Cannes Was Beautiful. But It Also Showed Me What’s Missing

Just back from my first #CannesLions  - a whirlwind of ideas, new friends, and late-night what if? conversations that made it feel like summer camp for creatives.

But I also left with a quiet conviction: the most powerful work happening today isn’t being fully seen - or celebrated. We’ve come a long way, but we still have room to grow.

Here are a few takeaways that stuck with me:

1. Experience is the medium of the moment—AI or not.

AI, creator marketing, borrowed influence, culture, authenticity… we heard those buzzwords on loop. But what everyone really talked about? Live, shared moments that cut through the noise. Reality still wins - especially as the line between human and machine blurs.

I can’t stop thinking about what Shelley Elkins (NVE) wrote in an open letter to Cannes:

“The people who build Cannes, activate Cannes, and animate Cannes deserve more than working the Croisette. They deserve to be celebrated on the Palais stage.”

She’s right. The real creative revolution isn’t playing out on the screen - it’s happening in the sand between activations, on rooftops where strangers become collaborators. And yet, experience marketing wasn’t just overlooked on the awards stage - it was largely absent from the panels and headline conversations, too. All while we were collectively living one massive brand experience — the very thing everyone kept buzzing about off-stage.

2. Representation is (still) the next frontier.

Panels were heavy on tech talk, light on new perspectives. Yet the most electric moments I had were in spaces where different backgrounds, disciplines, and lived experiences naturally collided - The Female Quotient lounge, ADCOLOR gatherings with The Room, Inkwell Beach, Club Quarantine (iykyk), and a handful of others. Those rooms sparked some of my most meaningful connections of the week.

Women were front-and-centre in many discussions this year - a positive shift. But beyond gender, diversity has countless dimensions. Too often, 10-person panels featured only US voices; at times it was easy to forget we were even in France. And while Amazon Port’s sign-language interpreter was a welcome sight, it was a lone example of accessibility in action.

If we want to shape global culture, our stages (and builds) have to look and sound like the world we’re trying to move.

The more voices we bring into the process, the more culture we actually create.

3. There’s whitespace for brave experiential work.

Most activations played it safe - hospitality-focused, beautiful, impressive in scale, but ultimately forgettable. A few brands dared to do more, and it showed.

Pinterest’s Manifestival was a clear standout: fully immersive, filled with interactive moments, cohesive storytelling, and giveaways that actually meant something - from tattoo parlours to personalised desserts dispensed from branded pastry lockers (individualised for thousands of guests and their dietary restrictions). It didn’t just look good, it felt good – like you were inside Pinterest IRL and could customise the experience to your taste.

Canva showed up with quiet confidence, drawing praise for staying true to their identity. LinkedIn, while mostly private, arguably dominated the week in word-of-mouth - it was ubiquitous, as the place where people connected.

The Female Quotient offered a rooftop escape with sweeping views, standout programming, and a true open-door vibe. And Brands&Culture created space off the Croisette with moments that prioritized presence over flash — think Deepak Chopra-led meditations and intentional networking.

The bar has been set. Now the opportunity is clear: brands that want to break through need more than a lounge - they need a universe. There’s a huge opportunity for brands and agencies who know how to turn stories into emotional, fandom-building worlds. (Raising my hand here. Let’s talk.)

Cannes was a reminder of how powerful this industry can be when we bring bold ideas, new voices, and shared experiences to the table.

We don’t need more noise. We need stories you can step into. Experiences that connect us - to each other, to culture, to the brands we love.

Here’s to creating what’s next - together.