Persuasion

As the headlines around Cannes Lions start to die down, what are the things that stay in front of mind, apart from Elon Musk's dramatics? Between creativity raging against the machine, the return of humour, and AI still dominating conversations, look over the key trends to take away from Cannes Lions 2024. Please sign up at www.persuasioncomms.com to download a copy. 

Totally chuffed to report that Persuasion ranked joint tenth (among those with 5+PR credits), eighth in global PR credits (PR agencies only), and 11th (all PR credits) in PRWeek’s global PR credits tables of this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity awards.

There’s something about coming to Cannes Lions (year in year out) that makes you wonder about your life and your choices.  The cumulative sleep deprivation, the constant hum of (often) empty chatter and endless parade of panels, meet-ups and kabana lounges could turn even the most extroverted person into a wallflower with a mild case of PTSD. Jane Austin questions if it is time to listen to introverts. MoreAboutAdvertising https://lnkd.in/dJhUQvXg #Creativity #Introverts #Canneslions2024

It turns out Elon Musk doesn’t want all advertisers to go fuck themselves, just the ones who aren’t fans of the disinformation, hate speech, antisemitism and alt-right conspiracy theories he’s spreading on his social platform, X. Jane Austin's column in MoreAboutAdvertising covers Musk on the charm offensive. https://lnkd.in/dTq6heKD #ElonMusk #Advertising #CannesLions2024

After years spent in a humourless wilderness, advertisers are re-embracing #comedy. Why did it take them so long, one might wonder? While it’s a bit of a concern that comedy is fast becoming a buzzword at #CannesLions2024, the focus on humour is a welcome reprieve from all the #AI chat. Hopefully, it also marks an end to the insufferable pomposity that was a feature of brand campaigns during the pandemic years. Read the full article on MoreAboutAdvertising by Jane Austin below. https://lnkd.in/e5xa4Abi #festivalofcreativity #Humour #Communication

Marketers pick a bad time to shrink from DE&I Jane Austin writes for MoreAboutAdvertising today. DE&I isn’t just on the decline, it is under attack from right-wing politicians and conservative activists. And one of its loudest critics is speaking at Cannes on Wednesday. WPP’s guest speaker is Elon Musk, who posted on his social media platform, X, that “DEI must DIE”. Inviting Musk, who casts corporate DEI as institutionalised racism, to take the stage at the Palais surely takes the industry’s hypocrisy on DE&I to another level. https://lnkd.in/esu5KKxx #DE&I #JohnLegend #ChrissyTeigen #CannesLionss

As the week of Cannes Lions kicks off, our founder Jane Austin publishes her first piece in MoreAboutAdvertising: first the annual salad of pointless verbiage… There’s always a sea of jargon which crashes onto La Croisette each year, but which buzzwords should end up in the Gutter Bar – and stay there? https://lnkd.in/ef3Pk3mP #Canneslions2024 #Communication #buzzwords Persuasion

Gird your Lions: Persuasion Provocation brings you all the news from Cannes 24 Like flu season, Cannes seems to come around earlier every year. But love it or hate it, where else would you get David Droga on the same bill as Queen Latifah? Like the self-sacrificing do-gooders we are, we’ll be toughing it out in France’s most iconic resort town to give you the skinny on what the industry hive-mind is obsessing over this year (for the love of God, let it be something other than AI). As Amazon, Google and Meta take over the beaches again, forcing us all into a tech-bro summer, we’ll hunt down a shady spot (hopefully somewhere with air conditioning and free snacks), chain ourselves to a laptop, and send you the reports from the ground. So, sign up to receive the Persuasion Provocation newsletter in your inbox each day with all the latest news, winners, themes, trends, and tips du jour from Cannes, not to mention the gossip on the haves, the have-yachts, the have-bigger-yachts and the have-way-way-way-bigger-yachts. If it sounds unmissable, that’s because it is. Allez, salut maintenant. Persuasion Jane Austin, Fiona Magill, Anisha Vekaria, Alie Griffiths, Alexandra Jardine, Evie Stringer, Ericka Ilah Santiago #Canneslions2024 #Festivalofcreativity #Communications

D&AD Festival 2024 continues with an inspirational and, at times, hilarious interview with Jack Renwick, the D&AD president, in a live recording for the How I Became Podcast. Growing up in a high-rise flat in Glasgow, she was advised by a teacher to study graphic design because she couldn’t draw but could think. After a job centre interview where nobody knew what graphic design was, she launched her career in the industry via a YTS job at a printer (where she was bitten in the face by an Alsatian). Eventually, she got into art school where she quickly excelled – and won a D&AD #NewBlood pencil. #DDD&ADFestival2024 #Creativity #graphicdesign

D&AD's Wednesday session kicks off with a fascinating chat between DDB’s president and global CCO Chaka Sobhani, president of this year’s film jury, and Noam Murro, the iconic Biscuit Filmworks director. A frank and honest conversation about feelings in film and how to make work that moves us. Some of the key takeaways from Murro included: ·      It doesn’t matter what you shoot on – do you, as a viewer ever look at any piece of content and wonder what it was shot on?  ·      Craft is important, but it’s about the clarity of the idea ·      Nothing good will result from bad writing – it’s key to protect the writer. Don’t let it get changed a thousand times, but if you protect it you can have something great in the end. ·      Choose a script from its potential – and involve everybody in the process, including the client ·      Don’t sell a piece of music before you shoot – you might end up using a $30 song rather than a million-dollar track. Music can be great for inspiration, but the final piece of music has to work with whatever you shot. ·      Inspiration for stories can come from anyone you meet ·      Stick to what you’re good at – it’s not that complicated. #DandADFestival #Creativity #ChakaSobhani https://lnkd.in/gvxVcU8