Cannes Lions 2022: Check out Insider's liveblog from the French Riviera, where the advertising world converges for the first time since 2019
Kazi Awal
- The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity convenes in person from June 20-24 after a two-year hiatus.
- It features the prestigious Cannes Lions awards, conference, and other events in yachts, cabanas, and hotels.
- The Insider at Cannes liveblog will chronicle the week's panels, parties, and brand activations.
Erica Berenstein
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022, Getty Images
How did actor Ryan Reynolds become an advertising exec?
The seed of his transformation came during his 10-year journey to make the movie "Deadpool," he told a packed house inside the Lumiere Theatre during Cannes Lions.
Reynolds used innovative marketing (including leaking test footage) just to get the movie made. On the final day of shooting, he found himself driving home wearing Deadpool's suit so that he could use the costume to promote the film ahead of its release.
When the film was a hit, he used some of the money he made to buy stakes in Aviation Gin and Mint Mobile. "Suddenly we were a marketing firm and we were having the time of our lives," he said.
Reynolds sold his company Maximum Effort to ad tech company MNTN last year. As chief creative officer of the business he plays a hands on role and was in Cannes for meetings with brands and partners.
His advertising philosophy is to move fast and enjoy the work: "Ads should be fun! They're ads!"
Erica Berenstein
Dua Lipa performed on Spotify Beach on Tuesday night at Cannes Lions, and drew a predictably huge crowd.
For sure, some of those attending might have preferred to be in bed after a long day at Cannes. But, why pass up an opportunity to show your kid how cool you are?
One dad told Insider he was attending primarily to beam the show by phone to his child at home.
Erica Berenstein
It's true!
Julia Goldin, CMO of Lego, joined Insider at the Palais for a video interview, talking about how critical creativity and imagination are for tackling today's global issues.
JPMorgan
Julia Hood
Google's chief marketing officer Lorraine Twohill was asked what her biggest industry challenges are and responded, "We've had a decade of digital transformation in two years. What does that mean for all of us?"
Twohill was hosting a press breakfast on Tuesday about Google's inclusion efforts which involve addressing diverse viewpoints from in front of and behind the camera.
Twohill responded with a litany of gnarly topics that are keeping the marketing community up at night.
When asked about current challenges, Twohill said, "DEI writ large is one of our biggest challenges. It's a big topic at Cannes this year to get this right; Sustainability is another one, we have to help agencies and not pass the burden on; Creative in a post-pandemic world, in a world of uncertainty and the war in Ukraine, to potentially a global recession…the changing face of media, and really where do you find today's consumer?"
Google unveiled a new resource for media and advertising executives to help improve representation. The website is, www.google.com/all-in. Twohill was joined by KR Liu, head of brand accessibility at Google (on screen), a live transcription screen, and a sign language interpreter. Google this year is Cannes Lions' first-ever accessibility partner.
Julia Hood
Julia Hood
Culturs Magazine, which launched seven years ago, is a global multicultural magazine, focusing on an audience of "third culture kids" and nomads — individuals who do not call one place "home".
Erica Berenstein
After a two-year hiatus, Cannes Lions proves once again that it can be a draw for A-list stars.
Before the festival even formally kicked off, Paris Hilton, Naomi Campbell, and Jared Leto were spotted at a private dinner hosted by Snap CEO Evan Spiegel and British Vogue editor-in-chief Edward Enninful.
The event was a celebration of the companies' Cannes exhibit "Redefining the Body," where high-end brands including Gucci and Balenciaga turned their goods into looks that attendees could try on virtually using Snapchat's AR technology. Hilton was among those to checked out the exhibit during the private preview event.
Attendees at a Monday night event in the Snap and Vogue space danced along to a DJ set from Mark Ronson.
Spotify is also expected to draw a star-studded crowd with its three-night beach concert series. Night one featured performances by DJ Pee .Wee (aka Anderson .Paak) and Kendrick Lamar with Campbell, Michaela Coel, Winston Duke, and Conor McGregor among the attendees. Dua Lipa, Post Malone, and The Black Keys will perform over the next two nights.
Spotify also hosted a more intimate event on Monday evening that featured a performance from Marcus Mumford and drew the likes of Elizabeth Olsen, Maisie Williams, and Jemele Hill.
Also expected to make an appearance this week are Ryan Reynolds and Issa Rae, who are both speaking as part of the official Cannes Lions festival program.
Julia Hood
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022, Getty Images
Chess legend and democracy campaigner Garry Kasparov delivered a plea to advertising industry delegates not to let Putin win and help keep public pressure alive and push politicians to act to help fight Russian aggression.
