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Cannes Lions announce creation of advisory committee amid Publicis/WPP criticism

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Hot on the heels of some pretty significant pullbacks, with Publicis Groupe announcing they would be absent from next year's festival and WPP suggesting they might consider following suit, Cannes Lions has announced the creation of an advisory committee to help “shape the future of the Festival and ensure it continues to respond to the needs of the industry.” Comprised of major advertisers, partners, agency networks and the Mayor of Cannes, the committee will be a platform for stakeholders in the event to share their views and recommendations around all aspects of the Cannes Lions experience.

Commitments have already been received from Marc Pritchard, Chief Brand Officer of Procter & Gamble, Keith Weed, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer of Unilever, Fernando Machado, Head of Brand Marketing at Burger King, Fiona Carter, Chief Brand Officer at AT&T and Jan Derck van Karnebeek, Chief Commercial Officer at Heineken, with more members to be announced soon.

Philip Thomas, CEO of Ascential Events, organisers of Cannes Lions, said: “As well as clients who have offered to help shape the future of the Festival, we will (as usual) consult with all global creative leaders, heads of holding companies and other major partners. There have been a lot of discussions this week about the structure of the Festival, and we want to create the right Cannes Lions experience for all participants. The thing that unites them all is their belief in creativity as a powerful force in the world, and this is at the heart of everything we do.”

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Marc Pritchard, said: “We attend Cannes Lions to focus on creativity to drive growth. It's the right time to step back and take a look at the best way forward for Cannes Lions to provide the best possible platform for creativity in our industry, and P&G is ready and willing to help.” Jan Derck van Karnebeek, said: “Cannes Lions has always been a force for good in promoting creativity as a core driver of our businesses. We are committed to assist where we can in charting the right way forward.”

Speaking on the timeline of committee activity, Philip Thomas added, “The full list of members will be announced soon and the first meeting will take place shortly after the Festival. We look forward to sharing the committee’s recommendations with the global creative community, and we’re excited to see the ideas produced by this deeper collaboration.” I wouldn't want to hazard a guess as to what those recommendations might be, but it appears to me that this year saw a notable shift away from traditional agency pandering from Cannes, with more focus on the brands and certainly on tech companies such as Google and Microsoft. It wouldn't surprise me then, if Ascential and their newly formed committee made moves to help catalyse this transition.

This year's Cannes Lions has faced serious criticism from WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell, while Publicis Groupe said it was refraining from entering the awards in 2018 to focus on investing in its own AI platform, Marcel. Accordingly, shares in Ascential, fell on Wednesday (June 21) by more than 3%. It just goes to show that, in adland and on the stock market. Words matter!

Benjamin Hiorns is a freelance writer and musician from Kidderminster in the UK.

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