Following the close of the Cannes Lions festival last week, Bluestripe Group, publisher of New Digital Age, asked its clients for their impressions of another memorable week for the global ad industry…
Nicolas Piris, Global Head of Client Marketing, Bloomberg Media
“Being on the Cannes Lions jury this year gave me a fresh perspective on the topics that truly matter to our industry. There was an overwhelming sense that AI was a transformative force in advertising at the start of the festival this year. While this does ring true, like Photoshop, it’s something that enhances human creativity and speeds it up, but can’t replace it. Many felt that, in reality, it doesn’t connect audiences in a meaningful way, as it still lacks authenticity.
“One other observation was that purpose and commerce are becoming increasingly intertwined. Winning work showcases brands that make their purpose overtly visible in their commercial efforts. One of the highlights for me this year was L’Oréal unearthing the history of their famous tagline and the fact that the original female copywriter who created it in 1973 didn’t receive any credit. To rectify this, they made a documentary to showcase her success.
“One area for growth highlighted at Cannes Lions was the need for creative experimentation in B2B marketing. B2C brands tend to be more prolific, running several different campaigns simultaneously, with most handling day-to-day business, while others are experimental. Alternatively, B2B brands tend to think of marketing programs broadly, aiming to address multiple issues while driving business growth. This is the moment for B2B to become more fun and entertaining, which some brands, including ServiceNow, are starting to consider.
“This is being boosted by consumer participation, with brands creating more and more interactive and experiential activations and programs. At the event, Marcel Marcondes, CMO of AB InBev, emphasised the idea that brand activations are evolving into live experiences, which in turn, are becoming life experiences. A lot is happening in the “mid-funnel, and that is where Cannes can help to bring these opportunities to reality.”
Lena Arbery, Director of Global Partnerships Solutions, Tripadvisor
“Cannes has been electric this year – it’s been inspiring to see travel brands, tech platforms, media, and creative minds all converging in one place.
“AI continues to dominate, but the conversations that have resonated the most are those rooted in something more human: trust, transparency, and connection. In a world flooded with automation, it’s the human layer that brands are doubling down on, especially in travel, where decisions are deeply personal.
“We’re at a pivotal and exciting moment in media, marked by rapid innovation and profound transformation. We have the ability to craft hyper-personalised experiences using smart data and design campaigns that tap into shared values, but there’s a collective realisation that relevance only works when heart, soul, and positivity lead the way.”
Justin Reid, Senior Director of Global Partnerships Solutions, Tripadvisor
“Cannes has really shown both sides of its character. The crowds felt bigger, the sun beat hotter than ever, and of course, the rosé continued to flow.
“On the less inspiring side, despite all the adtech talk of hyper-personalisation and AI-assisted microtargeting, most companies reverted to the same old tactics of slapping bigger logos on any available space along the Croisette in a bid to gain attention. Nothing felt genuinely new.
“But what stood out for the right reason was the increase in smaller niche activities that sought to create mini, yet meaningful communities. The “agency run club” organised by Jed Hallam of Culture Lab met each morning and brought people of all abilities from multiple countries together,
“creating something very unique to Cannes. There were meaningful two-way conversations as opposed to the “who can shout the loudest” activation approach favoured by many brands. Mars and Tripadvisor’s dog walking mornings were another opportunity to create bonds with both two-legged and four-legged new friends.
“These quieter moments created the most authentic content, sparked the most genuine conversations, and left the strongest impression. Amid all the noise, they reminded us that connection, not volume, is what people remember.”
Tony Marlow, CMO, LG Ad Solutions
“This year’s Cannes was about the art and science of marketing. The brands leading the way are using both sides of the coin: data and creativity to drive results and make emotional connections. Agentic AI also emerged as a strong theme, showing how AI can elevate both performance and storytelling.”
Mike Brooks, Global Head of Business Development and Partnerships, LG Ad Solutions
“At Cannes this year, collaboration was everywhere. More panels, parties, and activations featured joint efforts across companies and brands than ever before. At the same time, agentic AI is becoming a real part of partnership conversations, with data, measurement, and identity ecosystems now engaging in tactical discussions around agentic interfacing.”
Luke Fenney, SVP, Publishers & Platforms – International, LiveRamp
“It has been great to see data take centre stage at Cannes Lions this year. Particularly in how publishers are starting to unlock its value and place it at the heart of their growth strategies.
“What’s also been impressive is the way publishers are starting to better leverage their data as an asset to deepen collaboration with brands. There’s a growing understanding amongst publishers in how they’re approaching these opportunities, and that momentum is vital as we work toward a more connected, value-driven ecosystem.
“What’s stood out most, though, is the shift in mindset. It’s been fascinating to hear how data is no longer seen as just a nice-to-have, but as a core part of commercial strategy. Publishers are leaning into data collaboration not just as a short-term play, but as a long-term enabler for growth and differentiation in an increasingly competitive market.”
Anna Forbes, RVP of Northern Europe at DoubleVerify
“AI wasn’t just a talking point at this year’s Cannes Lions, it was the talking point. But the most important conversations focused on moving AI beyond a concept to how it can be used by advertisers to deliver the best possible outcomes.
“For a festival that exists to celebrate human creativity, AI’s omnipresence might seem pervasive, but the dominance of AI underscored a critical truth: the future of innovation does not lie in choosing between human ingenuity and artificial intelligence, but in uniting the two. At DV, we’re seeing how AI can streamline optimisation across platforms, free up human creativity, and drive precision at scale.”
Mateusz Rumiński, VP of Product at PrimeAudience
“There is no single conversation where AI isn’t mentioned at Cannes this year. The discussion has mainly focused on its future and the long-term consequences, as marketers continue to grapple with understanding the best use cases. As such, there needs to be an education as to what to look for and how to identify the benefits.
“The fragmentation around user identification was also still a hot topic. Despite Google’s decision not to remove cookies, the industry has moved on over the last five years and found new ways to target audiences without them. Now, when running a campaign, advertisers must consider their options, whether through cookies, a specific identifier, or anonymised traffic. Each choice has much more profound consequences for the effectiveness of a campaign that needs to be thought out, as they could be targeting the same audiences under different identifiers. We also have to ask ourselves, is this really what we were hoping for when it comes to user privacy?
“Another topic that frequently came up at the festival was the balance between globalisation and localisation in the context of AI. Attendees discussed how marketers can now build AI-specialised global teams to localise content, rather than relying solely on local teams in every market. This streamlines the process while still accounting for the critical nuances that vary between countries. However, local teams are still needed to provide cultural context, as this is currently a limitation of the technology.”
