Cannes Today—AI debate heats up, McDonald’s embraces failure—plus the latest Lions winners

Welcome to Day Two of Ad Age’s Cannes Today newsletter. Reading this on our site and want it delivered straight to your inbox? Sign up for our Special Report newsletter here. For real-time updates, follow our live blog. And see all our coverage here. Cannes has kicked into full gear with plenty of parties, panels and celebrity sightings. The Olympic torch even made an appearance on the Croisette. Plus, the first two batches of Grand Prix winners have been announced. Below, a look at some of the highlights from the festival’s first two days. Failing up “We actually literally made failure part of the culture.” That insight, courtesy of McDonald’s Chief Marketing Officer Tariq Hassan, was among the wisdom shared with Ad Age Creativity Editor Tim Nudd during a panel at Tubi’s beach cabana. Hassan explained how the fast feeder—whose marketing has been leaning into so-called fan truths by tapping into subcultures including anime fans —has removed fear of failure from its culture. In the same discussion, NFL CMO Tim Eillis described how the league has become “comfortable with making people uncomfortable.” Havas enters AI spending race The Cannes artificial intelligence fixation is very real. Havas used the festival to proclaim that it will invest 400 million euros, or more than $428 million, into AI over the next four years, joining other holding companies that are pouring money into the tech. Ad Age’s Brian Bonilla detailed Havas’ planned spending, while also grabbing some time with Havas Chairman-CEO Yannick Bolloré, quizzing him about the potential that Havas parent company Vivendi spins off some assets. Havas hasn’t had any conversations with other holding companies, Bolloré told Ad Age. During a press conference, he said there would be“pros and cons” to going public. Terrifying or comforting? Of course, AI has plenty of haters, too. They include Tinx, a lifestyle and dating influencer with over a million followers on TikTok who slammed the tech during a panel moderated by Ad Age’s Garett Sloane aboard VaynerX’s yacht. “I’m terrified of AI,” Tinx said. “I don’t like it, I don’t trust it, it’s coming for our jobs,” she added, while also taking a shot at how brands are using AI. But the platform where Tinx found fame is going all-in on AI—TikTok at the festival announced new AI-generated avatars for brands and creators, including allowing brands to make custom avatars based on a spokesperson or mascot. The announcement is already drawing criticism about potential ethical issues. AI got some defense from a royal, with Princess Beatrice, a granddaughter of the late Queen Elizabeth II, participating in a panel on “Emotional Intelligence in the AI Age.” Page Six reported that Beatrice, who is VP of partnerships and strategy for the software brand Afiniti, explained how technology “gave me a space to really be myself.” (She also apparently carried her own luggage “when schlepping to the South of France,” according to Page Six.) Election year chatter Stagwell Chairman-CEO Mark Penn put his spin on AI during an interview with Bonilla at the holding company’s Sport Beach, suggesting that the “tech industry needs the marketing industry to survive” and that AI has not “eliminated frontline creativity.” Penn, who has a background in polling and politics, also offered some election-year advice to brands—including suggesting that ad inventory in swing states will be nearly impossible to find as November draws near. Meanwhile, election-year politics was a topic during a live recording of the podcast “On with Kara Swisher” at Cannes Lions featuring Chrissy Teigen and husband John Legend, who were not bashful about bashing Donald Trump, reported Deadline, which noted that Teigen “said she recognizes that being outspoken can cause problems for her brand relationships.” And the winners are … See every Grand Prix winner awarded so far at our trophy hub. And for the agency scorecard, check out our running tally of U.S. winners. Below, all the Grand Prix winners announced since our last newsletter: UN Women’s wedding cards designed by child brides wins Health Grand Prix for Good Siemens wins Pharma Grand Prix with comforting children’s audiobooks for scary MRIs Magnum Ice Cream, Pedigree campaigns each nab an Outdoor Grand Prix Dramamine’s mini-doc about airplane barf bags wins Health & Wellness Grand Prix Coca-Cola’s crushed logo wins Grand Prix for Print and Publishing Specsavers’ Rick Astley misheard lyrics spot wins Audio & Radio Grand Prix ‘WoMen’s Football’ gender-equity deepfake ad wins Entertainment Lions for Sport Grand Prix Xbox’s dream soccer experience from McCann London wins Entertainment Lions for Gaming Grand Prix Johnnie Walker’s elevation of a bossa nova pioneer wins Music Grand Prix ‘We Are Ayenda’ short film for WhatsApp wins Grand Prix for Entertainment Hornbach ad ‘The Square Meter’ by HeimatTBWA\ wins Film Craft Grand Prix Spotify’s spreadsheet music video from FCB New York wins Digital Craft Grand Prix Circus Grey wins Design Grand Prix for turning sidewalks in Peru into guides for the visually impaired German newspaper’s ’100th Edition’ dedicated to Holocaust survivors wins Industry Craft Grand Prix Quotable “Snoop is back and he’s going to sell even more f—king stoves.”—a teaser video foreshadowing Snoop Dogg’s return to Solo Stove advertising in a video shared during a panel featuring Solo Brands Chief Marketing Officer Luana Bumachar and Martin Agency CEO Danny Robinson. Parting shot Cannes has a well-earned reputation for free-flowing alcohol, especially rosé, of course. But festival-goers could not get enough of free cans of Liquid Death water passed out at the brand’s packed panel at the Palais. (The Carlton, where there is no shortage of booze, was plenty packed, too.)

Cannes Today—AI debate heats up, McDonald’s embraces failure—plus the latest Lions winners

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