Cannes Briefing: A sunburned reckoning

Just don’t expect to hear it on stage — that’s if you even made it here. Getting to Cannes has never been as simple as booking a flight. It’s a ritual of corporate theatrics — months of PowerPoint decks, internal politicking and rationalizations as to why beachfront panels and Aperol at noon count as brand strategy.

Which is why the no-shows stand out.

A quiet but telling group is missing: non-citizen ad execs working in the U.S., many of whom didn’t risk the trip. Not because of the airfare. Because of re-entry. Cannes may be global but immigration enforcement doesn’t care about agency credentials.

“For U.S permanent resident holders (green card holders), there definitely has been increased scrutiny,” said Manish Daftari, partner at immigration advisers Vialto Law. He’s advising execs to get re-entry permits if they’ll be abroad too long. In other words, the risk isn’t the flight to France — it’s the one home.

Even those who made it are feeling the edges. 

For years this was their favorite mirage; the place where real-world problems could be blurred out by the sun. But not this time. Too much is bearing down on it all at once — geopolitical turmoil, economic uncertainty, AI panic, agency shakeups, the creator economy’s growing pains. What once felt like a bubble is now at risk of becoming a pressure cooker. The anxiety is ambient — even in the off-the-record chats.

“I’m not allowed to say anything on the record about AI — it’s too sensitive a topic for corporate comms at the moment,” said one ad exec at a global brand, who, clearly, wasn’t allowed to be on the record.

And that tension is bleeding into behavior. The latest Cannes status symbol isn’t a yacht invite — it’s a color-coded schedule packed with 17 meetings before lunch. “It’s definitely got more aggressive now,” said Jamie Barnard, CEO of privacy compliant platform Compliant.

A week once built on excess is starting to look… efficient. 

But efficiency feels off here. It runs counter to what Cannes was built for: long unstructured days where chance encounters turned into business, and ideas came dressed in linen and optimism. Now, the sobering realities of a maturing industry have caught up. Budgets are tighter. Attendees are more self-aware. And the delegation sizes speak volumes.

Ogury brought 31 execs this year, down from 37. MiQ held steady at 45. Razorfish sent eight, same as last year. Each was quick to clarify that this wasn’t about cutting back so much as it was about being more intentional. Which in Cannes speak is code for: “We’re still here, just trying not to look like we’re enjoying it too much.” 

And maybe that’s a good thing. A little self-awareness goes a long way at an event where companies will fork out nearly a million dollars to set up on the beach for a few days just weeks after laying off dozens of staff. The disconnect was always there — only now, it’s harder to ignore. No wonder some execs opted not to come.

“I was asked to put together a business case to go to Cannes Lions, but I was like, it’s too much work, I’ll pass,” said an ad exec, who exchanged anonymity for candor. 

But there’s a risk in the correction, too. Strip away too much of the excess and Cannes starts to feel like any other conference: transactional, pre-paced, polite. Less about inspiration, more about squeezing ROI out of every minute. That may be efficient — but it’s not why people fought to come here in the first place. 

“It used to be a reward to get to go to Cannes,” said Marcy Samet, a former holdco exec who now runs her own growth consultancy for agencies called the LBRB COLLECTIVE. — Seb Joseph

Cliches on the Croisette: the hot takes Cannes can’t quit

“AI won’t replace creatives. It’ll make them more creative”

Already engraved on a thousand slide decks. By the time someone says it during an 11 a.m. panel sponsored by an energy drink brand, they’ll be the fifth person that day to frame ChatGPT as a muse, not a menace. Still, Cannes loves a flattering future.

“Retail media is the third wave of digital advertising”

Again, for the fourth year in a row. But now with more pop-ups from SR chains and luxury retailers trying to convince you that “cart data is the new cultural capital”. Bonus points if someone says, “it’s not just about targeting, it’s about storytelling at scale”.

“Creators are the new directors”

Expect this to be repeated both onstage and on the Croisette by marketing execs angling for TiKTok collabs. Most will nod solemnly, even if no one in the room is entirely sure if the creator in question has ever opened a brand brief. 

“Media and creative need to reunite”

A Cannes evergreen. This will be treated as a bold new idea, even though it’s been uttered every June since the breakup actually happened. Still, it plays well over rosé. 

“Cannes is back”

It never really left but the post-pandemic refrain lives on. If someone says it this year, they probably mean the yachts are fuller, the drinks are colder and the delusion is comforting.

From the Digiday X Blockboard video studio

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Elsewhere from Cannes

• If you’re looking for Patricia Corsi, Kimberly-Clark’s chief growth officer, along the French Riviera during this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, don’t expect to find her sipping rosé. — Kimeko McCoy
• Unik Ernest doesn’t exactly fit the mold of Cannes’ archetypal power broker. Tall, reserved, more listener than talker — he doesn’t shout status. But on the Croisette some call him the fixer. Spend five minutes at one of his parties and it becomes clear why.  — Krystal Scanlon
• Amazon Ads and Roku have announced a partnership that makes the e-commerce giant’s demand-side platform the exclusive means of accessing Roku’s CTV advertising inventory via a shared identifier from the duo. — Ronan Shields
• Omnicom announced a partnership with Disney centered around live sports in tandem with The Trade Desk to programmatically take advantage of the inventory. — Michael Bürgi
• Outfront is bringing along its XLabs — the cutting edge unit of Outfront that’s created all manner of new, mostly transit-related digital OOH executions being used by the likes of Aruba Tourism and Visit Fort Lauderdale (it’s popular with destination advertisers) and HBO Max. — Michael Bürgi

Overheard

“I’d love to say the deal is going to go through but there’s a lot of bad blood around that negotiation table that I can’t say for sure.” — one ad exec, clearly over it.

“It costs about €100,00 to sail a yacht from Cannes to St Tropez during the festival. We’re driving there this year.” — one ad tech boss with a shrug that said it all.

What to do

10 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. at Lumière Theatre, The Palais
As the 2025 recipient of the Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year Award, Tor Myhren, vp of marketing communications, at Apple, will discuss how the human touch and creativity converge in the age of algorithms.

2:45 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. at Lumière Theatre, The Palais

A look at advertising and neurodiversity among a panel featuring artist Lola Young, The New York Times and Havas.

3:45 p.m. to 4:15 p.m. at Terrace Stage, The Terrace
Hear about the intersection of sports and wrestling from All Elite Wrestling.

Nightcap

6 p.m. at Meta Beach
DJ, music producer, and radio host, best known as the founder of Soulection, DJ Joe Kay will be spinning the decks, while light bites and hors d’oeuvres are served.

6 p.m. at private villa
Light bites, cocktails, DJ sets, and an exclusive performance from Grammy nominated multi-platinum and diamond-certified artist, Charlie Puth at the Spotify Soiree.

8 p.m. to 11:30 p.m. at WPP Beach
Enjoy sundowners, canapés and conversation at the VML Cannes Sunset Soiree while a guest DJ will be playing some tunes.

10 p.m. at Hotel du Cap
iHeart Media, Condé Nast and 3C Ventures are hosting an after party featuring a DJ set from Questlove.

10 p.m. to late at Snapchat
Drinking and dancing with a performance by 50 Cent.

11 p.m. to 4 a.m. at Bisous Bisous Club
BeReal is throwing an after party.

Elsewhere from the newsroom

• Brands are ditching creative agencies by forming social creative content and messaging with media-side shops.
• YouTube Shorts monetization has been a challenge for creators, pushing YouTube to create more sponsorship opportunities for Shorts creators.