As Cannes Lions 2025 fast approaches, the air along the Croisette is charged with anticipation. From AI’s evolution to the seismic shifts in media and meaning, we gathered insights from some of the most influential voices in creative leadership. What themes are set to dominate this year's festival? Here’s what’s capturing the minds of some of the creative industry's biggest name—and why it matters for the immediate future.
Andrea Ching, Global Head of Integrated Marketing at Bloomberg Media
As has been the case for several years, technology, and in particular AI, is going to be a significant topic of interest at Cannes this year. We’re at a moment of significant disruption in the industry, so it’s more critical than ever that trust is prioritised. News cycles are becoming faster, and live experiences are often preferred, meaning audiences now hold the power. They look to publishers for not only data but also context, reliability, and integrity, and this is the year to consider how to deliver that effectively.
At the same time, we’re starting to see how the creator economy, which is dominant in the B2C space, is beginning to influence B2B marketing efforts. Creators have long gained authority by asserting it, even when it is divorced from a deeper context, and it won’t be as simple for B2B audiences. It will be interesting to hear how brands and publishers attending Cannes plan to merge influence with credibility in ways that fit the needs of their audiences.
Mateusz Rumiński, VP of Product at PrimeAudience
As Cannes 2025 rolls around, it is certain that AI will continue to be a significant focus once again. In 2023, the conversation centered on what could be possible with genAI in theory, while 2024 explored what is possible with genAI in practice. This year, the discussion will focus on the impact of genAI and its influence on campaigns, as well as how it can be effectively implemented into day-to-day marketing efforts.
In addition to AI, the array of news coming from Google recently will be a big talking point. Cookies are now expected to stay, and questions are arising around how that will impact the plans of advertisers, agencies, and technology providers alike. This is particularly critical given that some have invested massively in becoming cookie-independent. It can’t be forgotten, however, that cookies will still be available for only a portion of users, so it's vital for all involved to have a comprehensive approach to overcoming the challenges this may bring.
Similarly, Google’s recent trials will also be of interest to attendees. Marketers are becoming increasingly aware of how the outcomes of Google’s remedy negotiations could impact them. It may be that only minimal changes are implemented, but still, the impact on market dynamics could be profound. Ultimately, however, a much larger divestiture of Google’s ad business is still in play, and the results of this could be significantly more disruptive to those who rely on Google's stack for their ads. It should make for an interesting Cannes!
Laura Stephens, Head of Agency Sales at RAAS LAB
As we approach this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, we can expect plenty of conversations to be dominated by artificial intelligence’s impact. The technology is reshaping the playbook of what’s possible in advertising across all operations, including how we generate, deliver and optimise creative and targeting in a more symbiotic way.
With Cannes being the Festival of Creativity, the rise of artificial intelligence naturally prompts a bigger, bolder conversation: how far can it take us? The most forward-thinking solutions are now using AI agents to generate, deliver, and optimise creative and media in perfect unison, and doing it at the single impression level. This unlocks a new era of advertising: one where true, relevant personalisation isn’t a tactic, but the default - with every ad tailored to the moment, the context, and the individual.
As the festival unfolds, it will be exciting to witness how the creative community leverages AI - particularly agentic intelligence - as a catalyst for practical hyper-relevance that moves audiences in unprecedented ways.
Julie Selman, SVP Head of EMEA at Magnite
As Cannes Lions approaches, I’m particularly excited about the momentum around curation, which is fast becoming one of adtech’s most talked-about developments, and I expect to see even more conversations take place along the Croisette. As agencies and brands push for greater control, transparency, and performance in programmatic buying, curated supply paths are emerging as a smarter, more strategic way to connect publishers with buyers.
Another area gaining real traction is commerce media. Brands want smarter, more efficient ways to reach audiences, and commerce media offers that sweet spot between scale, data, and measurable outcomes. We’re seeing a shift from traditional ad models towards publisher-led solutions that integrate shopping and storytelling.
