You’ll likely be familiar with the Cannes Lions Film Festival where all the stars walk the red carpet to preview new films of all genres from across the globe. Well imagine that, but entirely focused on creativity. Enter The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.

Not only does this annual event bring an array of celebrities, this is where the advertising and communications industry meets to celebrate the world's best work. Cannes Lions describes it as ‘a week of world-class networking, learning, and history-making creativity’, and I couldn’t agree more.

As a creative at heart, I was excited to reconnect with the parts of me that in some ways I left behind post-university. This truly was the best way to dive headfirst back into the industry and meet so many incredible people shaping our view of creativity.

As the week went on, the one question I always had lingering in the back of my mind was what even is creativity? What does AI mean for creativity, and how can we continue injecting creativity into PR.

So, what is creativity?

It’s a word we throw around a lot, but creativity means so many different things to different people, how do we know what people actually mean?

I asked Frank Starling, VP Chief DEI Officer at LIONS this very question, to which he said, “Creativity for me is all about new ideas, it’s about innovation, and representation. I think these things are really important.” “We’ve built a lot of our world based on creative thinking. I love the idea that we can literally change the world through creativity.”

I’m a huge advocate for everyday creativity. Often creativity is defined and only celebrated when it’s award worthy work. While this is important, creativity should be extended and celebrated in the everyday. Creativity connects us in a way that sometimes words can’t, and it is through that shared understanding we create work that transcends borders.

Where does AI sit in the creativity economy?

Clearly, it’s too soon to provide a definitive answer to this question just yet. The increased sophistication of recent AI models has generated some uncertainty amongst creatives regarding what their role will mean as it gains further prominence.

Big brands are leading the way in the AI conversation, producing tools by the day to increase efficiency and productivity amongst creatives. GenAI has the potential to open up new opportunities but as that develops, it’s imperative that biases within the algorithms are thoroughly checked. We must ensure AI tools are culturally intelligent and are being used and deployed in a responsible way.

What was clear at the event is that AI is unable to really tap into the human side of creativity. Creative ideas often stem from personal experiences, or even nuances, and that is not something AI can effectively replicate (although I wouldn’t be surprised if something of this calibre will be in full swing very soon). So, while AI may change the creativity landscape and produce new opportunities, humans will have to remain at the heart of it for it to be personable and authentic.

Injecting creativity into PR

The work nominated for the Cannes Lions awards in the PR category was incredible and highlighted that even with a tricky brief, diverse, creative thinking is necessary to build these ideas.

This year’s winner of the Grand Prix award was the Rick Astley ‘Unheard version’ by Specsavers. The judges called out that there had been a rapid decline in humour in comms and only in the last few years has the pendulum swung back. In a world that is divided and hypersensitive, what lands today could be cancelled tomorrow. This means humour is incredibly hard to do today.

This campaign leveraged humour to disarm the stigma around hearing loss. It caught Rick Astley at a time where he’d resonate with an older generation but was still in the hype cycle of GenZ which further propelled the campaign’s traction. 

It’s clear that humour can be done in a creative way and PR teams shouldn’t shy away from it. Advice straight from the judges:

• Something simple and sticky lands well 

• Look at how your campaign is delivering impact and not just PR for PR’s sake 

• Really unpack the PR strategy in your entry and showcase impact beyond plays of the video. With an appearance on This Morning, Specsavers was able to highlight a 15% increase in calls to the call centre and a 66% increase in people booking an appointment

Lessons learned

Amongst the conversation on creativity, what was really prominent within discussions was diversity – and why this is a necessary foundation for creativity. Covid really was the turning point when businesses embraced conversations around DE&I and were not afraid to be challenged. Now we’re seeing some start to backpedal. Not only is this having huge implications on equity in society, but also in how creative ideas are produced.

For too long, DE&I discussions have been sidelined and we’ve come too far to let fear of backlash be the reason diversity isn’t embraced.

When coming up with creative ideas, ensure people in the room reflect the people you’re targeting. Consider how different groups of people could perceive work, and actively seek out diverse perspectives to challenge and enrich your creative concepts.