It’s Wednesday – the midway point of the Cannes Lions festival – and there is still so much to be inspired by. Got my steps up today after countless dashes from the Palais to the Martinez and all stops in between.
Mediaweek’s Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham in Cannes
All over Cannes
The Havas Café:
Kicked off the day with a fab rendezvous hosted by the Chairman and CEO Yannick Bollore, Donna Murphy the Global CEO of Creative Network, and Peter Mears the CEO of the Havas Media network. They launched their new global production company POP Prose On Pixels – of course, powered by AI.
The Work:
One of my favourite things to do at Cannes is to spend several hours downstairs in the Palais looking at the best-nominated work from around the world. A truly inspiring experience and I loved reviewing the media category and the brilliant submissions.
Three sessions back-to-back with a dash of celebrity power:
Back-to-back sessions from AI again, to some celebrity conversations that engaged a full house in the Debussy theatre. Axel Springer the Chairman and CEO of his namesake digital publisher is a straight talker and had recently laid off 200 workers replacing them with AI. His controversial view is that if AI kills off journalism, let us understand how and why AI is effective and do the killing ourselves.
Mike White the creator of White Lotus presented by Ogilvy had the audience spellbound with his multilayered stories and brilliance. Mike’s major takeaway on resilience and living with your neurotic self was both heartfelt and inspiring. An incredible talent and his raw honesty were so human after AI discussions.
Mike White and Liz Taylor, Ogilvy global chief creative officer
McCann Worldwide then presented Eva Longoria, a long-time brand ambassador for L’Oreal – Because You’re Worth It! An outstanding session demonstrating an incredible campaign that has been championing diversity and inclusion for 50 years. Eva stole the show with her authentic star power and genuine belief in the brand, and in the future will direct some of the commercials.
Eva Longoria
GroupM Rooftop at The Martinez:
What a spectacular location to host global clients with some special media partners. A great combination of inspiration, networking, and style, reinforces GroupM’s premium leadership positioning.
WPP on the Beach:
Another excellent beachside location with more thought-provoking content. A highlight was a session on audio and its brand-building power. The Global Category President from Coca-Cola Selman Arnese showed a brilliant piece of work showcasing the story with no audio … then the transformative effect of audio.
Activation of the day:
Sprite – not a large two or three-story building, but a smart, smaller, cool space that gave away 10 unique personalised Sprite products that captured the spirit of Cannes. Playing off a relevant Heat theme this just worked, and today with the temperatures soaring it was so refreshing and relevant.
Mediaweek’s Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham at the Sprite activation
The takeout of the day:
With many sessions on AI and tech, it was so awesome to reflect on a day and the sessions that stood out – Mike White a flawed, resilient, and gifted storyteller, and a bit of old-fashioned star power and the perfect brand ambassador Eva Longoria … Real HUMANS!
See Also: Cannes Day 1 Recap: AB InBev, Louis Vuitton, Snapchat, Reddit, and Cheeto art
See Also: Cannes Day 2 Recap: WeAre8, Dentsu, Yahoo, WSJ, and a surprise drone show
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Top Image: Mediaweek’s Trent Thomas and Greg ‘Sparrow’ Graham at The Havas Café