Decoding Cannes 2021 INSIGHTS Report
As a Cannes Advisory Board member I bring you a backstage pass to global inspiration and intel. This video-rich 60-minute Decoding Cannes presentation that reveals the trends in culture, media, technology and creativity needed to make the most of the year ahead.
Creativity is the canary in the cultural coal mine. Cannes Lions isn’t just an awards show. There are hundreds of speakers from around the world – the who’s who of business, advertising, technology and media. Cannes is a perfect place to take the cultural pulse of the world. And Covid’s tentacles were everywhere: in the work, the speaker topics, and the jury briefings. Despite the months of lockdown creativity shone. Let’s jump in.
Karen Howe
1. Be the face of reassurance
The new abnormal. In March 2020 the world stopped. But there’s Covid then and Covid now. Now we have hope and vaccines, but that spring we had neither. And you could trace Covid’s lifeline through the work.
At first, many struggled to cope with an unsettling mix of fear and isolation. That’s why reassurance mattered. Facebook, the brand that keeps us connected, reassured all with this beautiful spoken word piece featuring UK poet Kate Tempest.
2. Reach out
Studies show that brands need to be present when the going gets rough. Early in the pandemic, ideas centred around helping each other. Dove’s Courage is Beautiful saluted healthcare workers, Nike’s You Can’t Stop Us rallied our spirits while Thai Airways encouraged us to do the right thing by rewarding people with travel points, for staying home.
3. Lo-fi gets high five
As we got our Covid sea legs we focused on practicalities and lo-fi production shone. Ads were shot on iPhones. Olympic athletes created spots in their own homes for VISA. This flawlessly edited Nike ad was used existing footage of 53 athletes across 24 sports. It’s proof of Sir John Hegarty’s belief that “Brilliance is 80% idea and 80% execution”. Even today, production is stripped down. But creativity loves a tight box, and wit always win over wallet if you embrace it.
4. A stronger community
Now, more than ever, community matters. Brands like Heineken helped local businesses struggling through rotating lockdowns. They supported bars by paying to advertise on their shutters. Beyond providing local support and building loyalty, they invented an entirely new media channel. Smart brands will be more community focused in the year ahead.
5. gaming is our new reality
Futurist Tracy Fellowes observed that as our lives pivoted online during Covid the gamer’s world become ours. Gaming is a powerful platform that many brands are tapping into. Wendy’s gamified their gal in RPG’s Feast of Legends. Burger King sponsored the lowly Stevenage football team transforming them into online heroes and vaulting themselves into the fray at the same time. Fortnite became a platform to help children recognize and report abuse. Xbox cross-pollinated with travel guides gave birth to a brilliant travel guide to the gaming world. Mindcraft morphed into a loophole to fight press censorship. Consider the power of gaming in the year ahead.
6. your desk is a dangerous place
Cultural fluency is the lifeblood of our business. Effective marketers need a view that extends beyond their desk. You must be embedded in culture. It’s important to understand that like #metoo, BLM not a moment, or a trend. It’s seismic cultural shift. It is a global movement that is still redefining the social landscape. This piece from Beats by Dre is a stunningly blunt narrative and it is helping force inclusivity and diversity to evolve. The shift is profound. At Cannes the juries, speakers, and the work no longer come in one colour, creed, gender or sexual orientation.
7. walk not talk
Brands continue to trudge along the path to purpose, but this year juries mandated action over words. Versus being awards bait, purpose must be inherent to your brand not a short-lived plug-on. Frankly, it’s an overdue evolution. Equally important to note is that brands – not government – are now expected by society to support and lead social change. That is magic of Michelob Ultra’s Contract for Change. It is a long-term commitment to farmers to convert to organic farming.
8. the war on plastic
This year’s most dominant themes linked arms: climate change, the degradation of Earth, sustainability and a planet choking in plastic. It is estimated that we ingest 100,000 microplastics a week which is five grams. It’s like eating a credit card a week. The Credit Card Diet uses everyday objects as a metaphor so we can relate to the issue. Plastics have increasingly come under fire over the last five years. It’s a clarion call for brands to get in front of this problem and help reduce the use of plastic.
9. The new agency model isn't an agency
The line between PR companies and agencies continues to blur. This year PR companies flexed their muscles and showed power on the podium. Edelman won a Grand Prix with No Finish Line for Asics.
Watch for more as PR companies cross-pollinate with ad agencies.
10. Cross pollination is on trend
Brands are banding together and collaborating as never before. This anti binge drinking campaign rallied numerous brands and pulled them together to address the issue. Creative collaboration on the rise.
11. content goes long format
We typically scroll over 90 meters of content a day. Content has evolved in a way that flies in the face of assumption that our attention spans are diminished. The inverse is true, and long format has increased wildly in popularity. Marmite toyed with the longstanding belief that ad world leverages “subliminal seduction” and went straight to shameless mind control. This campaign is a wealth of very funny long-format content.
