Commerce Crashes Cannes

Philip dials in from London to chat with “marketing mercenary” Michael Miraflor, who’s fresh off his eighth year at Cannes Lions. And after the LinkedIn Thought Leader Industrial Complex weighed in on this year’s event, he is ready to share some thoughts. In this episode, we dissect how the prestigious festival has fractured into three simultaneous conferences, each serving different masters in an industry grappling with AI anxiety, platform consolidation, and the eternal tension between craft and commercialism. Listen now if you’re also wondering, what does creativity even mean anymore?

French Riviera Dreams vs. Silicon Valley Anxiety

Key takeaways:

• Cannes Lions 2025 operated as three distinct conferences simultaneously, reflecting the industry's cultural fragmentation between traditional creativity, advertising channels and platforms, and bougie networking events.
• AI seemingly dominated every conversation, with industry professionals making dark jokes about replacement theory.
• Retail media networks and tech platforms have fundamentally altered the festival's ecosystem and vibe, creating productive tension between creative celebration and commercial necessity.
• Post-festival controversies surrounding AI usage highlight our industry's evolving discourse over the role of authenticity and efficiency in creative work.
• “If you took away all of the tech companies and platforms and big agencies from the beach, what would Cannes Lions be reduced to? I don't know if it would even make enough money to sustain still having that award ceremony in 2025." – Michael Miraflor
• "It was inevitable that every other conversation that you would have would become one about AI replacement theory to a certain extent. Or, you know, jokes about how this year feels like we're all on the Titanic." – Michael Miraflor
• "I find it interesting that a lot of the criticism comes from people who have jobs in creativity that I think are quite elite jobs. In my field, I feel like we're all quite lucky to be where we are…We can be critical, and I think my job has been to be critical... But I also think that we all have some element of privilege to be able to do that kind of work." – Phillip Jackson

In-Show Mentions:

• The Cannes Lions AI Controversies
• MrBeast thumbnail app controversy

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