This yr’s Cannes Lions, the ad business’s largest competition, unfolded in opposition to a backdrop of upheaval and nervousness.
The business is at a important second—going through “an existential disaster,” as S4 Capital founder Martin Sorrell informed ADWEEK’s editors—however little of that concern was current on stage.
Whereas celebrities like Reese Witherspoon and Patrick Schwarzenegger took middle stage, and groups posed with gold trophies on the pink carpet, executives on the bottom spoke with ADWEEK about points comparable to AI, company consolidation, and layoffs.
The occasion was additionally marked by an aggressive land seize, each for literal items of the Croisette and for advertising and marketing budgets. Sure energy struggles had been seen all through the competition: Adobe versus up-and-comer Canva, each of which upped their budgets for activations this yr. Amazon versus… everybody else. And Michael Kassan’s 3CV versus his former firm, MediaLink.
Even within the artistic awards, rivalries–comparable to that between holding firms Publicis Groupe and WPP–had been on show. Publicis Conseil, a jewel within the crown of the previous holdco, received each Company of the 12 months and the Titanium Grand Prix, whereas WPP was named Inventive Firm of the 12 months.
Within the newest episode of Adspeak, the ADWEEK editorial staff reviews from the sandy seashores and sizzling pavements of Cannes about who got here out on high on the competition, what’s behind the events and beachfront activations, and what Cannes says about the place the business is headed.
