From talking shop to action, Cannes?
Advertising isn’t the only industry that enjoys talking about itself, but we probably do it better than most. Which makes Cannes something of an Introspection Olympics.
Nothing wrong with that, of course. But the side effect is that you sometimes leave wondering when — or whether — anything is actually going to change? Each year, from big data to blockchain, from AI to VR we obsess about “the themes of the festival” but when you step back and look hard at what gets delivered, often it’s more of the same.
So maybe it’s the optimism of stepping into this new role, but ask for my top trend of the festival so far and I’d say this. Bigger themes. A bit less talk. A bit more action.
Nowhere is that more the case than with data and technology. For so long we’ve talked about them as the ends, this year they’re being talked of as the means. Google summed it up beautifully — “the nerds have finally figured it out,”. Well, I guess they’d know better than anyone, but there’s evidence that finally we’re looking past data and past technology, to focus much more intently on how these tools can improve — and even save — people’s lives.
Away from advertising, my jaw-drop moment goes to Zipline, the world’s fastest and most reliable delivery drone. But this isn’t Amazon boxes, it’s what marketers might call a consumer essential — blood. In this case delivered remotely to communities in Rwanda, saving countless lives. Incredible technology being put to incredible use.
Closer to home, there was a wonderful example of VW using tech to solve a human problem of tech’s own creation: kid’s glued to tablets in the back of cars. VW’s solution was a dynamic audio-book that interacted with the journey the family was on. This was about much more than data enabling insight, this was an idea that simply could not have been imagined in a world without data.
Mastercard gave a masterclass on blending art and science (or more precisely, music and data) with its audio-branding — bringing neuro-science techniques together with Chinese pianist Lang Lang to design an attractive sonic signature that will accompany billions of our payments.
And my day ended with the Unstereotype Alliance — backed by the likes of Diageo and Unilever — who offered up a very analogue solution to an industry-wide challenge. Their simple, practical framework for un-stereotyping your work is the most useful sheet of A4 you’ll pick up in Cannes this year.
The human application of data and technology. Doing business with real purpose. Including everyone in our ideas and our execution. These feel less like fads, more like fundamentals. There’s still plenty of talk, but how refreshing to see Cannes in action.
