If the Cannes Lions pageant is something, it’s a stage-setter for the remainder of the yr.
In ADWEEK’s third and ultimate episode of The Cannes Dispatch, the editorial crew who labored the Croisette dig into the inventive that gained this yr and what it means for the way forward for promoting.
Whereas DoorDash’s Tremendous Bowl sweepstakes took dwelling the highest prize — don’t overlook to learn ADWEEK’s inside look on the way it all got here collectively — different winners weren’t with out controversy.
Coca-Cola’s award-winning marketing campaign “Recycle Me” depicted the corporate’s crushed brand to advertise recycling. However the marketing campaign had its truthful share of detractors on the pageant, who felt that the advert was an instance of greenwashing, as a result of crushing cans isn’t really helpful by recyclers, and since the beverage large has lengthy had a fame as a significant polluter.
If something, the controversy underscores that manufacturers that infuse their advertising with some type of goal additionally open their enterprise practices as much as scrutiny.
Goal with fun
The large development on the Cannes Lions, and one which appears prone to stick, is that after years of self-serious purposeful adverts, manufacturers a minimum of wish to make you chuckle. The pageant launched for the primary time a humor class.
It’s fortuitous timing as a result of, as ADWEEK’s model editor Rebecca Stewart identified, many people are nonetheless reeling from a price of dwelling disaster and a tanking economic system. Customers may not have the abdomen for a heavy-handed message as of late, which even probably the most purposeful manufacturers have fortunately acknowledged.
“Typically we overlook that humor may also be purpose-driven,” mentioned ADWEEK govt editor Jameson Fleming.
AI or AIn’t?
Generative AI entries this yr confronted a chilly reception from the Cannes Lions jury.
“When it comes to how businesses and types are utilizing it, it’s nonetheless in its infancy,” mentioned Stewart. However that appears poised to alter. Accenture Track CEO David Droga showcased his experiments with OpenAI’s Sora when he shared the stage with OpenAI CTO Mira Murati.
And Toys “R” Us simply launched the first-ever Sora-powered advert to a decidedly blended public reception.
