Shower Thoughts We Had At Cannes: A Young Lions Perspective

Cannes Lions is a wild ride. Between competing in the media Young Lions (and landing a top 5 shortlist!) to the talks, parties and sun stroke there isn’t a huge amount of time for contemplation.

Yet there is always one place where you are sure of a quiet space to gather your thoughts, the shower.

In the steamy solitude is where the real insights seem to hit. So here they are three (questionably) profound shower thoughts we had at Cannes last week:

A Cannes Lions schedule is like a Tinder bio: More aspirational than accurate

At Cannes, no one actually sticks to their schedule. You only make one to feel in control before the week’s beautiful chaos swallows you whole. In the weeks leading up to the festival Tayla and I not only meticulously planned our 24hr challenge but also our entire week of talks and events. But you can’t schedule creativity and you definitely can’t schedule the local Cannes bus.

But the magic of Cannes is it doesn’t matter if you are late or lost, there is always something to find; an amazing talk to see, The Work to wander through or a rosè to be drunk. So, our advice is to make the schedule, just so you can have the fun of breaking it.

We speak about AI like ex we just can’t get over

A little bitter. A little obsessed. Constantly checking what it’s up to now. AI is that on-again, off-again relationship the entire industry seems to be navigating.

There were a lot of AI panels this year—some alarmist, some romantic—but the general vibe? Hopeful. Most agreed: that if this is a love story we should get our happy ending.

In amongst the endless AI chatter two thoughts stuck out to us. First, Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen positioned AI as a blank page. All creatives dread that idealess blank page but AI helps us fill that it, helps spark that initial thought from which we can build powerful ideas. Then, at Canva’s panel “AI Won’t Replace You, But Your Competitor’s Strategy Might,” the room asked: will AI change the shape of marketing teams? The short answer: yes, it already is.

But what stood out was this: future talent won’t just need to prompt AI well, they'll need real emotional intelligence. Not just to catch errors, but to ensure the output feels human. Because even the best AI-generated work still needs to resonate with real people.

It’s both horrifying and comforting to know even those winning Lions probably feel like imposters.

One of the best parts of Cannes is how it brings together everyone from first-timers to people who’ve been coming for decades. We spoke to creative directors, creators, CEOs, and fellow Young Lions, and what struck us was how quickly we all move from humility to self-deprecating, and how many of us struggle to own our accolades. No matter where you are in your career, imposter syndrome has a nasty habit of sneaking in.

The best advice we received about tackling that sneaking doubt was that if you trust the people around you, then trust their good opinion of you. Don’t disrespect them by questioning that they’d give you that promotion/award/compliment for any other reason then they believe your work deserved it.

So find mentors and colleagues you trust and believe them when they say you’re doing great. And for those of us in leadership roles: never underestimate positive reinforcement. Confidence grows where it’s nurtured.

Overall Cannes reminded us that creativity is messy, self growth is uncomfortable and self belief takes a village.