The good, the bad, and the brilliant: Our take on Cannes
Left Field Labs
Left Field Labs is the creative technology partner to ambitious people and brands.
We're back from Cannes Lions 2025 with an inspired, fresh perspective around a creative industry that’s alive and kicking. From SPORT BEACH to late-night chats along La Croisette, we saw a real push toward work that’s not just smart, but deeply human.
This year’s biggest takeaway? Creativity is evolving and the best ideas are meeting the moment with empathy, intelligence, and real-time relevance. Whether it was our founder, Sarah Mehler, leading a discussion on the future of human-centered AI innovation, or brands like Adobe and Reddit unveiling tools that turn data into deep human insight and connection, the message was clear: the future belongs to those who can build trust, not just technology.
Below, we’re spotlighting some of our favorite ideas, innovations, and good news from Cannes, including a few things that made us laugh, look twice, or want to start sketching. As always, let us know what resonates or what you'd love to create next.
Warm regards,
Ken Rivera & The Left Field Labs Team
EMERGING AT CANNES
Breakthroughs rewriting the rules.
Serena and Venus go off-script: Live from SPORT BEACH, Serena Williams previewed her new podcast with sister Venus, spotlighting rulebreakers, women’s sports, and the power of telling your own story, your own way.
Fan intelligence: Sports Innovation Lab and LiveRamp hosted sessions on AI-driven fan intelligence at SPORT BEACH, elevating the conversation around the most valuable fan in sports: the Fluid Fan™.
Adobe’s big AI moment: Adobe unveiled a powerful CXO platform blending creativity, marketing, and agentic AI to help brands deliver real-time, personalized customer experiences at scale.
Immersive in real-time: From F1 to WNBA, live sports and immersive fan experiences were everywhere at SPORT BEACH where marketers shifted sponsorship focus from TV to wrestling real-time moments.
WHAT WE’RE LOVING
Overheard in our “hallways.”
They are the champions, mon ami! Want to check out the best of the best? Adweek rounded up every Grand Prix winner for your enjoyment here.
Pinterest’s Gen Z immersion: Pinterest Manifestival blended AI-driven visual search and trend forecasting into an interactive Gen Z experience.
🎵At the Canva, Creative Cabana 🎶 While not the Barry Manilow performance it sounds like, Canva did show up to Cannes even bigger than ever before, with a tripled spend positioning itself as a creative force for big brands.
Meta and Reddit AI Showdown: Meta announced major upgrades to its AI ad stack—rolling out 11 new tools to make creative production, personalization, and voice-driven ads smarter and faster, while Reddit unveiled its “Community Intelligence” suite.
4GOOD THINGS
Disruption for good.
Spray-on safety: Winner in the Design category, Volvo’s LifePaint is a reflective spray that helps cyclists glow in headlights, turning invisible dangers into visible safety.
AXA Rewrites Insurance to Help Women: AXA added the words “and domestic violence” to standard home insurance policies in France, granting access to emergency relocation and support services—and took home the Titanium Grand Prix for transformative impact.
“Best Place in the World to Have Herpes”: We had to do a double take at New Zealand’s bold public-health campaign. Using humor and pride to shatter stigma around a condition affecting millions, they proved uncomfortable conversations lead to meaningful change—and won the Grand Prix for Good.
Women and AI Futures: Our CEO Sarah Mehler shared a powerful truth at Beyond the Croisette: for AI to be trusted, it has to be felt. She explored why immersive, emotional storytelling is essential to making AI meaningful, and why the next tech leap is as much about heart as it is about hardware.
OUT OF LEFT FIELD @ CANNES
Fresh takes and updates out of Left Field Labs
Touching Grass: tech meet fans: At SPORT BEACH, wearables turned real-world moments into connected, human-first fan experiences, proving tech doesn’t have to come at the expense of authenticity. Watch the session.
AI isn't replacing creativity, it’s challenging it to evolve. Three industry leaders discuss craft, context, and what comes next in this candid conversation on AI and the evolving creative edge.
Meta x Left Field Labs turned AI into a hands-on human experience: Meta’s immersive Llamacon experience brought AI and spatial storytelling together, turning co-creation into pure joy.