After a two-year pandemic-imposed hiatus, leaders and talents of the advertising world are preparing to convene again in the South of France at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, the ad world’s biggest and buzziest awards celebration. But this year may be like no other—festival goers will be balancing a purposeful and measured conversation on Cannes stages with a pent-up desire to finally connect, communicate and flat-out party on its beaches.

“It will be a reunion for the industry but a reunion with purpose,” Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook told Ad Age. “People want to use the opportunity of being together to have some meaningful conversations about how we can tackle the biggest challenges in our industry right now. A lot of partners are really conscious that they want to show up in a different way this year, that is appropriate to the time.”

But there will also be plenty of celebrities, sizzle and musical performances that have always been a hallmark of Cannes. 

The festival’s official program lineup will reflect a serious tone, given the current Russia-Ukraine war, a wave of gun violence in the U.S. and industry issues over DE&I. At the Palais des Festivals, the festival’s main hub, “there will be less content but better quality content,” Cook said. “We’ve really focused on getting the most relevant speakers we possibly can.” 

Indeed, the lineup this year feels tighter and meatier compared to years past, when the schedule seemed increasingly dominated by big names with questionable relevance to the industry. This year sees numerous sessions centered on “creative effectiveness” with clients including Disney, Hyundai, Microsoft and AB InBev, the Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year. 

DE&I will be another key topic. Sessions include one with Accenture Song agency King James Group, centered around celebration versus cultural appropriation on the first day of the festival. Later in the week, top Black marketers will discuss how to pave the way for next-gen talent in a panel featuring Jerri DeVard, founder of the Black Executive CMO Alliance, Mars Wrigley North America President Anton Vincent, Group M North America CEO Kirk McDonald and Esi Eggleston Bracey, president of Unilever U.S. and CEO of Unilever Personal Care North America.

Since the last live festival in 2019, the metaverse, NFTs and gaming have grabbed the industry’s attention, and not surprisingly, they’ll be popular topics on the Lions stages. A VaynerX session will address will the NFT revolution on brands; R/GA will discuss making the metaverse a “more human” place; Meta takes on the “future of avatars” while esports and entertainment organization FaZe Clan will host a discussion on how brands can collaborate with next-gen entertainers. 

Stock imagery company Shutterstock will also be hosting an experience where attendees can get portraits taken by celebrity photographer David Fisher, some of which will be minted into NFTS. Trend forecasting company WGSN will also look at the rise of virtual influencers with a live interview with virtual celebrity Zero. 

There will be a handful of real-world celebrities too, attached to presentations around creative effectiveness and diversity. Ryan Reynolds will speak with Dentsu CEO Wendy Clark, on next-gen storytelling; Issa Rae will be in conversation with IBM and Ogilvy on bias in advertising and marketing, while Sir Patrick Stewart will chat about long-term creative effectiveness, through the lens of the successful "Star Trek" franchise. Megan Thee Stallion will also be joining Goodby Silverstein & Partners Chief Creative Officer Margaret Johnson and Frito-Lay Chief Marketing Officer Rachel Ferdinando to discuss creating modern and effective celebrity-brand collaboration, such as their Super Bowl push that involved dropping a new track on a Doritos chip. 

The festival’s staple celebrations will return as well. Anheuser-Busch InBev will take the stage as Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year; former Wieden+Kennedy Global Chief Creative Officer Colleen DeCourcy will be honored with the Lion of St. Mark—the second female talent to receive the accolade since it was introduced in 2011. 

The awards

Going into the festival, we are already seeing potential big winners. Change the Ref’s “The Lost Class,” from Leo Burnett and directed by Hungry Man’s Bryan Buckley, has already nabbed numerous top honors on the awards circuit so far and is predicted to take home more during the festival. 

Another anticipated awards magnet will be Google’s “Real Tone” technology for its Pixel phone, which was created to accurately capture a more diverse range of skin tones. Google engineers had worked with a number of Black photography talents to develop the tech, which was promoted earlier this year in a Super Bowl spot and also in a native advertising campaign with the New York Times.

Tech titans

The tech giants over the last decade have become a prominent fixture in Cannes, with companies such as Snapchat, Google, Pinterest, Spotify, Facebook/Meta and more staking out key territory along the Croisette. Though earlier, it seemed brands and agencies overall were being more conservative about returning to France post-pandemic, new companies have joined this contingent, with Amazon, TikTok and Roku making their first “official” outings at the event.

Read more: Creators and influencers choose Cannes or VidCon

Amazon won’t be on the main drag; instead, it’s set up shop at the Vieux Port (or old port), where agencies and brands welcome festival-goers to their luxury yachts. Observers such as MediaLink CEO Michael Kassan suggest its presence will draw the festival’s center of gravity away from the Croisette and toward the marina.

Entertainment giants, namely, their streaming counterparts such as Disney+ and Peacock, are expected to have a sizable presence and “are going to be that much more important this year,” said Kassan. “You could argue they were there before, but they weren't necessarily selling an AVOD (advertising-based video on demand) offering and now they are there to do business.”

“I think people are really interested to hear what Netflix has to say,” Kassan added. He will be on stage in a chat with the company’s Co-CEO and Chief Content Officer Ted Sarandos and New York Magazine Editor-at-Large/Pivot Co-Host Kara Swisher. 

While creativity is the heart of the festival, discussions will no doubt swirl around data and measurement, Kassan predicted. “I think the conversation in Cannes is still going to revolve around currency and whether Nielsen, with all the competitive pressure now from iSpot, VideoAmp, DoubleVerify, Comscore, OpenAP, Xander, and other ways of measuring,” he said. “Are we going to really create another currency? Those are real topics that need to be addressed.”

Closed: Carlton Terrace

What would the Cannes Lions be without its parties? Though agency fetes this year seem to be scaled back, certain brands and other mainstays on the party circuit will ensure the celebration continues. Spotify, for example, will be hosting a whole week of evening fetes with top musical talents including Post Malone, Kendrick Lamar, The Black Keys, plus special guest Dua Lipa. 

The Carlton Terrace, which for years has been the central, buzzy after-hours hangout where festival attendees can network from table to table over glasses of rose that may or may not arrive (depending on the enthusiasm of your server) will be closed this year as the hotel undergoes reservations. It remains to be seen whether that scene will travel further down the Croisette to the Gutter Bar near the Martinez Hotel or across the street to the Carlton Beach restaurant, which will be open for the festival. 

Travel woes

A little over a week before the festival the U.S. lifted the coronavirus restrictions for fliers entering the country, so citizens need not worry about having to scramble to get tested before making the return trip home. 

Attendees from Europe are dealing with uncertainty in the midst of airport labor strife, with strikes hitting Paris and imminent in other areas such as Scandinavia. Cannes Lions will provide travel-related advice on its delegate hub, but attendees may see delays and will have to adapt their travel plans. “We will have to manage as best we can,” said Lions CEO Cook. “But the main thing is coming together for that week.”

Contributing: Alexandra Jardine, Brian Bonilla, Garett Sloane