Grand Prix, Part 5: Modern Marketing At Cannes Lions 2024
Reflections on what could be.
I was chatting with a senior ad industry leader in India last Friday. This gentleman knows a thing or two about running industry festivals, owning some of the largest such properties in the country and running them successfully for years. Naturally, our discussion gravitated to Cannes.
His view (and I paraphrase):
Cannes is becoming way too expensive. This is a festival that should increase participation of young talent, the next generation of advertising professionals and leaders. Instead, it’s become a place for senior leadership to meet and network, as opposed to a learning destination.
I couldn’t agree more.
I was at SXSW earlier this year, attending sessions on Advertising, Design, Brand Experience, Creator Economy and AI. Every panel and keynote was crammed to bursting with young professionals. The average age seemed much lower than what I experienced in my first (and only, so far) visit to Cannes a few years ago.
There’s one reason for C-level agency leadership to attend Cannes, and it isn’t networking, job interviews or client pitches.
It’s about getting the global industry together to openly, transparently and constructively discuss where the industry is and how we might collectively transform it to overcome the challenges it faces. And find a way to thrive, not just survive, in the years to come.
But we all know that’s a pipe dream.
Until then, if you’d like to truly learn and build your skills, visit SXSW. And just sign up for a Love The Work account to stay in touch with the work that’s being discussed at Cannes.
We now move on to our regularly scheduled programming.
Creative Strategy: KPN - A Piece of Me
Customer-centric? ✅. The campaign latched on to a very real problem and unmet need of young people. It does a great job of showcasing the very real challenges that young people face when their nudes are forwarded by the original recipient.
Culturally relevant? ✅. Same as above.
Gets noticed? 🤔. This is a good story, if a bit predictable. Well written, well told. But I’m not sure what here would make me want to share - or even hold my attention as I swipe through my feed.
Measurable results? ❌. None mentioned.
Is this Modern Marketing? ❌. Apart from not proving impact, I don’t know that the work did the best possible job of keeping me engaged or making me want to share. As I reflect further, this feels more like an ad than the kind of work we need to be doing to cut through.
Innovation: KVI Brave Fund - Voice 2 Diabetes
I’m not going to evaluate this one - it’s a product, not a campaign. And an incredible one at that.
Luxury & Lifestyle: Loewe - Loewe x Suna Fujita
I’ll skip this one too, for similar reasons.
Glass Lion For Change: Unilever - Transition Body Lotion
Customer-centric? ✅. Oh my God, yes!
Culturally relevant? ✅. Who hasn’t been to Thailand and remarked on its large transgender population? This idea is truly rooted in culture and community.
Gets noticed? ✅.
Measurable results? 🤔. So far, the numbers seem all about reach. But I love that the client wants to keep this on shelves forever - so it feels like they’ve got the right input metrics.
Is this Modern Marketing? ✅. Not a doubt in my mind about this. Fabulous work by the Vaseline and Ogilvy teams!
Sustainable Development Goals: Renault - Cars To Work
Customer-centric? ✅. What an insight! What a terrific insight! I can almost see someone connecting the data dots to the human ones. Take a bow, just for this.
Culturally relevant? ✅. There’s a community here that Renault empowered with this programme. And potentially turned into fans.
Gets noticed? ❌. I don’t see how Renault might have spread the word about this initiative.
Measurable results? ❌. None to speak of.
Is this Modern Marketing? ❌. It’s a damned clever way to sell cars, though!
The Dan Wieden Titanium: DoorDash - All The Ads
Customer-centric? ✅. See product on TV, want product on TV, DoorDash product on TV.
Culturally relevant? ✅. DoorDash showed up during the biggest cultural moment in the US and totally owned the marketing.
Gets noticed? ✅. Duh.
Measurable results? 🤔. I read elsewhere that the campaign earned the brand nearly 12B impressions, but that’s about all I could find.
Is this Modern Marketing? ✅. It’s a bit of a no-brainer, actually. I do expect the work to show up in the Cannes Creative Effectiveness category next year.
And with that, this series is done.
I’m kind of sad as I reach the end - I had one more rant about Cannes Lions written out in my mind.
But then again, there’s always another newsletter for that!
After what seems like quite a sprint over the last 2-odd weeks, I’m going to give my weary keyboard a bit of a rest. See you in your inboxes, a week from now.
Samit