Magnificent & Murky:
The Newbie View from Cannes
First published on the Drum, written by Jessica Hargreaves-Paczek; CEO – PrettyGreen; Auntie – Brixton Finishing School.
Last week we made our PrettyGreen spectator debut at the 2024 Cannes International Festival of Creativity. Whilst attending in my PrettyGreen hat (figuratively not literally, agency merch is a debate for another time), I was also in Cannes as a mentor, or ‘Auntie’, for the Brixton Finishing School’s talented alumni. Seven of these students had won all-inclusive spots to visit the Arise Future Leaders cohort.
These alumni embraced every opportunity in their packed schedule from breakfast briefings to evening beach parties with Campaign, Google & Spotify. Simone Johnson, Head of partnerships summarised the week “It was warming to see diverse talent thrive in these spaces and taking up space. There is still work to do in making the space more inclusive, but we had voices, seats and allies and a lot of this was down to initiatives such as Arise, Black Out, Join our Table, MEFA, WACL Empower Cafe. There is such power in community and network”.
From our agency, and a personal point of view, the goal was to understand the evolving Cannes experience, from the great to the disappointing*.
Inclusivity
Daily walks past the WACL Empowerment café meant you could stop to see amazing leaders discussing inclusive storytelling, female leadership in media, advertising & tech, how to create allyship in business or even the very real issue in attending Cannes as a parent myself – sharing the care for working parents. Yahoo hosted incredible panels with the Future of Girlhood and Are We Leaving Men & Boys Behind, whilst at the Martinez Hotel, The Female Quotient was an inspirational connected space.
One of our Brixton Finishing School alumni, Munraj Singh Chawla told me; “My biggest highlight from Cannes has to be the sheer amount of incredible people I met. I can’t tell you how many nights I paused for a moment to look around, as it struck me that I was on a beach with Creative Directors, Global ECDs and CCOs that I had admired for years but would never have had the opportunity to meet, let alone all at once.”
Don’t let purpose kill humour
Humour was a big running theme throughout the week – brands that successfully combine purpose and humour in their marketing are out-performing the competition (examples cited were Specsavers The Misheard Version, Who Gives A Crap and Liquid Death). Expect to see some heartwarming and humorous entries at award shows later this year!
Dull work is costing brands more money to deliver than creative work
Rational campaigns need £10m more spent on amplifying them to drive the same results as it would for emotional campaigns. Our homework was to check out the Cost of Dull theory, we recommend you do too! So, keep pushing clients as the judge’s panel talks highlighted, an over-riding theme was an idea that makes you nervous but is brave and will deliver a greater ROI. If it doesn’t keep you up at night will it have a lasting impact? But you need trust…
Long-standing client-agency partnerships drive long-term brand-building
Trust? Brands that change their agencies regularly are unknowingly negatively impacting their marketing effectiveness because each new agency they bring in will be focused on impressing with short-term tactical work. The next one then repeats the process, and so on.
Marketing is leaving men and boys behind
Marketing’s depiction of male masculinity has been one of unhelpful, one-dimensional stereotypes that haven’t changed for over 80 years. The Unstereotype Alliance presented a thought-provoking presentation on how marketing has contributed to shocking trends in male mental health and the so-called ‘Manosphere’. They shared critical steps that brands and agencies need to implement to correct the course and create a better future for all. We are taking these learnings into our own A is for All inclusivity Framework.
AI Agents will reduce AI fear factors
Unsurprisingly there was a lot of chat about AI, as there will be for a long time to come.
One idea that was discussed at Cannes that we’re already actively working on was that AI agents are being presented as the way to close the gap between “robots” and being able to deliver hearts and minds through personalised customer engagement.
Don’t fear failing
Gwyneth Paltrow led an honest and reflective interview at Amazon Port, discussing how Goop’s growth strategy revolves around curation and expansion, which is often led by understanding what ISN’T right, rather than what IS.
Detail matters more than winning the race
On a panel discussing editorial integrity and fact-checking stories in an age of fake news (roll on the UK General Election!), BBC’s US Correspondent stated that; “No one remembers who got it first, everyone remembers who got it wrong”. Words to live by in the PR industry we think!
Editorial media is the most important source of information.
Following on from the previous point on detail and fake news, the role of editorial media has never been more important in this new world of constant social media. Rigour, ethics, fairness and standards are now more vital than ever so that people know that the news they’re reading is from a trusted source.
*The Unclusive elephant in the room…
Sadly, nothing is perfect. Whilst at Cannes we heard too many instances of guests being refused entry to beach clubs or having their restaurant reservations cancelled upon arrival for one reason. Ethnicity. These appear not to be one-off incidents, but a live issue coupled with inappropriate physical and verbal behaviour.
As touched upon earlier, so many of the campaigns showcased at Cannes Lions are focused on purpose, DE&I and change, but it seems that at Cannes itself there is an urgent need for a local DE&I campaign about respect and discrimination. A tougher approach is needed for guests, the town and the community who benefit so much from the financial investment the Cannes Lions delivers each year.
