Wayne Deakin’s Cannes take | Agency’s AI monetization urgency | Lovehoney’s social shadowban
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So, So, So Scannesdalous
Cameron Clarke, editor
The story of scam work duping judges at Cannes Lions and other advertising awards shows is as old as time. So why has it garnered so much more attention this time around?
The revocation of an award as high-profile as a Grand Prix, as in the case of Brazilian agency DM9, is big news. But the reason behind that disqualification, “the discovery that AI-generated and manipulated content was used within the case film to simulate real-world events and campaign outcomes,” in the words of the organizers, has added an extra layer of topicality this time around.
Make no mistake, the rapidly increasing use of AI in advertising and the growing sense of dread that it will get ever harder to separate fact from fiction in an industry already prone to exaggeration is a big headache for awards shows.
Cannes Lions received 26,900 entries this year. Can they really all be fact-checked with journalistic rigor? As awards veteran Wayne Deakin writes in a spirited column for us: “Anyone blaming the judges is speaking shit. Judges are there to recognize creativity, not run background checks like MI6.” But what about organizers, should they do more? Cannes Lions, which by some estimates has earned as much as $40m in entry fees this year, has tightened up its rules but ultimately put the burden on entrants by compelling them to sign an “enhanced Code of Conduct” and declare any use of AI.
This likely won’t be enough to stamp out scam work. It’s a perennial problem after all. But ultimately, as much as entrants spending in the region of $1500 per entry are entitled to expect a fair process, the onus is on creators here. In a world where it’s increasingly easy to make it look convincingly like CNN has been reporting on our campaigns, as in the case of the Grand Prix that wasn’t, awards shows are frankly the least of our worries.
Agencies urged on AI pay
Jen Faull, deputy editor
At Cannes Lions last month, I had the chance to catch up with Forrester analyst Jay Pattisall. He'd been on the ground all week, meeting somewhere in the region of 40 agency CEOs and client-side execs to determine exactly what’s going on with AI adoption.
He was walking into these meetings armed with some alarming stats. First, 75% of American ad agencies are now using Gen AI, but only 6% are monetizing the tech. Second, the automation of advertising jobs is happening faster than first thought. By 2030, Pattisall thinks 15-20% of industry roles will be automated.
After our conversation, the message I left with was clear: agencies are facing a crisis. Unless they figure out how to get compensated for their use of AI as their headcount shrinks, many risk going out of business in the next two years. And Cannes 2027 will look very different.
When I landed, one of the first features I wrote looked into the issue, why there's been so little innovation on pricing models, what some of the industry’s top execs think and what potential solutions are out there.
Help! I got shadowbanned
Amy Houston, senior reporter
“Obviously we can’t show a d1ld0 on TV” is one of those lines that, when you hear it in an interview, you know is the headline. And yes, you may have noticed that spelling workaround. As I witnessed firsthand on LinkedIn, you absolutely cannot type that word in a post without being shadowbanned.
Lovehoney has never been shy about its mammoth challenge when trying to advertise itself and its products. When Scottish ad agency Leith took on the account earlier this year, its first task was to find simple, humoros ways to navigate strict advertising restrictions and shadowbanning in the competitive sector.
When I sat down with copywriter Marion Miranda and Lovehoney’s head of marketing, Nora Lahl, to hear more about the inaugural campaign, it quickly became clear that the brand’s magic lies in saying everything without being explicit. But in recent years, a missing “creative red thread” has been running through its campaigns.
That’s now changing with a bold new direction: the ‘Feel the Lovehoney’ campaign, which leans heavily into suggestion and innuendo. Our conversation ranged widely from the brand’s ongoing struggles with Transport for London over out-of-home placements, its ambitious US expansion plans, and the uphill battle of holding big tech accountable for repeatedly shadowbanning its content.
Booze ban? Never mind
Sam Anderson, intelligence editor
I got back from a farm in Somerset on Monday to a lovely, juicy brief: the UK government was thinking of banning ads for alcohol, and they’d be releasing the plan on Thursday. Whitehall, which has been U-turning so much recently that no-one can remember which was it was facing to begin with, had already climbed down from a full ban in favor of “exploring options for partial restrictions”.