Kasparov drew parallels between chess and the politics involved in Ukraine.
"I wish it would be a game of chess, because that is played by rules. Here it's not opposite powers and opposite values. We have freedom, life and love versus killing, death and hatred and this is not chess because unlike chess there is no draw or conquest, the outcome of this war is very simple: You either win or lose. So let us fight and so, we must win. Glory to Ukraine."
Kasparov, a long time critic of the Russian president, and the founder of Renew Democracy Initiative said Putin is hoping that the public will grow tired of high gas prices but he urged attendees to keep up the pressure.
He also said that allies have been slow to move weapons to the Ukraine which is outgunned by Russia, ten to one. "We have to respond," he said.
When asked in France about whether getting too involved in the Ukrainian war risked provoking cyber attacks, Kasparov responded that citizens would still wake up to their croissants.
Underscoring the devastation, Kasparov displayed a powerful photo of a young girl in a red evening dress pictured against the backdrop of her former school, now a heap of stones.
Kasparov's packed session included a video message from the Ukrainian Foreign Minister, Dmytro Kuleba. "This is what the world needs now - effective and creative ways to describe the problems we are facing and the entire world is facing," he said. "Russian propaganda is strong but I firmly believe that your creativity is much stronger."
The keynote was introduced by PR CEO Richard Edelman who described some of the efforts the marketing industry is already making – such as moving to staff to save locations. Edelman also made a call for the industry to unite. "Regain the Ukraine is just a dream so far, but it has to come true. All of us in the marketing community need to come forward with ideas and passion."
Edelman, an influential executive and frequent speaker at the World Economic Forum, said his PR agency would work with the Ukrainian government to co-ordinate ideas. He suggested initiatives such as supporting a fact-based media industry and helping to train women left at home.
Another idea was to invest in a production hub in Kyiv called the "Freedom Center," and to provide cause related marketing funds to support the cultural industries. One ray of hope, Edelman mentioned that the Odessa Opera House had opened for the first time since the Russian invasion for a production.
Julia Hood
Airline chaos and raging hot temperatures in Cannes threatened to put a crimp on the first day of proceedings at Cannes Lions.
Many attendees flying in from Europe, the States and other points around the world have been snarled in the chaos at London's Heathrow airport. Scores of flights have been cancelled and bags separated from attendees, leaving Cannes participants liberated from the high fashion stakes typical of Cannes. Bloomberg reported Monday that Heathrow had asked airlines to cut flights in response to a malfunction that delayed baggage.
Amazon planned a media preview of its huge new set-up at the Cannes port, but just a trickle of reporters were on hand on Sunday night to hear Amazon's VP global ad sales, Alan Moss, talk up the location's outdoor air conditioner and sprinkler system to cool guests. The temperature registered 29 centigrade or 84 fahrenheit, leaving many battling the heat on the streets.
Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek cancelled his conversation on Monday, for unknown reasons, while others such as a T-Mobile marketing manager took to Twitter posting a photo of a clicker to keep track of all the canceled flights derailing Cannes Lions attendees.
Erica Berenstein
Javiera Wuth from Chile is part of the Cannes Lions "See it, Be it," track of women who are breaking barriers. Wuth is helping to rewrite the constitution of her country to include equality for women.
Insider ran into Wuth at the Majestic Hotel where she was dining with twenty women who were selected against 800 other entries to join the program which highlights women's work in the field.
"Currently I'm working as a freelancer. We are changing the constitution in my country, so I'm working on this campaign. We had a dictatorship back in the eighties so we are changing it. It will be the first constitution for equality that guarantees equality for men, women but it is written for both equally."
Wuth added, "I am here in Cannes with "See it, Be It," for females in creativity to change the historic gap. There's not many women in the industry. Where I came from, I am the only woman in all the groups in McCann, Ogily and DDB so Cannes Lions is trying to do something about that, inviting all of us from all over the world. We are 21 women in 2020, and in 2022 six people joined us." Here's a link to her work. Wuth is currently based in Chicago, USA.
Reddit is inviting Cannes attendees to embark on an adventure.
The social platform has built a clubhouse, dubbed the Reddit Explorers Club, where it is encouraging festival goers to be transported into some of its most popular online communities.
Visitors view artwork from r/AccidentalRenaissance, which showcases modern photos composed in the historical style, appear in their own "This is Fine" meme, and play an arcade game that rewards knowledge of Reddit acronyms.
The two-story space also features a rooftop lounge where Reddit will be hosting events throughout the week.
