If You’re Serious About Fighting For Black Talent, Here’s How, Say The Black Network, Cannes Lions, Oatly and More

Following the murder of George Floyd back in 2020, Cephas Williams’ phone started ringing. White leaders were checking in, which he welcomed. But what he welcomed more was their willingness to jump into action. One of those people was chair of Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and CEO of Ascential, Philip Thomas. 

It was the beginning of a long and arduous road ahead, which would see Cephas founding The Black Network and bringing over 100 Black people to Cannes over the last three years. 

Connections are the birthplace of opportunity — a fact that shouldn’t be lost on any of us in this industry. Many of us are where we are today because of a conversation, an introduction, or meeting the right person. But for countless Black individuals today, serendipity just isn’t a playable card. Walls of inaccessibility are mounted around entry points, and it is up to us to knock them down. 

It’s an understanding that Cephas feels acutely: when he first attended Cannes Lions, it looked like he was the only Black person there. “We need to be in the room,” he says, and he’s personally invested the mammoth sum of £150,000 to bring Black talent to the festival. But last year, while over 1,000 applied, only 5% could be funded. It’s as unfathomable as it is admirable – but it’s too much to shoulder alone. 

It’s difficult to overstate the significance of events like that of last night. Hundreds gathered in London’s Leicester Square for a screening of the 2024 ‘Black Out’ film, which documents the journey of over 70 Black individuals who attended last year's festival through Black Out. 

The film was followed by a trio of panel discussions where Cephas spoke with Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook, CEO of The Fade Agency Fadé Ogunro, actor and filmmaker Femi Oyeniran, senior art director on the Oatly x Giggs collaboration Lauren Harewood, and Oatly brand project manager Erica Lowe.

LBB’s Tará McKerr and Zara Naseer attended the event to report on the battle cry that is being made to our beloved industry. 

1. A Mission Cannot Live in a Person; Build a Partnership That Outlasts You 

Be honest with yourself: did you call up your Black peers after the murder of George Floyd in 2020? Did you ask them what you can do to help? Now think, almost five years on, did any lasting change come of it?

Reflecting on the dozens of CEOs he spoke to in 2020, Cephas noted that practically all of them are no longer in those roles. The volatility of leadership is why he said that the mission for equity cannot live inside one person – don’t let your good intentions go with you when you leave. To create a long-term impact that’ll outlive your tenure, you have to push for systemic solutions that become entrenched in your company.

You need to build an organisation that’s “a custodian of our trajectory,” said Cephas, which is exactly what Philip Thomas, chair of Cannes Lions and CEO of Ascential, did. After his call with Cephas in 2020, Ascential (parent company of Cannes Lions) became a founding member of The Black Network, engaging in roundtable conversation to strengthen and support how they approach change and inclusion across their organisation. This included a range of other companies such as Tesco, Meta (then Facebook), EY, Alfa Systems, Clear Channel, Publicis Groupe, Unilever and more.

Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook, when asked how he would guide the most influential industry organisations to bring about sustainable change, underlined that such partnerships are the key. He also emphasised the importance of learning from one another and continually applying those takeaways to the relationship to strengthen it.

The story is a lesson in successful allyship. Cephas was able to achieve what he has on the scale he has thanks to his connections with the people in power. In his words, “We have the power to change the whole world, but we need to come together.”

2. Cannes Propels Careers 

While interviewing a panel, Clear Channel head of sales Caroline Forbes told the crowd that “attending Cannes propelled my career by around five years.” Just one conversation has the capacity to change the trajectory of an individual’s career. It just so happens that Cannes is where thousands of these connections flock to each year, meaning that contacts who would otherwise be unattainable by both distance and hierarchy, can be reached by foot. That’s why it’s so important for Black talent to be there. 

When asked about the impact of the access work he’s done, Cephas said it was difficult to measure. “It’s a loaded question; it’s hard to measure the success of Black Out.” He said that numbers are one thing; we could sum the meetings, connections made, and events attended, as well as amalgamate millions of impressions made via social media. But for Cephas, the most accurate temperature checks were on people’s faces. “People come to me crying, telling stories of what this has meant to them. Moments like that are where I measure it.” 

