10 Things from Cannes Lions 2025 🇫🇷
If you feel like everyone and their mother is at Cannes, don’t worry – I’ve been cruising the Croisette from home. [#194]
Last week: London Publishers Summits and Awards
This week: 10 Things from Cannes Lions 2025 🇫🇷
Bonjour! I’m coming to you live from Café La Mer in Hastings. J’adore the little blue tin run by Monsieur Marc, who’s living his dream of having a little coffee business on the coast. So interesting how he became a barista.
120 miles from home. His first-ever business and a big step into self-employment. Amid dodgy UK weather, an economic crisis, and three chain coffee shops opposite his patch in Wellington Place.
Happy third birthday, Marc! “Here’s to the power of small beginnings.” Keep going. 💙
10 Things from Cannes Lions 2025
Channelling that indie vibe at Cannes Lions 2025. It may be the world’s biggest festival of creativity (97 countries, 26,900 submissions this year with entries from indie agencies up by 18%), but the creator takeover, rise of fandom, face time, and ‘being felt’ are the common themes.
AI may be the plus-one at most events, but only 12% of submissions this year reportedly used AI.
Apple won 2025 Creative Marketer of the Year. [Watch]
Human touch is your superpower because to build brand love, it's not enough for marketing to simply make you understand something.
It's got to make you feel something and laugh or cry, wonder, fall in love with a person, an idea, a brand that we all want to feel.
There's no technology, algorithm, and artificial intelligence more capable of helping us. I am a shameless optimist, and I believe in human creativity.
— Tor Myhren, VP of Marketing Communications at Apple.
Adapt or Die – Why giants can’t dance – Sir John Hegarty’s keynote on founder-led growth and why creativity is the only thing to compete on. [Watch]
Don’t aim to be the biggest, aim to be the boldest. And view AI as this amazing tool – a collaborator – that’s democratising opportunity and will give you the chance to rethink the next renaissance.
Congrats to Ogilvy, Shanghai – Grand Prix winners in the Pharma Lions for ‘Make Love Last - Bedroom’. I thought this was beautiful. Bold and simple! [Watch]
And to Ogilvy, Singapore – Grand Prix winners in the newly named Social & Creator Lions category for the ‘Vaseline Verified’ campaign – lab testing popular hacks shared by creators. [Read]
Influential Beach by Publicis Groupe – putting creators front and centre at Cannes. More talks this year, plus the Forbes Top Creators 2025 celebration – spotlighting 50 of the most influential and entrepreneurial creators. [Read]
Wacl X Propeller's #EmpowerCafé – 24 content sessions and over 100 speakers discussing everything from women’s health to sports fandoms. [Read]. They’ve also compiled a list of fringe events to help you get organised, and a Women at Cannes WhatsApp group.
Press Gazette’s Dominic Ponsford on gadding about Cannes and his chat with creator-journalist Twiggy Jalloh who’s found more opportunities working directly with marketers as a creator. See the ‘Rise of the Influencers: How publishers should respond.’ [Read].
Ed Davison, Chief Growth Officer at Cannes Lions, on launching the Creator Pass last year, what’s new for 2025, and how they’re connecting creators and brands – some tips for those going solo! [Listen]
Spotify's Feat. NATURE initiative: a custom playlist to generate royalties that fund nature restoration projects in the Amazon, Andes, and Indo-Burma. [Listen]
Substack writers. No Substack official presence this year - I’m sure there will be next year. But Hamish was there. I’ve also seen quite a bit of coverage of the fest by Substack writers: Natalie Jarvey. Coco Mocoe. Shingy. Lucy Werner.
Wrapping up with a quote I love from Ankler Media CEO Janice Min:
Hollywood is a business built on gatekeeping, but on the internet, the audience decides.
The same goes for journalism.
Thinking about going to Cannes Lions 2026? Be great to have our own Substack Café and chat group to connect and recharge – let me know if you plan to go. 😄
Nika