For its 2024 edition, the festival has entered a “post-purpose” era, where advertising must no longer only demonstrate brands’ commitments but above all its effectiveness.
Is the best the enemy of the good? To do too much, yes, according to Marco Venturelli, president in charge of creation of Publicis Conseil, and president of the Outdoor category of the Cannes Lions. For him, “In recent years, there have been many examples of campaigns in which the cause promoted outweighed the contribution of communication to the brand’s ecosystem”. To the point of losing sight of the initial objective of advertising: to sell.
Less purpose, more efficiency
The jurors of the different categories were therefore instructed, as part of their online training prior to the festival, to: “not to reward only cases with a “purpose” dimension that does not serve business, as if it were a humanitarian campaign”, remembers Clément Scherrer, general manager in charge of strategies at Buzzman and member of the jury of the shortlisted campaigns in the Creative Strategy category. The Cannes Lions organization also introduced a novelty allowing jurors to question the agency behind a campaign, to go further than the information provided in the application file on the effectiveness of the commitments.
A possibility that was used by the jury chaired by Marco Venturelli. In the display category, it is the device “ADoptable” from the New Zealand agency Colenso BBDO for Pedigree which received the Grand Prix for its use of dogs available for adoption in its communications. “This is not a publicity stunt because we know that the brand has been committed to promoting adoption for years.”justifies Marco Venturelli. According to him, “The campaigns rewarded this year are those that find the magic combination between usefulness and effectiveness.”
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Effectiveness, demonstration
This effectiveness still needs to be demonstrated. While the Effie Awards focus on advertising effectiveness, the Cannes Lions historically distinguish the most creative advertisements. Which is not incompatible according to Caroline Fontaine, General Delegate of the AACC: “If brands offer consumers commitments that are sincere, and they use the emotional connection of creation, then there is necessarily an impact on business”.
The agencies’ union launched, with Kantar and Media Figaro, a first initiative aimed at proving the business effectiveness of creativity, “Creativity for business”, then a second to demonstrate the impact of communication on societal transformations, “Creativity for change”. The results of the first wave were presented on the stage of the Palais des Festivals in 2023 during a speech entitled “French rebellion” intended to demonstrate French creativity.
For Marco Venturelli, “There is nothing more measured than the creative idea: via pre-tests, post-tests, etc.”. However, while advertising can accurately indicate which click on a site resulted in a sale in a magazine, creativity can be difficult to objectify, he acknowledges.
Source: www.e-marketing.fr
