AI at Cannes Lions: The Lion King Summary

What triggered Steffen Gentis were the images of the happy winners proudly standing on the red carpeted steps of the Palais, holding up their lions to the awed crowds, and how much this reminded him of Rafiki the shaman holding up Simba to the awed animals. The Lion King message, instantly synced up with the structuring Steffen was doing and what he had heard that week on AI in Cannes, on all the stakeholder opinions, discussions and case studies. And suddenly it was Rafiki standing on the steps of the Palais holding up AI to crowds in awe. In this dissertation Steffen compares the messaging in the Disney film 'The Lion King' to the challenges and discussions for the industry around AI in Cannes.

On my plane ride back from Cannes Lions last week, I found myself mentally organising everything I had heard about AI, while also reflecting on the impressive work that won Lions this year.

Images of the happy award winners standing on the Palais steps, proudly holding up their Lions, merged in my mind with the iconic moment in Disney's 'The Lion King,' where Rafiki the shaman baboon holds baby Simba up for all the animals to see.

This synced with my thoughts about GenAI and triggered a 'Lion King' parallel. I used Dall-E to recreate and illustrate it:

On the steps of the Palais, Rafiki was holding up 'AI' to the crowds gathered in awe at the foot of the red-carpeted stairs of the Palais du Festival.

After a week of listening to various industry stakeholders share their thoughts on the risks and opportunities the future holds, I realised that the choices they and we will make are reflected in the key messages of 'The Lion King' and am using this to frame takeaways from a week of 'Cannes Lions':

1. The Circle of Life: 'The Lion King' film emphasises interconnectedness, a fundamental truth of AI. Life is a continuous cycle where every creature plays a role in maintaining balance. This applies to our industry: we are all connected, and through our individual choices - as consumers, marketers, creatives - we shape the ever-changing ecosystem. It’s true that this state is constant change; its balance is it’s acceleration.

2. Responsibility and Leadership: Simba's journey to becoming king underscores the importance of responsibility and destiny. True leadership involves bravery, wisdom, and duty. As discussions about ethics, bias, usage, and copyrights grow, we too need to lead with the right responsible choices.

3. Overcoming Adversity: Simba faces significant challenges but shows resilience and the importance of facing one's past. Many stakeholders are worried about their livelihoods, fearing AI might destroy jobs or render skills redundant. They also worry about our industry losing the war for talents. Interestingly, almost everyone emphasised the need for continuous learning to stay relevant. This is necessary to be ready to embrace the future with confidence, positively impacting our industry and attracting interdisciplinary talent.

4. The Value of Relationships: The film highlights the value of family and the impact of relationships on personal growth. Simba's bonds play crucial roles in his development. This translates into the relationships we build in our industry. As a producer, I believe you can achieve 'good, cheap, and fast' only with trust. Trust is the foundation not only of good filmmaking, but also strategic alliances – especially in the new partnerships with emerging creative technologies we forge to help us innovate and grow.

5. Good vs. Evil: The conflict between Simba and Scar represents the classic struggle between good and evil, illustrating that righteousness and justice ultimately prevail. This theme was present in many discussions, with most people taking a very mixed stance averaging somewhere in the middle between risk and opportunity.

6. Self-Discovery and Growth: Simba's journey is one of self-discovery and growth, which to sum the week up, is much like our industry during this very interesting time. 

Looking back at the week of the Cannes Lions, it feels a bit like Rafiki was dancing and jeering among us, on the Croisette, in the Palais, and down the red-carpeted stairs. And I did see him hold up Simba with all the other very proud lions.

Image credit: OpenAI and DALL-E