But panel placements aren't enough. There is a need for everyone to have equal access in order to propel networking and learning opportunities. 

3. “Pay Me Like One of Your White Boys” 

Lauren Harewood, senior art director of the Oatly x Giggs collaboration had the audience leaning in and laughing with her authentic takes on the state of the industry. Despite following the traditional route of university, then agencies, Lauren was met by institutional setbacks. She recalled sitting around the lunch table with her peers, knowing through conversations that they were being paid more than her for the same work. 

She decided it was time to go out on her own, so went into the world of freelance. It was mentioned that on her website there is typography that states: “Pay me like one of your white boys.” It feels tongue and cheek, but the fact this needs to be said should give pause to anyone hiring Black talent in 2025. 

4. The Talent Is There – Just Open the Door 

Over 1,000 Black individuals applied to attend Cannes Lions last year with the Black Network. And the calibre of talent was high – actor and filmmaker Femi Oyeniran pointed out that there’s a large cohort of advanced Black creatives in the Cannes Lions Black Out community.

That speaks volumes about the hunger and the availability of Black talent, said Fadé Ogunro, founder of The Fade Agency. The issue is access.

Strikingly put by Cephas, actively inviting Black talent into traditionally white networking spaces is not charity work; they're industry peers who bring a boatload to offer. There’s a mutual benefit to opening the door.

5. Authentic Collaboration Comes From Relinquishing Control 

“Authentically Black and authentically British,” the recent Oatly x Giggs campaign is a masterclass in how to collaborate with the Black community. The main ingredient to its success? Bringing in talent who actually understood the culture and giving them full creative control.

The partnership came about after rapper Giggs messaged the Swedish dairy alternative brand on Instagram, saying he had an idea. Coming into the Oatly offices, he explained how he and his son were both lactose intolerant – but still wanted to enjoy custard.

Taking stock internally, brand project manager Erica Lowe noted how Oatly accepted that perhaps it wasn’t best placed to lead a campaign geared towards a Black British audience. So, the team brought in Lauren Harewood as senior art director, and Kelvin Jones as director.

When Lauren first got the call, she did assume it’d be another instance of a brand looking for a Black face and nothing more; but she, Giggs, and Kelvin were able to drive all the campaign’s creative decisions, speaking to the Black community, from the Black community.

It was refreshing to see Oatly acknowledge that it wasn’t their world, said Lauren, and it seems to have made it a much more enjoyable working experience too. Judging by the cheers of the audience, it went down a treat.

6. Diversity Breeds Diversity 

Prior to its partnership with Giggs, Oatly had noticed a trend in the people who wanted to collaborate with its brand: they were mostly white. Afterwards, however, its interested talent became a lot more diverse.

Through its work with external Black talent, the company had visibly demonstrated its ability to collaborate with the community in an authentic, respectable way. In turn, it became a lot more attractive to more diverse groups of people.

If those who wish to work with your company are looking worryingly homogenous, it’s definitely something to think about. What does your current makeup and output look like? Is it sending an unwanted subliminal message about the type of people you want to engage with? Collaborating authentically with more diverse communities may set off the DEI domino effect you’ve been looking for.

7. The Work Isn’t Done

There is so. Much. Work. To. Do. 

Fadé spoke about Africa as an epicentre of culture and export that still experiences underrepresentation and payment. “Many people from the continent won’t make it to Cannes due to access issues. It’s a disparity that must be addressed to empower Africans and recognise their global impact.”

He said, “Until there’s parity, we must fight... This is not a campaign or fad; it’s people’s lives.” 

The diversity conversation is falling off the very table it should have multiple seats at. Just last year, when attending Cannes, Cephas experienced racially-provoked harassment three times. 

From all of us, this requires more than outrage. It requires action. 

There is so much work to do — let this be a good place to start.