Cannes Lions 2024: AI, Activism, and After-Parties—A Recap of Advertising's Biggest Event. From Snickers campaigns to human rights activism, this year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity delivered thematic whiplash and unforgettable moments. Explore the key trends, including the rise of AI and its impact on the advertising industry, as reported from the heart of the action
Cannes Lions 2024: From Snickers to Social Activism – A Whirlwind of Advertising and Humanity
Experience the dramatic shifts in tone at Cannes Lions, where a Snickers marketing campaign seamlessly transitioned to a powerful speech by human rights activist Sonita Alizadeh on the plight of child brides in Iran and Afghanistan. This year's festival showcased the industry's evolving landscape, blending iconic brand campaigns with critical social issues
Cannes Lions 2024: Cardi B, Diplo, and Sebastian Maniscalco Heat Up the Parties! From Spotify Beach concerts featuring Cardi B and Royel Otis, to Diplo's Yahoo set, and Sebastian Maniscalco's surprise performance at UTA's Hôtel du Cap-Eden-Roc VIP event, Cannes Lions was buzzing with star-studded parties
Cannes Lions 2024: Business Insider's Exclusive Report on Advertising's Seismic Shift. From AI's impact on the industry's business model to the hottest parties and key themes dominating the conversations at this year's festival, get the inside scoop from our on-the-ground coverage – including exclusive yacht-side insights
Despite concerns about AI's impact, Cannes Lions 2024 buzzed with activity. While attendees enjoyed lavish branded events and parties, artificial intelligence dominated conversations, challenging the advertising industry's traditional time-based billing model. The future of ad creation, fueled by AI's rapid and cost-effective ad generation, was a key theme at this year's festival
AI's rapid rise is disrupting the advertising industry. Mark Zuckerberg's prediction of AI automating ad creation threatens the traditional agency billing model based on time spent. With AI generating thousands of ads quickly and affordably, Cannes Lions attendees debated this seismic shift and its impact on the future of advertising
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Meta CMO Alex Schultz clarifies Mark Zuckerberg's Cannes Lions comments, confirming the CEO's AI discussion focused on small businesses, not large corporations
Even amidst Cannes Lions' AI-driven ad automation discussions, agency reliance remains crucial. One executive stated, "I don't envision fully automating my ad campaigns and eliminating my agency's involvement
Cannes Lions 2024: AI, Activism, and After-Parties – A Recap
Despite AI advancements, Cannes Lions 2024 proved advertising remains a human-driven industry. The festival highlighted the crucial role of relationships in securing client buy-in, even justifying those extravagant expenses – from festival passes to late-night rosé – that make Cannes the ultimate networking event
Is Your Marketing Strategy Ready for 2025? Forget F1 sponsorships—the future of CMOs is here. Learn how AI and innovative marketing are transforming the industry
Cannes Lions 2024: Sports Stars and Scorching Sun on the Croisette
This year's Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity saw a major sports presence, with celebrities like Serena Williams, Oscar Piastri, and Travis Kelce gracing the Croisette. Stagwell's Sport Beach was a hot ticket, attracting crowds for star-studded panels and competitive pickleball matches. The festival showcased a vibrant mix of advertising, sports, and entertainment, reflecting the industry's evolving landscape
Despite declining linear TV viewership, sports marketing offers brands a guaranteed path to reach massive audiences
US Bank's CMO, Michael Lacorazza, highlights the brand's commitment to real-time engagement and live experiences. This commitment is underscored by US Bank's extensive team partnerships, including its recent collaboration with the Premier Lacrosse League
It’s not just about placing 30-second spots or slapping logos on jerseys. Marketers talked up how they’re enhancing the live experience in stadiums while people are in a joyful mood. Uber Advertising was pitching clients using a case study from beauty brand La Mer, which sponsored rides to and from the Miami F1 Grand Prix, stuffed with skincare goodies.
F1 is having a moment. According to the research firm Ampere Analysis, sponsorship spending on F1 and its teams is expected to reach $2.9 billion this year, up 10% on 2024. With viewership boosted in part by the popular Netflix series “Drive to Survive,” brands and media partnerships are helping extend its reach beyond the race track.
“Seeing the new fans come into the sport, we needed to show up in their worlds and be meaningful in their worlds,” Louise McEwan, chief marketing officer of the McLaren Racing F1 team, told BI. “Only one percent of fans ever go to the track in their lifetime.”
The power of the consumer is stronger than ever.
At the Tubi cabana at Cannes, we spoke with its chief marketing officer, Nicole Parlapiano, who shared how the streaming platform is super-flexible in how it’s marketing its titles. Streamers like Tubi can’t easily test shows and movies before they acquire them, so they relentlessly monitor social chatter to determine how much and where to market a show, Parlapiano said.
Daniel Lawrence Taylor’s hit show “Boarders” got a billboard in New York City’s Times Square. And that’s down to Parlapiano’s team being flexible, pouring extra marketing dollars into “Boarders” after seeing the social media reaction, she said.
Laurie Lam, chief brand officer of E.l.f Beauty, said at a BI event that its product pipeline is often driven by what consumers are saying on social media.
“They’re telling us exactly what they want and we’re then putting it into the market for them,” Lam said.
“And they’re not polite about it, by the way,” she added. “It used to be like, ‘Hey, I would really love it if you can make this primer.’ Now it’s like, ‘Make that primer now. Where is my primer?'”
Amid all the talk of AI supercharging creativity, and humanity being the ad industry’s “super power,” there was a big topic execs on the Croisette went super out of their way to avoid.
People noticeably squirmed as we asked questions about the current debate around brand safety — a catch-all industry term to describe how advertisers avoid platforms and media that don’t align with their brand. A few years ago, you couldn’t move for panels on the topic at Cannes, with speakers calling on big platforms to do more to protect brands. This year, with the US government questioning the propriety of those decisions? Crickets.
Barely anyone at Cannes wanted to discuss this enormous elephant in the room. Even the term “brand safety” has become a kind of Voldemort, “He who should not be named” word. One exec told us that the industry is more comfortable talking about “brand assurance” instead, whatever that really means in practice.
Perhaps nobody wants a target on their back. The turnabout shows how Cannes Lions holds a telling mirror into the industry, where sometimes what’s not being talked about can also speak volumes.
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