With the 2025 UEFA Women’s Euro on the horizon, live sports streaming will also take centre stage as a conversation driver. The buzz around women’s football has never been higher, and the tournament is shaping up to be a cultural touchstone. As CTV platforms scale, live sports are driving real-time engagement and giving brands a powerful way to connect with engaged audiences.
Travis Clinger, Chief Connectivity & Ecosystem Officer and GM, International at LiveRamp
As we head into Cannes, one thing is clear: AI is everywhere. Notably, AI is transforming consumer interactions, exemplified by LiveRamp's partnership with Perplexity, which combines personalised campaigns with AI-driven search. As advertisers focus on measuring experiences and optimising return on ad spend, exploring AI-powered partnerships that align with specific business metrics will be crucial for proving value in real-time across emerging channels like commerce media and connected TV.
Phil Acton, Country Manager UK at Adform
AI will undoubtedly be the talk of the town at Cannes - and with good reason. Its power to streamline media buying, creativity, and operations is immense. But for all the hype, we should not forget that AI is a means to an end, not the end itself.
Our industry has long grappled with complexity. When technologies have emerged, they have often reduced clarity rather than improved it. Pioneers who embraced AI years before it became mainstream know this better than most, having used that time to master the technology and ensure it enhances transparency instead of obscuring it. This includes pairing AI’s insight with human oversight and other solutions that can simplify the fragmented identity landscape.
As advertisers discuss AI’s potential on the Croisette this year, they should consider how to integrate it thoughtfully and push it toward what really matters: improving accountability for omnichannel outcomes.”
Tony Marlow, CMO at LG Ad Solutions
What’s interesting about Cannes is that it’s one of the few times the industry truly focuses on the art of advertising—the creative that connects emotionally with consumers. The rest of the year tends to lean into the science—how to reach the right person at the right time. But as we fully enter the CTV-first era, the brands that will lead are those who embrace The Art and Science of CTV—building campaigns that are as precise as they are inspiring.”
Maor Sadra, CEO & Co-founder at INCRMNTAL
Connected TV (CTV) is no longer the “emerging” channel we all test cautiously. It’s now one of the most efficient and scalable tools in the media mix, and Cannes Lions should reflect this shift.
At INCRMNTAL, we’ve analysed nearly $2 billion in media spend across more than 50 brands, and the data speaks volumes: CTV outperforms linear TV by 10x in conversion efficiency, while using just 60% of the budget. In the US, where CTV now accounts for 76% of global CTV spend, it delivers a near-perfect 1:1 ratio of investment to business outcomes.
This isn’t just about media performance, it’s about redefining what TV advertising means. CTV combines the emotional power of sight, sound and motion with digital accountability. It gives marketers the best of both worlds: reach and results. And with the right measurement approach - one built on incrementality, not clicks or proxies - brands can finally see what’s really working.
As marketers descend on Cannes to discuss creativity, effectiveness and the future of advertising, CTV deserves a leading spot in the conversation. It’s where storytelling meets scale, and where performance finally meets the big screen. For those still treating CTV as a side experiment, the data shows it’s time to lean in.
This year’s Cannes shouldn’t be about what’s new, it should be about what’s working. And if you want measurable impact in 2025, CTV is it.
Richard Davis, CEO & Co-Founder at 51toCarbonZero
AI will no doubt dominate the conversation at Cannes this year, but there’s a risk we overlook another critical agenda: sustainability.
Our latest research found that 98% of senior marketers believe sustainability is important for their brand, yet it’s still not getting the attention it deserves. At the same time, 42% of senior marketers now view generative AI as the biggest barrier to sustainable marketing. Adoption of these tools continues to surge without clear benchmarks or accountability for emissions. The issue isn’t AI itself, but how we use it. Smaller and more efficient models are readily available, but without education or visibility into their impact, many marketing teams are still flying blind.
More concerning, 40% of marketers say their emissions aren’t integrated into company-wide net-zero strategies. And while many brands say they care about sustainability, few are applying the same level of rigour they do to commercial performance. There’s a clear KPI gap, and until emissions reduction is tracked alongside reach, engagement and ROI, real progress will stall.