Great: a couple of days to get to the bottom of what the restrictions will be and what the consequences will be. But then, very quickly, the U-turn completed its rotation: the proposals were dropped almost entirely from the final plan, released yesterday.
So our question changed: what happened there, then? Amid widely reported “pressure” from the industry, what I’ve written tries to give the industry a proper chance to make its case against the bans, while not pretending that, to pressure groups concerned about alcohol-related harms, the climbdown is hugely disappointing.
Thanks to Jem Roberts, James Bunting, Nick Andrew, Richard Marsham, Matt Lambert, and David Gluckman.
Opinions from you
These are the hot takes that featured on The Drum this week:
10 Questions on Advertising... with FCB Ulka national creative director Suchitra Gahlot
From chasing down Sir John Hegarty to leading India’s creative charge, FCB Ulka’s Suchitra Gahlot on Cannes wins, Ghibli filters and why the best creatives don’t always take the straightest path.
Ad of the Day: Greenpeace calls out protest policing with outdoor campaign
The activism group and its ad agency, Elvis, assembled ‘high-profile activists’ for the UK billboard protest.
Cannes scandal? It’s an awards show for fuck’s sake
Awards veteran Wayne Deakin talks truth, trophies and transparency after controversy engulfed this year’s Cannes Lions winners.
UK government drops rumored alcohol ad ban, but is it gone for good?
The threat of a ban on booze ads was floated, diminished and now hastily dropped from a Department of Health policy doc. But is the river still flowing toward tighter regulation?
I used to create fossil fuel ads, now I'm supporting a UK ban
Jonathan Wise was the global strategy director on Shell for two years while at the WPP agency J Walter Thompson (now VML). So, why is he now backing a UK ban on advertising and sponsorship by fossil fuel companies?
IFMS Media’s Dietmar Schantin on AI buddies and the future of media
Digital media consultant Mark Challinor continues our News Horizons series, talking to the people shaping tomorrow’s media. This week, he sits down with Dietmar Schantin.
Ad of the Day: Lovehoney creates buzz with new brand platform
The work is the brand’s first from ad agency Leith and was shot in a popular Glasgow café.
‘Obviously we can’t show a dildo on TV’: How Lovehoney satisfied itself and the censors
‘Feel the Lovehoney’ marks Leith’s first work for the sex toy company since winning the account last year. The Drum caught up with the brand and the agency to hear how they navigated advertising restrictions.
‘It’s a death sentence’: agencies urged to urgently act on AI remuneration models
Agencies big and small are rapidly adopting AI. But unless they radically rethink the FTE commercial model, they risk putting themselves out of business.
From Ikea’s ‘Cats’ to getting ITV Creative ‘fit for the future,’ Niki Garner on her career to date
The director of ITV Creative looks back at the most memorable moments so far from a life in advertising.
Ad of the Day: Ribena evokes exuberance of youth with nostalgic new brand platform
Campaign from ad agency BBH shows how the soft drink holds a unique place in people’s hearts.
Can you handle hearing that your idea is mince?
Gerry Farrell opens up on the last time one of his ideas was butchered.
Teenage Cancer Trust’s Warren Fiveash on why charity marketers need a big brand mindset
The head of marketing tells Tim Healey why charity marketers must think like commercial brands, embrace risk and never lose sight of their audience.
Digital media isn’t killing creativity – marketers are
Marketers blame the fall of creativity on digital media when they should blame themselves, argues our columnist, sharing modern evidence that proper marketing with digital media is effectiveness gold dust.
Ad of the Day: McDonald’s resurrects Filet-O-Fish Facebook group from 2012
The work from Leo Burnett UK explains that, despite its cult-like following, the fishy menu item is often overlooked.
Ad of the Day: Dash celebrates polyamory in spicy spot
It’s the first work from ad agency The Or for the drinks brand, which has invested its most significant media spend to date on the campaign.
What a week!😊