Through the Eye of the Needle: Why Creators Hold the Key to Culture at Cannes Lions 2025

The Creator Era isn’t coming -it’s already here.

At Cannes Lions 2024, creators were present. This year, they’re not just part of the festival-they’re essential to its evolution.

My managing director, Louisa O’Connor, touched on this last year in her article 'From Creative to Creator… Is Cannes Lions Entering a New Experience Era?', noting that the purposeful addition of creators will become vital for how brands show up, with her closing remark: “Let’s see if I’m right…” One year on, and it’s clear: she was. “The addition of creators will just put more emphasis on creating spaces that put creativity, participation and play first… business second. ”I’d now argue that the creator economy is the business we should put first. If last year’s Lions was about inclusion, this year is about evolution. Here is why this evolution must be grounded in experiential spaces designed to give creators a true seat at the table:"

01 The medium is the message

Creators today don’t just distribute content. They shape culture.

Their unique cultural lens enables them to bring to life nuanced conversations that brands often can’t access alone — stories built on lived experience, community trust, and emotional proximity. That’s not just valuable — that’s irreplaceable.

Creators have evolved into full-stack media networks in their own right, designing products, shaping strategy, and reaching communities with unmatched authenticity. They aren’t just the pretty faces amplifying brand messages – they are the message. And in this context, Marshall McLuhan’s old ad age couldn’t be more relevant: the medium is, indeed, the message.

Example: This is why platforms like Spotify have centred their Cannes experience around creators, not just showcasing them, but designing with them. SPOTIFY LAB encapsulates this principle in its purest form: the platform itself is a living testament of creators and their creativity in action. Using their global community of artists, songwriters, podcasters, authors, and creatives to bring to life how creativity lives and breathes in their ever-evolving playground.

It's not sponsorship. It's co-creation. The difference matters.

02 From Celebrity to Creator: A Strategic Migration

The traditional definition of ‘celebrity’ is dissolving. They build IP, own their distribution, and grow businesses on their terms.

Many started as athletes, actors, or musicians. Today’s most powerful cultural figures don’t wait for scripts or media appearances.

Example: Stagwell’s Sports Beach is a prime example of empowering traditional (sports) celebrities to reposition themselves as creators. So much so that it has become renowned across the Croisette. Now in its third year, and the official Sports Partner at Cannes, Sports Beach demonstrates the power of this pivot: redefining how athletes connect with audiences, not just as endorsers but as creative innovators and culture makers. The momentum generated in its first two years shows how impactful this shift can be in captivating audiences through a more intimate, participatory form of creativity — and underscores the growing role of the creator in shaping the future of marketing.

As creators become the centre of influence, consumers, too, are shifting. So, let’s zoom out to connect the creator dynamics at Cannes to the global consumer landscape. There’s a selective attention challenge in our midst!

03 Selective Attention and the Creator Advantage:

We’re entering a new attention dynamic — one marked not by scarcity of content, but by selectivity of consumption. The current sentiment from audiences is that algorithms are failing them, so they are becoming far more selective about how and where they connect online. They are now opting for deeper, more personal spaces like Discord servers, Telegram groups, and niche forums where they can connect with content — and people — on their own terms. It's not necessarily less media, but more intentional media. The digital/social rewilding trends have been born from this sentiment.

This evolution presents both a challenge and an opportunity. For creators, it means rethinking how to build resonance as engagement rates fall across mainstream social platforms. For brands, it’s a call to engage not louder, but smarter. The most meaningful touchpoints may now happen in semi-private spaces where trust, not reach, is the currency.

In contrast to brands, creators have a more human credibility, which allows them to pass through the ‘eye of the needle’, into these more intimate, tightly knit spaces. 

04 Experience, Experience, Experience

Everything I’ve covered above should clearly outline to you why the stakes are higher this year. Cannes Lions must reflect the reality that culture has aligned in such a way that creators exist at the heart of how brands connect with people, emotionally, experientially, and meaningfully. 

In our recent Seen Presents event, we discussed the growing emotional disconnect between brands and consumers. People are feeling both misunderstood and uninspired by what brands have been offering. Once again, seizing this opportunity relies on using live experience as a catalyst at Cannes to ensure evolution takes place to solve the disconnect.

Canva is a perfect example of this approach in action. Making its beach takeover debut at Cannes this year, Canva has designed its first-ever Creative Cabana, a space built with creators in mind: a place where brand builders, creative thinkers, and industry leaders can connect over big ideas. The cabana will play host to a range of intimate conversations, including, notably, a keynote conversation with WNBA champion and TV host Candace Parker and Will.i.am. It underscores a key shift in thinking: this isn’t just a passive showcase; it’s a collaborative hub designed to foster creativity and co-creation. Kristine Segrist, Canva’s global head of consumer marketing said it best, “At Canva, we believe that creativity thrives in community. [We’re] all about fuelling connection, creativity andbold ideas, and partnering with VARIETY helps us create these moments in all the right ways.”

Meanwhile, Pinterest is also making its mark by empowering creators and innovators to bring their imagination to life, reflecting its own role as a platform where culture is made, not just consumed.

I’m genuinely excited to see how brands reimagine the Cannes experiential spaces for creators this year. If I were designing the space, I would encourage the team to think of Cannes as less of a stage and more of a playground where creators and brands build, test, and reimagine culture together. This would break down into some variant of:

• Creator Studios, where real-time content and brand collaboration happen live, not post-event.
• Culture Labs, where brands can hear directly from creators and co-develop concepts for live experience and social integration.
  
• Purposeful Partnership Workshops, focused on long-term value: monetisation, ownership and brand partnerships.
• Private Briefing Rooms, designed to mirror the intimacy of creator-first environments.
  

To me, these aren’t just physical spaces — they’re signals. I’ve long been a believer that actions speak louder than words, and this will signal that the industry is ready to meet creators where they are and co-create the future together.

Conclusion: 

This moment isn’t a trend,it’s a marketing inflection point.

Cannes Lions 2025 is more than a creative showcase. It’s a cultural forecast. And the clearest signal on the horizon is this: creators aren’t a bolt-on to strategy. They are the strategy.

What we build for them (and with them) this year will impact not just campaigns, but the culture around them. The best brands already know this. The boldest ones will act on it. Because the future of marketing belongs to those who understand one simple truth: creators don’t just amplify culture. They author it.

For the brands questioning how they cut through in the modern landscape, consider this: The key to culture is not just about who sees you. The data shows the audience is still watching, just from a more private seat. It’s about how you embed creators into your integrated experience strategy so that they bring them back into the public arena. Cannes 2025 will be deemed a success if marketers leave with a clear understanding of this blueprint for success.

This isn’t a future we can ignore. It’s a future we need to collectively create, starting now, in Cannes 2025.