The rosé has been consumed, the branded beach clubs have been dismantled, and the Croisette has returned to its normal summer rhythm.
But last week’s talks at Cannes Lions aren’t over. These conversations have traveled back to the offices and homes of executives and the teams and sparked something new — a palpable shift in the advertising industry’s views on the intersection of creativity and commerce.
If 2024’s festival was dominated by theoretical discussions about artificial intelligence’s potential, 2025 marked the year marketers got serious about proving creative work drives business results. The conversations moved from boardroom to beachside, with executives openly discussing return on marketing investment (MROI) alongside creative excellence.
“Cannes was eye-opening because it signalled a genuine shift in priorities for marketers,” said Henry Innis, CEO and co-founder of marketing mix modeling provider Mutinex. “For a creative festival, it was astounding to see so much focus on MROI. Marketers clearly are feeling the pressure to demonstrate business outcomes across the market in an increasingly pinched economy.”
The festival’s most compelling theme emerged from the collision of AI-powered insights with creative ideation. Unlike previous years where technology felt separate from creativity (with the fear that it was leading creatives by the nose), 2025 saw these forces synthesizing into a unified approach.
“The most exciting component is how AI and creativity are colliding to create a new paradigm,” Innis noted. “We’re seeing a real shift from modelling engines to answers, and with that, a true unlock in marketers wielding commercial answers in tandem with creative ideation.”
This convergence wasn’t lost on the creative community either, nor was it relegated to marrying AI and creativity — creativity pairs well with everything. Rafael Ziggy, chief creative officer at Droga5 in São Paulo, mentioned how the best work emerged from blending the best of all worlds.
“Cannes proved that full-funnel creativity is possible when the idea is born from the meeting of courage and insight," he said. “We don’t need to choose between culture and conversion; the best work delivers both.”
Cannes was the ideal place to announce new partnerships, many of which were agencies, platforms, and even traditional cable providers partnering with first-party purchase data owners. PMG launched Alli Marketplace, allowing brands to seamlessly plug into disruptive and industry leading data providers, such as Attain, Experian, Mobian, and TruthSet. Even old-school cable stalwart Comcast announced a partnership with Mastercard to tie linear TV to transaction data– the first time Comcast has ever been able to tie local TV investment back to real purchase behavior.
“Cannes made it clear that in just the past year alone, all sides of the industry have taken enormous leaps in how they leverage data against the full funnel, from identification to measurement. Everyone is leaning into their data practices and recognizing how crucial it is when remaining competitive in such a crowded landscape,” said Attain CEO and co-founder Brian Mandelbaum.
With consumer attention scattered across countless platforms, traditional broad-reach strategies are losing their effectiveness. Ryan Nelsen, CMO of StackAdapt, identified a significant shift toward accumulating micro-engagements to build brand equity.
“In an era where consumer attention is fragmented across countless platforms and devices, traditional broad-reach advertising is no longer sufficient,” Nelsen said. “Brands are now focusing on delivering consistent, platform-tailored messages that resonate in brief, yet impactful, interactions.”
This fragmentation has created both challenges and opportunities. The rise of Answer Engine Optimization (AEO) is already reshaping how content is discovered, impacting publisher traffic and forcing marketers to reconsider their SEO strategies.
Anna Bager, president and CEO of the OAAA, noted this as “a space to watch closely as it reshapes the digital advertising ecosystem.”
Perhaps the most significant shift was the industry’s focus on aligning marketing metrics with boardroom expectations. John Sintras, President US and Multinational of Mutinex, noted an “increasing urgency to get conversations between marketing and the boardroom right.”
“We need agreed language and metrics that everyone is aligned with for marketers to regain control of the growth agenda,” Sintras emphasized. This urgency was reflected in the official Lions agenda, which included an invite-only CEO gathering—a clear signal that creative excellence alone is no longer sufficient.
Despite the optimism around AI integration, some executives raised concerns about industry readiness. Tim Ringel, Global CEO of Meet The People, was "shocked how unprepared the industry and especially agencies and clients are” when it comes to AI implementation.
“While everyone talks about it, they seem to hope AI is going to sort itself out naturally as part of the industry,” Ringel observed. It is his belief that proprietary AI-enabled technology investments are crucial for future success
The festival altogether highlighted the growing cooperation between different arenas in the industry. With more influencers and celebrities present than ever before, Bager noted that “the convergence of content, commerce and community is driving the next era of marketing.”
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