AI, delivering DEI and how to save the planet in 15 minutes.

Are you ready for Lions 2023?

FOR ITS 70th edition, the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is offering a conference programme that is unparalleled in the global events calendar. Boasting an A-list line-up that wouldn’t look out of place at Coachella or the Oscars, the Festival will roll out the red carpet for the likes of Spike Lee, will.i.am, Halle Berry, Kevin Hart and Eva Longoria. Alongside celebrated talent, scores of the creative industry’s thought-leaders will host inspiring sessions that address the hot issues of the day.

From AI to DEI, net zero to neurodiversity, delegates will be rewarded with access to cutting-edge insights from visionaries, entrepreneurs, powerbrokers and the architects of zeitgeist trends.

As always, the Cannes Lions conference programme will be supported by themed strands that help signpost delegates towards impactful and targeted content. Highlights include The Changemakers, Secret Speaker, Meet Ups and CMOs In The Spotlight, sponsored by Deloitte Digital.

There will also be popular returning sessions — including Saatchi & Saatchi’s New Creators’ Showcase.

The 33rd edition of this crowd-pleasing event will take place on Thursday in the Lumiere Theatre.

Celebrating creativity with the best of the best Kicking off an action-packed week is Monday’s Creative Marketer of the Year Seminar, led by AB InBev chief marketing officer Marcel Marcondes, in the Lumiere Theatre. AB InBev also won this prestigious award in 2022, becoming the first company to win it two years in a row. Currently five years into a company-wide creative overhaul, the AB InBev session will provide a unique opportunity for delegates to learn how the global brewing giant has used creativity to transform the performance of its diverse brand portfolio. Another opportunity to explore creative excellence will be The Lion of St. Mark Seminar with this year’s recipient Susan Hoffman, chief creative officer of Wieden+Kennedy, on Friday in the Debussy Theatre. Interviewed by Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook, the session will be an opportunity to revisit key Hoffman credits including Levi’s Go Forth, Chrysler’s Born of Fire and Nike’s Revolution.

Tuesday will also see creative inspiration in the spotlight as Kevin Hart picks up the Entertainment Person of the Year Award, in the Lumiere Theatre. One of the most popular and original entertainers on the planet, Hart will talk to WndrCo founding partner Jeffrey Katzenberg about his company Hartbeat.

If Kevin Hart isn’t enough of a reason to cancel all appointments

Berry founded her own health and wellness platform re•spin after having been diagnosed with diabetes at the age of 22 years old — which she describes as “a moment I’ll never forget”. The aim of re•spin is “to connect with others through health, wellness and spirituality”. During her session, Berry will aim “to confront the collective bias that acts as a block to creative ideas” in this sector.

In another intriguing session, delegates will learn how public health officials collaborated with Grindr during the on Tuesday, then it’s also the day that will.i.am comes to Cannes to discuss creativity without limitations — in Unlocking Everybody’s Innate Creative Potential: The New Era of Collaboration, in the Debussy Theatre. During the session, the pioneering musician and performer will explore how technology can democratise the creative industries. In a similar vein, Friday will see the hotly anticipated Creative Maker of the Year Seminar with Spike Lee. During the Debussy Theatre session, the legendary filmmaker, screenwriter, actor and producer will share his creative journey in a keynote fireside chat, alongside filmmaker and director Barry Alexander Brown. Creativity is also the subject of discussion in Size Matters! Attention + Emotion + Storytelling = Cinema. The Monday session in the Debussy Theatre, which celebrates 70 years of global cinema advertising association SAWA, will look at how leading brands can reach highly captivated, hard-to-reach audiences by marketing to them around theatrical movie releases.

Focussing on delivering DEI at a global level Monday also sees Cannes Lions get straight down to business on the subject of diversity, with sessions including Harness The Black Effect: Diversity as a Game Changer for Brands, at The Forum, Palais 1. Featuring leading marketers from General Motors, Mars Wrigley, Johnson & Johnson and Deloitte, the session will explore how to take advantage of the ‘black effect’ without exploiting black people.

DEI continues to be a central theme across the week, with sessions including When D&I Informs All Decisions, Not Just The Marketing Ones. Hosted by Japanese beauty giant Shiseido, this session takes place at midday on Tuesday on the Palais II Stage. One particular highlight will be Smashing Stereotypes with Danai Gurira. In this Tuesday session in the Debussy Theatre, the Black Panther: Wakanda Forever star, award-winning playwright and UN Women Goodwill Ambassador, will reveal her experiences of dismantling stereotypes as a performer, writer and producer.

DEI is, of course, a matter of global importance. Reflecting this fact, Amazon, OMD and Mindshare will jointly host a panel entitled From Local to Global: Unlocking Effective DEIA Strategies in Different Regions. Featuring director of brand marketing XCM

Walter Frye, the session takes place at the Amazon Port on Thursday at 13.00. One of its key topics will be how brands and advertisers can move beyond surface-level representation and approach inclusion effectively at a global level. Another key session to circle in the diary is The LGBTQ+ Scoring Index –Navigating DEI Futures, which takes place on Tuesday, at the LinkedIn Stage on the Carlton Rooftop. Delegates should also look out for Wednesday’s Secret Speaker: Creative Activism – A Weapon to Drive Social Change. Hosted at the Palais II Stage by Leo Burnett Beirut, it will look at work that combats gender-based violence.

Connecting with audiences through authenticity and inspiration

A recurrent theme throughout the event will be how creativity can help a brand stand out from its competitors. Part of the answer lies in authenticity, the subject of a BBC Studios session with Louis Theroux on Monday. Held on the Palais II Stage, The Power of an Authentic Voice will explore the techniques that Theroux uses to build intimacy with audiences and constantly confound their expectations.

On Tuesday, authenticity will also be viewed through the lens of a leading brand as Estée Lauder presents Evolving Icons, A New Generation of Brand Representation and Beauty. In this session, leading executives from the firm will be joined in conversation by the first-ever Estée Lauder Global Changemaker, National Youth Poet Laureate and social advocate Amanda Gorman.

Delegates of a certain age will also be thrilled to learn that inspirational athlete Michael Johnson is in Cannes on Thursday

— for the Power of the Athlete’s Voice session on the Terrace Stage. One of the greatest runners of all time, the highly-articulate Johnson will explore how he might have used his voice differently at the time. He will ask what are the challenges facing athletes who decide to use their voice for change, and will dig into fan perspectives on athletes and activism.

AI and other flavours of industry innovation

No 2023 conference programme would be complete without some reference to AI, which is why ChatGPT COO Brad Lightcap is in town for Tuesday’s session ChatGPT, DALL-E and the Future of Creativity, in the Debussy Theatre. Undoubtedly the most talked about innovation of the year, the session will explore the future of creativity in a world where AI tools are commonplace.

AI is also the theme of Microsoft’s Tuesday session: Generative AI: Transforming Search and Advertising, at the Microsoft Beach. This session will help advertisers to consider the value that generative AI can unlock. It will also explore ways in which advertisers can harness the opportunity of generative AI in search. Not to be outdone, Google is also in Cannes to share its vision for AI. Bold and Responsible: The Creative and Transformational Possibilities of AI, is on Wednesday at the Lumiere Theatre. In a bid to regain control of a narrative that has turned against AI in recent months, Google will look at how AI is “helping solve the world’s biggest problems”.

Also on the innovation front, there’s an opportunity to get the latest thoughts from execs spearheading metaverse innovation for example Tuesday’s Meet Up with Christina Wootton, vice-president, global part-