The Reddit Explorers Club is hard to miss along the Croisette. It announces itself with a large screen beaming a hot take for passersby to upvote or downvote. The takes rotate every hour and were sourced from some of the most hotly debated topics on the platform, said Will Cady, the head of Reddit's KarmaLab, who toured journalists through the space on Monday morning.
During the tour, the screen read, "Waffles are just grilled pancakes." Other topics likely to be covered include whether hot dogs are really just sandwiches and the Cannes-appropriate question of whether good creative is essential to good performance.
Visitors to the space should, however, be somewhat cautious as they explore all the subtle Reddit references. If they're not careful, they just might get Rick Rolled. The surprise is something the event marketing team worked closely with Rick Astley's team to make happen.
Julia Hood
When we interviewed Randi Stipes, CMO of The Weather Channel, she pointed out that the wall behind her was not only made of real plants, but that they were locally sourced — and designed to be distributed for re-use after the festival.
Erica Berenstein
In May 2019, Insider published an article about a cool startup called ArtX, founded by entrepreneur Everette Taylor.
That article caught the eye of the then-CEO of Artsy, an online art marketplace that connects buyers to artists around the world. Some seven months later, Taylor started his job as the company's new chief marketing officer.
This post was edited after going live, to add a more precises descriptor of the company.
JPMorgan; DoorDash; Savage X Fenty; Wendy's; Insider
Julia Hood
Julia Hood
The Female Quotient's Equality Lounge venue was host to an opening night Cannes conversation on investing in diversity, featuring Group Black co-founder Travis Montague and Doug Rosen, CEO of Dentsu Media. The panel was moderated by Adweek's new chief content officer, Ann Marinovich.
The panel discussed the founding of Group Black and its partnership with Dentsu, and its mission of investing in Black-owned media and creators, including Essence and Black Girls Eat.
Montague talked about the investment priorities for Black-owned media, explaining that it's about building out systems for companies to produce and distribute content at scale.
"Generally speaking they needed the same things — one, scaled content production, two, media and entertainment distribution, and lastly technology and things like measurement and infrastructure," he said. "It's not just the money."
3 top insights:
- Investment takes many forms. Companies should consider more favorable payment terms — like payment of invoices in 30 days. Those structures can really help diverse businesses be more competitive.
- Media metrics need to evolve to encompass the impact of Black-owned media and creators. Traditional metrics of success are not necessarily capturing the total value.
- Content from Black creators reaches everyone, not only the Black community.
Julia Hood
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2022, Getty Images
During the past week, armies of Cannes Lions jurors have been holed up in conference rooms around the Palais, judging the awards that give us the raison d'etre for being here in the first place.
Some of the shortlists were announced this morning, and here are links to the full details:
- Outdoor — jury president, Eugene Cheong, chief creative officer, DDB Asia
- Print and publishing — jury president, Natalie Lam, chief creative officer, Publicis Groupe APAC & MEA
- Radio and audio — jury president, Mariana O'Kelly, global executive creative director, Ogilvy
- Innovation — jury president, Cleve Gibbon, CTO, Wunderman Thompson
- Glass: the Lion for Change — jury president, Colleen DeCourcy, former president, Weiden + Kennedy
- Health & wellness — jury president, Patricia Corsi, global chief marketing and digital officer, Bayer Consumer Health
- Pharma — jury president, Brett O'Connor, executive creative director, VCCP Health
- Titanium — jury president, Rob Reilly, global chief creative officer, WPP
Julia Hood
As Insider reported earlier this month, Amazon is going big at Cannes Lions this year, taking over the port with a huge activation that will include everything from morning workouts to game nights and concerts.
"They are embracing not only the C-suite, which lots of companies do, but they are smart enough to understand the day-to-day decisions are made by the younger set — the media buyer, the brand manager, the planners," Advertising Week Global CEO Matt Scheckner told Insider in a previous interview. "They recognize the importance of connecting and building their brand and their business by engaging with younger people."
With set-up still underway, though, I had a hard time finding anyone who knew where it was going to be. "I know I'm going there," said one guy, with a Cannes Official badge.
Julia Hood
Julia Hood
Julia Hood
Even as festival preparations are still being completed, Reddit's brand is already visible all along the Promenade de la Croisette.
The platform's three Explorers Club base camps will feature hangouts, speakers, and product demos to show advertisers how to connect with its audiences.
Julia Hood
Julia Hood
No breakfasts on the InterContinental Carlton terrace this year, as the landmark hotel is closed for renovations until 2023.
Carlton Beach Club remains open, however.
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