Cannes Lions Live Day 2: Conversations around creativity amidst crisis take center stage

Day 2 of Lions Live had some eagerly-awaited sessions and conversations around how creativity shines through crisis, on innovating with brand purpose and how COVID-19 is forcing brands across categories to shift faster into e-commerce, among others. There couldn’t be a better start to the day than with a thought-provoking discussion on better living through advertising. And when the likes of industry mavericks such as Adeshola Makinde, Emmanuel Adjei, Jian DeLeon, Leila Fataar came together, they set the virtual screen on fire with a creatively-enriching conversation. The conversation went on to conclude that advertisers should not reflect the world we live in; it should challenge it to be better.
This was followed by AlmapBBDO’s showcase of their short film shot entirely at home. It shows a creative waking up and finding out that he’s living the life of a cat. He’s not human anymore. With time to think about the situation, he realises how exciting it is to work in this industry and how we can face the changes a new world will present to our businesses. 'Catrentine' is an emotional, fun, magic-like shortfilm with personal observations and an optimistic vision about our future.
Another interesting session that followed had Merlee Jayme, Global Co-president, Dentsumcgarrybowen, speaking of being a creative, who has focused on creativity for 30 years and on now taking on a global management role. Jayme shared that 'growing up' into this new role makes her look at business through a different lens and how solutions from a right-brained creative are totally different. She went on to speak about how in the midst of uncertainty, the need for creative leadership is stronger than ever as everyone yearns for diversion and inspiration and shed light on how creativity will play the most important role in building brands as they try to bounce back in this new normal world.
Keeping the conversation on inclusivity going, Stephan Loerke, CEO of WFA, interviewed Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, United Nations Under-Secretary-General, Executive Director of UN Women and Chair of the Unstereotype Alliance. In this captivating interview, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka shared a personal account of living through the overthrow of apartheid in South Africa. She recounted similarities to the Black Lives Matter movement happening today and calls for white people and men to not waste their privilege in society and use it for the collective good. Loerke asked what measures can be taken by the advertising industry to catalyse change. Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka delivered a clear message in response: Brands standing on the side-lines are perpetuating stereotypes, diversity and accountability is paramount and “there isn’t any more time or patience for incremental change”.
Every year at Cannes Lions each Jury President is asked to put together a President’s briefing for their jury - a set of guiding principles used to assess every piece of work. Looking ahead to 2021, Simon Cook, MD of Cannes Lions invited the President of the Titanium Lions, FCB's Susan Credle to share how the category is set to evolve in response to changes in the wider world at present. Credle spoke on the new trends she's keeping an eye on, and looked back at some of the award-winners that moved the industry forward, helping set the standards of exceptional creativity that the Titanium Lions demand today.
An immersive keynote was delivered by David Tiltman, VP, Content, WARC. Tiltman spilled the beans on how COVID-19 is forcing brands across categories to shift faster into e-commerce. He deliberated on how this long-term change in distribution is of essence for the effective investment of the marketing budget.
The CMOs in the Spotlight had Asim Naseer of Beiersdorf in conversation with Dana Anderson, Chief Transformation Officer of MediaLink, discussing managing remote leadership in lockdown and how the world of marketing will really change forever. Next up was Trevor Robinson OBE, Creative Director and Founder | Quiet Storm who explored how to unlock your strengths, how to become more aware of who you are, and how to use this knowledge to fuel your creativity.
One of the highlights of the day was thought leaders like Rebecca Altman, Dr. Gregory Altman, Mike Rigby, deliberating on how to innovate with purpose. Micro-plastics are said to be in everything, everywhere: from the products we use to our precious oceans, air, and ecosphere. Their pervasiveness has a long history—but one company had sought to undo it. Evolved by Nature, a new green chemistry company with a vision for a more human future, free from the hidden, harmful chemicals that invade our lives, working with R/GA, designed a new scalable business model and master brand to help them do just that. The Evolved by Nature co-founder Greg Altman, environmental sociologist Rebecca Altman, and R/GA Global Head of Brand Mike Rigby in this session unpacked the role of active purpose and branding in guiding and scaling corporate innovation efforts to build a health and sustainability movement.
Furthermore, John Patroulis, Worldwide CCO of Grey, talked to to Diego Medvedocky, President and CCO of Grey Latam, about Pandemos, a series of 14 short films created and crafted worldwide in collaboration with director Luis Aguer during the last two months of lockdown. It told a story about a tiny apartment, isolation, a bathtub, and the power of creativity to free you from all of it and the story of one man’s journey through the human condition, scheduled each night from 12am – 3am. And the global film series that erupted as a result.
This was followed by creative minds from Facebook offices around the world: Ashley McGowan, Global Business Equality Lead; Julia Rayeb, Creative Lead, LATAM; Miriam Faber, Content and Campaigns Lead for Northern Europe; Monse Moreno, Global Diversity Brand Strategy Manager; Thomas Shim, Creative Strategist; Michelle Mitchell, Strategic Communities Program Manager, Media Partnerships who came together to share how they have been able to transform their passion projects into actual change for their communities and what you can do to get started. On the awards front, Almap BBDO Brasil and Colenso BBDO took home the Regional Agency of the Decade award.