PR campaign went to a small topic: hearing tests. Golin London’s "The Misheard Version" campaign stood out among 1,525 entries and 156 shortlisted campaigns. It embraced glimmers, utilized humor, and avoided the complexity and darkness of today’s world—resulting in a 60% increase in hearing tests. Sounds good, doesn’t it? More insights from the PR category and what we can learn from creators and artists will be in my next SAMMERy.

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