If the Cannes Lions festival felt quieter this year, it's because it was. With Cannes 2025 media coverage down 35% and social shares plummeting 30%, the industry's premier showcase swapped its usual roar for a more sober, anxious mood fueled by what one veteran called “huge change and fear” over AI.
For communications leaders, the festival provided a clear look at the new strategic landscape shaped by evolving media coverage trends. Here's what you need to know:
The AI Narrative Is Everything (And It’s Under Scrutiny)
AI dominated the festival, accounting for 64% of all conversations. But the real story was the battle of narratives. While agencies like Dentsu won praise for their message that AI doesn’t replace talent, it empowers it, WPP, which took home the prestigious Creative Company of the Year award, framed its strategy around finding the right balance between technological innovation and human intelligence.
The biggest AI drama wasn't a debate, but a scandal. A Grand Prix was revoked after Brazilian agency DM9 was found to have used AI to fabricate its case study. This forced the festival to implement new, stricter rules on AI disclosure and content verification.
- The Takeaway: The narrative surrounding AI is as crucial as the technology itself. "Leaders from the world's biggest brands and agencies consistently reinforced one message. AI is a tool designed to "liberate" and "empower" human creativity, not render it obsolete. Apple's VP of Marketing Communications, Tor Myhren, stated, "Marketing is an industry built on creativity, and that doesn't change. You are the ones who need to define what AI will look like in the world of creativity". Similarly, Amazon's marketing team shared how they built an internal AI tool not to write copy, but to strip out "empty, salesy talk," amplifying human clarity. This "human + machine" narrative serves to calm anxieties about job displacement while justifying continued investment in both technology and top-tier human talent.
Learn more about the rise of hybrid human-AI teams →
Big Tech’s Presence Is Huge, But Its Impact Is Questionable
Tech companies now make up a staggering 80% of all mentions among official festival partners, with Amazon and YouTube alone accounting for over half of that conversation. Amazon’s CEO Andy Jassy was even named Media Person of the Year.
But presence doesn’t automatically equal impact. Big Tech’s overall sentiment was a below-average 29%, and a massive 64% of all coverage was neutral, indicating that brands and tech giants alike are struggling to break through the noise.
Fig. 1: Key Themes in Global Media Coverage of the 2025 Cannes Film Festival.
- The Takeaway: In a low-engagement world, simply partnering with tech or showing up on the Croisette isn’t enough. With only 2.5% of coverage being negative, the risk isn’t scandal, but irrelevance.
Signal AI's Media Impact Reports combine advanced AI with human expertise to deliver data-driven impact analysis. Learn more →
Human-Centric Creativity and Creators Are Winning
While innovation was the top conversation theme, the work that earned the most prestigious awards championed human insight and authenticity, telling us once again what the industry still aspires to - despite all the noise around tech. Apple’s decade-long, user-generated “Shot on iPhone” campaign won the coveted Grand Prix for Creative Effectiveness for its sustained cultural impact.
Meanwhile, the creator economy, which made up 8% of the conversation, proved its strategic power. Unilever’s “Vaseline Verified” campaign won a Titanium Lion by building a community of authentic creators to debunk misinformation—all without the brand creating a single piece of traditional content itself.
Although conversations about purpose declined, with attendees observing a prevailing “attitude of restraint around discussions related to DEI,” diverse voices dominated the winner’s circle. Grand Prix awards went to campaigns tackling accessibility, disability and representation. As one observer put it: “The creative industry hasn't turned away from it—not yet.”
The Takeaway: Technology is a tool, but humanity is the strategy. The most effective brands are balancing tech capability with authentic human creativity and embracing creators not as tactical amplifiers, but as strategic co-creators who can build trust in a way that traditional advertising struggles to.
So What?
The shifts at Cannes are a preview of the new strategic landscape. Navigating it requires seeing what others miss. Signal AI transforms global media conversations into actionable intelligence, helping you measure what matters, anticipate risks, and strengthen your reputation.
Want deeper insights into how these conversations are shaping your industry? Speak to an expert to see how Signal AI can help.