This matters because procurement expectations are rising. 95% of marketers in our study said that sustainability credentials now influence partner selection, with over half saying they are “extremely important.” The shift is happening but quietly, and not fast enough.
Cannes is a moment to celebrate the best of the industry. But it’s also a moment to challenge ourselves. Sustainability shouldn’t sit on the sidelines, it should be part of the brief. Because in 2025, climate leadership isn’t just good for the planet, it’s good business.
Justin Reid, Senior Director of Global Partnerships Solutions at Tripadvisor
As Cannes approaches, brands are thinking more carefully about their role in a complex and interconnected world. In times of uncertainty, there is a growing focus on optimism as a means to guide how brands communicate and connect with people.
One area gaining momentum is the resurgence of travel as a storytelling tool. With global tensions high, travel offers a sense of shared experience, reminding us of what connects, rather than divides us. Brands that tap into these moments by celebrating human connection and cultural curiosity can form stronger connections with audiences seeking meaning and unity.
Personalisation is also becoming more critical than ever. In a crowded and often volatile media landscape, relevance and timing are essential for brands to stand out. We’re seeing a shift towards experiences that reflect a deeper understanding of the consumer, not only emotionally, but also contextually and behaviourally.
This year, Cannes is likely to spotlight brands that balance data-driven precision with emotional intelligence, demonstrating that performance and purpose are not mutually exclusive, but mutually reinforcing.
Anna Forbes, RVP of Northern Europe at DoubleVerify
The traditional playbook for driving return on ad investment is being rewritten as media fragmentation accelerates. This will be a major focus at Cannes Lions, with brands and agencies actively seeking strategies to safeguard campaign quality and deliver meaningful performance across channels.
AI will be at the heart of these conversations. With the scale and analysis needed to measure, optimise, and attribute, AI is helping to simplify the customer journey and drive brand-specific outcomes. In particular, tools like custom bidding AI are becoming essential to media effectiveness today. Capable of processing complex signals—from first-party data to offline sales insights—to propel advanced metrics like attention, this technology is foundational to open web performance and increasingly walled gardens.
As advertisers also explore emerging opportunities in channels like social and connected TV at Cannes, the focus will increasingly shift toward strategies that unify performance across these channels. In this landscape, custom bidding isn’t just a tactical advantage—it’s becoming a strategic necessity for those looking to turn data into meaningful outcomes.
Paul Wright, Head of EMEA Sales at Uber Advertising
Sometimes being on the Croisette feels like the modern consumer experience — overstimulating, always moving, and too distracting to take everything in. Yet, in this chaos, so many meaningful connections are made when people are engaged at the right moment. The same principle applies in advertising, and Cannes-goers should appreciate that good creative needs to be designed for engagement.
Too many campaigns are still built for controlled environments, but today’s convenience and culturally-driven consumers encounter them during noisy, real-world situations. We’ve seen this with our own Journey Ads running in the Uber rides app that we run in Cannes, people comment on them and remember them as it captures their attention in the moment when they are arriving or leaving the festival.
As Cannes’ conversations focus on user engagement and the importance of AI, the fundamentals of great advertising remain creativity, context and attention. The new standard of creativity will be these dynamic campaigns that are relevant, context-aware, and timed to the situations when people are open to discovery.
Dominic Dunne, Commercial Director, Programmatic & LaunchPAD, Europe at Bauer Media Outdoor UK
Innovation in Digital Out of Home (DOOH) will be high on the agenda at this year's Cannes Lions festival. With UK Out of Home (OOH) spend reaching £1 billion in 2024 and DOOH forecast to account for 42% of all global OOH revenue by 2025, the momentum is undeniable.
We’re seeing a step-change in how technology is transforming the medium, from dynamic creative and real-time personalisation to seamless integration into the programmatic ecosystem. These developments are making OOH more data-driven, measurable and performance-led than ever before, bringing OOH into the core of omnichannel strategies. Cannes will undoubtedly spotlight how brands can harness this renewed creative canvas to drive meaningful engagement and results.
