Pre-Cannes'd Platitudes
Cannes Lions Preview
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In one week, many of you will be in Cannes. Some of you will be moderating panel discussions about AI and creativity. Some of you will be answering moderator’s questions about the agentic internet. All of you will be sipping rosé.
How’s it going to go?
If the past is prologue, then I can confidently predict the future. Many of you will bring your well-meaning ideas to your pre-vetted event to express platitudes to a distracted audience.
Is that what you want?
This year, let’s see how we can turn some of the most bandied-about cliches into provocations that can make your conversations spark.
PROVOCATION OF THE WEEK
Don’t be boring at Cannes.
Cannes is fun. Cannes is beautiful. But Cannes is not about the presentations; it is a networking super-event. Consider this an invitation to differentiate yourself.
While the whole beachfront utters platitudes like AI will augment, not replace creativity, or, Brands need to be bold and take risks, you will stand out and say things that make people question, think, and consider.
You will ask questions more than you offer answers. You will share the problems you are trying (and failing) to resolve. When you do this, you will notice everyone is actually listening to you. This is because they are as unsure about what to do as you are, and they want to find partners.
A year’s worth of deals can start on the sun-drenched Croisette for those who spark good conversations. The bland, boring, and platitudinous, on the other hand, will get left in the shade.
Speaking of meet ups: let us know if you will be there. We’ll want to catch up.
What’s Next
If you have thoughts, feedback, or a perspective worth sharing, reach out: chmiel@ondiscourse.com. You might see your reaction in next week’s edition.
ON_Member Events
ON_Cannes Lions: Will AI Eat the Next Trillion Dollars?
Monday, June 22 9-11am
Cannes, France
An Invite-Only Bloomberg x ON_Discourse Breakfast at Cannes LIONS
Capital is pouring into both ends of the creative economy and squeezing everything in the middle. VCs are backing two-person AI startups that can outperform agencies on specific workflows. PE is paying premium multiples for agencies with AI baked in. And holding companies are cutting billions in costs and calling it strategy. Everyone has a bet on which layer wins. This breakfast is where these bets get pressure-tested.
ON_Discourse Group Chat: Follow My Flow
Tuesday, June 23 11am-12pm
Zoom
This is your backstage pass into someone’s real AI workflow, a candid, step-by-step reveal of how their stack actually works in practice.
Start a group chat with Doma
Do you want to stress test your Cannes provocations with some friends, colleagues, and Doma? You can now start a group chat with Doma and talk through all of your drafts, ideas, and provocations.
ON_Podcast
Episode 51: Cannes Platitudes
Ten days out from Cannes Lions, Dan, Toby, and Chmiel try to work out whether anything has changed in the year since AI took over every panel and pitch deck. Their answer: not really. To make the point, they ran hundreds of Cannes sessions through Doma and pulled the ten platitudes the industry is about to repeat for a week straight — “AI will augment, not replace creativity,” “trust is the new currency,” “the future is human plus the machine.” Dan does a lot of groaning. Under the groaning is a question worth sitting with: at a festival built on creativity, where did the creativity go?