Creativity, Accountability, and the Real Work: Key Takeaways from Cannes Lions 2025

Cannes Lions 2025 is officially a wrap. And while the yachts, rosé, and rooftop sunsets still have their charm, this year felt different. In the best way. Cannes didn’t just sparkle, it showed real substance. What stood out wasn’t the parties (though they happened), it was the sense that people came here ready to work. Fewer decks. More deals. Less fluff. More intention.

If I had to sum up the week in one sentence, it would be this: Creativity is no longer the end goal. It is the engine that powers meaningful change.

The Shift We Needed

This year marked a clear departure from performance for performance’s sake. From panels to presentations to side conversations at the Carlton and Croisette, one theme kept coming up. Impact. The work that won wasn’t just clever. It created business results, shifted culture, and challenged what marketing can and should do.

Legacy brands like AXA, Dove, and Apple showed how creativity layered with accountability delivers results that matter. AXA reengineered insurance to address domestic violence. Dove continued its two-decade march toward digital beauty responsibility. Apple reminded us that consistency, not novelty, drives scale.

Even the buzziest campaigns had depth. Spotify and the UN turned nature into a royalty-earning artist. LVMH didn’t just sponsor the Olympics. They co-created the cultural fabric of the event. Creativity wasn’t just used to sell. It was used to systemically change how we think, feel, and act.

Earned Media Got Its Moment

As someone who’s always believed in the power of earned-first thinking, it was great to see PR take center stage. The Indian Railways Lucky Yatra campaign turned train tickets into lottery entries and increased ridership by more than a third. Jury comments across categories emphasized storytelling that earns attention, not demands it.

It was an overdue but welcome reminder. Earned media is not an afterthought. It is the foundation of trust. And in a year when AI was lurking in every conversation, trust is what audiences are looking for most.

Speaking of AI

Yes, it was everywhere. But not in the way you might expect. The loudest voices weren’t on panels. They were behind closed doors. Brands were quiet about it publicly, but you could tell. AI is now infrastructure. It is not a trend. It is table stakes. CMOs and creatives alike are grappling with how to use it without losing the human spark that makes work actually resonate.

The best campaigns didn’t brag about AI. They used it invisibly to enable better insights, faster pivots, or smarter storytelling. That is the future. Seamless, not showy.

A Human-First Reset

More than anything, Cannes 2025 was a reminder that marketing is a human business. We saw more work that addressed real pain points, reflected real people, and tried to build real systems of change. Whether it was GoDaddy’s hilarious B2B campaign or Vaseline busting skincare myths with community creators, the work that stuck was the work that meant something.

In a year filled with tight budgets, rising expectations, and shifting tech, this industry still showed up with bold ideas and bigger ambition. We didn’t just chase awards. We chased relevance.

Final Thoughts

Cannes is still Cannes. There were late nights, chance run-ins, and lots of overpriced espresso. But this year, the vibe was clearer, the conversations more grounded, and the purpose more palpable.

Creativity isn’t just what we produce. It is how we operate. It is how we lead. It is how we prove our value when no one is watching.

Now the question is what do we do with that clarity. My hope is we will bring it home.

Let’s talk about what these trends mean for your brand. Send me a note, connect on LinkedIn, or reach out directly. 

The work starts now.