The List reunites at Cannes Lions 2022

In some respects, the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity represented a return to business as usual, as the advertising world gathered en masse in the south of France for the first time since 2019. But despite the glitzy location and celebration of the best creativity from the past year, the same issues that have consumed the community, and the world in general, dominated much of the conversation, including anxiety over everything from the war in Ukraine and climate change to sustainability and a possible economic downturn. 

Two years since the police murder of George Floyd sparked Black Lives Matter protests and subsequent renewed calls for greater diversity, equity and inclusion, the importance of DE&I and its relative baby steps forward in the ad industry was also a major topic of discussion. The talks ranged widely, from Group Black's Inkwell Beach to IBM and WPP's panel on how AI can fix bias in data to The Female Quotient's Equality Lounge to Meta Beach.

With so many advertising and marketing leaders converging on Cannes, Ad Age and Meta convened a special meeting of The List, the advocacy group of advertising, marketing and media leaders created four years ago by Ad Age in partnership with Meta. Ad Age President and Editor-in-Chief Dan Peres, Meta Global Director of Industry and Community Marketing Shauna Sweeney and Ad Age Studio 30 Editor John Dioso hosted the breakfast for representatives of The List 2019, 2020, 2021 and the recently selected class of 2022. 

Attendees included List members Ricky Ray Butler, CEO of BEN Group; Will Esparza, founder and CEO of Eos; Shannon Jones, co-founder of Verb; Isaac Mizrahi, CEO of Alma; Carmen Rodriguez, chief client officer of Gut; Mo Said, founder and creative director of Mojo Supermarket; Mark Wagman, managing director of MediaLink; and Krystle Watler, head of creative agency partnerships, North America, at TikTok. Also present were friends of The List such as Yadira Harrison, co-founder of Verb; Michelle Wang, chief of staff at BEN Group; and Sylvia Zhou, global industry strategy and partnerships lead at Meta. 

Recapping The List 2019-2021

Peres, Sweeney and Dioso welcomed the attendees and recapped the achievements of the first three classes of The List. Sweeney noted how 2019 was also the last time The List met in Cannes and how the inaugural List class championed equitable corporate parental and family policies, culminating in the Ask About It campaign—and in List member Ricky Ray Butler changing BEN's leave policy as a result of his experience with the group. 

In the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as Black Lives Matter and related social justice movements, the 2020 and 2021 classes banded together to seek concrete solutions that would directly confront the retention crisis of diverse talent in the industry. Partnering with Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) and the Asian American Advertising Federation (3AF), The List launched Generation Next, a pilot mentorship program for midcareer professionals of diverse backgrounds. The program specifically targets those with three to five years of experience, because research has shown this career period is when diverse talent is most likely to drop out of the industry. The List also partnered with Meta Elevate to develop content showcasing the expertise and experience of The List, featuring Judy Toland, Meta’s VP of global customer marketing. (See episodes of Generation Next and Lessons Learned.)

"There's a whole wave of new talent coming into this industry that deserves to have mentors," Sweeney explained. "We don't get to this place of privilege without help. All of you have the potential to change people's careers. Like the flip of a switch, with one recommendation or one intro, someone's whole trajectory of life can be changed by you."

Dioso updated the attendees about the achievements of the first class of Generation Next mentees, including their group project to pitch a marketing campaign to advocate for DE&I and mentorship in the industry, presented during a virtual panel at Advertising Week New York last fall. List 2021 member Carmen Rodriguez then shared her experience in helping craft the mentorship program and serving as a mentor herself. 

"I was part of the committee that paired the mentors with the mentees," Rodriguez said. "I'm happy to report some List mentors have continued mentoring their mentees even after the program ended. My personal experience with the program was so valuable. I still have a relationship with my mentee. I've learned a lot and grown as a mentor."

What's next for Generation Next

Post-Cannes, The List 2022 will have its first official meeting in New York to discuss how it plans to expand the Generation Next program to accommodate more mentees by continuing its partnership with MLT and the 3AF, as well as other like-minded industry diversity advocacy groups. Dioso ended the Cannes meeting by noting that in addition to the attendees, many members of The List 2019, 2020 and 2021 had already committed to serving as Generation Next mentors as well as consultants and advisors for the incoming List class of 2022. 

In the coming weeks, Ad Age Studio 30 will report on The List 2022's progress. For the latest news, visit The List vertical on AdAge.com and website AdAgeTheList.com, and follow The List on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter. Email [email protected] for more information.