Graham Field, Chief Revenue Officer at Outra
At this year’s Cannes Lions, one theme will rise above the noise: the power of when. For years, marketers have obsessed over whotheir audience is. But the real edge comes from knowing when someone is ready to act.
Moving house, having a baby, changing jobs - these are moments that reshape priorities. They open doors for brands to be genuinely useful and change perception, just when people actually need them.
This shift—from chasing broad audiences to meeting real people at real-life moments—isn’t just a trend. It’s the future of effective, responsible marketing. And it’s what will be driving the smartest conversations at Cannes.
Mike Khouri, CEO of tactical
The industry’s in a reset moment - and Cannes is catching it in real time. Brands are being pushed to do more with less, to turn creativity into commercial outcomes. And while big players navigate the complexity, independent agencies have a real opportunity to lead and use their inherent agility to be braver and more culturally-fluent than before.
Cannes is typically the industry’s annual dopamine hit. But this year, I think there’s more curiosity than confidence. The real conversation won’t be about what won, but about what’s next. What does creativity look like in a world of AI co-pilots, fragmented media, and audiences who demand participation, not just persuasion?
Everyone’s asking: what’s still sacred in marketing? What’s noise, and what actually moves the needle? This year, the panels will be shiny, the rosé will help distract, but under the surface where it really matters, people are looking for clarity, and dare I say it – conviction.
So yes, the work will get recognised. But we’ll also actively assess our playbooks and re-write some rules. The next wave of growth won’t come from playing it safe, but from those that are bold enough to shape it.
Fabrice Plazolles, CCO at Havas Play
In 2024, the Olympics inspired some incredible campaigns, mind-blowing activations like the ones we saw from LVMH, driven by bold ambition. But for me, one of the standouts is “Olympic Curry » created by DDB Paris. I love this campaign because it proves there’s still room for real-time responses and organic creativity to shine at festivals. It feels very American in spirit, and reminds me of Heinz’s Seemingly Ranch.
I’m especially proud to see French agencies pulling this off. It shows that we can still take risks on social media, and spark genuine conversations. I truly hope this year’s Cannes Lions brings more of these types of campaigns —where brands earn attention by tapping into what fans really care about.
Michael Brown, Executive Creative Director at Pinch
As experiential design continues to evolve, this year’s Cannes Lions is poised to spotlight a significant shift towards deeper, more immersive storytelling, where authenticity and emotional resonance take centre stage.
The festival’s agenda, from the lineup of visionary speakers to the scale and ambition of activations along the Croisette, signals a new era: agencies are moving beyond eye-catching short-term stunts to present thoughtful research and robust frameworks that demonstrate experiential’s impact on brand affinity and genuine consumer connection.
Another defining trend is the growing influence of independent agencies. These nimble teams, guided by clear values and a strong creative purpose, can make bold decisions without the layers of bureaucracy often found in larger networks.
This streamlined, collaborative approach not only fosters innovation and risk-taking but also delivers the kind of unique, high-quality experiential work that brands and audiences are craving. As the appetite for meaningful, memorable experiences grows, the independent agency model is set to play an even bigger role in shaping the future of the creative industry.
Final Thoughts
Across all sectors, three big currents appear to be converge at Cannes Lions this year:
- AI as enabler, not afterthought – From ideation to omnichannel delivery, the challenge is integration, transparency, and trust.
- Media reimagined – CTV, DOOH, commerce media, custom bidding—all demand a new creative-media fusion.
- Meaning + momentum – Sustainability, human connection, timing, emotional depth and independent voices are rising in importance.
Cannes this year isn’t just going to be about who won what, it’s a crossroads. It’s where the creative economy asks: “What comes next?” Will we double down on growth engines or take the chance to rewrite the playbook?
As the flags unfurl on the French Riviera and the industry reconvenes, the big ideas coming into focus aren’t mere buzzwords. They’re signals of deeper change: AI, channel evolution, and a renewed commitment to relevance, responsibility and resonance. The sparkle will still be there but it’s what we do with it that truly defines the future of our business. Cannes Lions 2025 could well be that moment.