Did Cannes live up to your hope of a more inclusive festival?

July 06, 2023

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5-7 minutes

Did Cannes live up to your hope of a more inclusive festival?

Industry leaders had a mixed response to this year's efforts.

Clockwise from top left: Lydia Amoah, Lisa Goodchild, Maria McDowell, Ally Owen, Jacqueline Darkwa and Ali Hanan

Cannes Lions is perhaps one of the most glamorous events in the adland calendar. An iconic location, awards galore and more rosé wine than water. It's an event that can divide the year into pre- and post-Cannes.

But once the festivities have died down, a review of Cannes can provide a microcosm of where the industry currently is: what the hot topics are and what style of ads are in vogue. One of the key subjects for review is whether the industry is walking the walk when it comes to diversity.

This year there were a number of initiatives to improve the inclusivity of the festival.

Lydia Amoah, founder of The Black Pound Report, was appointed as head of Black at Cannes in the UK, and Cannes offered free passes to Brixton Finishing School, DigiLearning and Lollipop Mentoring as part of #CannesForAll.

Cephas Williams expanded on his work at Cannes last year with Black Out 2023, which raised £200,000 to take 50 people from the black community to the south of France.

��pk10 asked several industry leaders whether Cannes Lions 2023 lived up to their hope of a more inclusive festival. They praised the sense of unity they felt at Cannes, including at a Spike Lee panel, the #CannesforAll cohort, the Pride celebrations, and even ��pk10's own annual party.

But they also highlighted a lack of unity in other places. Agency leaders getting on stage to receive their Cannes Lions awards were lacking in diversity, says Creative Equals' Ali Hanan, and real business opportunities and sponsorships favoured white attendees, says Lollipop Mentoring's Maria McDowell.

Read on below to find out what went well at this year's Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, and what the industry's most high-profile event still needs to work on.

Lydia Amoah

Chief executive of Backlight and head of Black at Cannes

Attending my second Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity as a Black business entrepreneur, I was thrilled to see a more inclusive event than in previous years. As the newly appointed UK head of Black at Cannes, I was proud to witness an increase in jurors from diverse backgrounds, and inspiring speakers like Will.i.am and Kevin Hart taking to the stage.

But for me, the highlight was seeing Spike Lee, renowned filmmaker and director, being awarded the honorary Creative Maker of the Year. It was a meaningful moment and a testament to the impact he has had on the industry. It's crucial to recognise the contributions of diverse creatives, and Lee's award is a step in the right direction.

Black at Cannes was a moment worth celebrating. It was a safe space, surrounded by experts and talented people who looked like me and were excelling in their respective fields. Although there is still room for improvement, movements like Black at Cannes are a step towards a more inclusive and equitable creative industry.

The progress made towards greater representation and support for underrepresented groups is inspiring, and we should continue to push for more. The Cannes Lions Festival has taken a step forward in creating a more diverse and inclusive environment for all attendees, and I'm excited to see what the future holds.

Lisa Goodchild

Chief troublemaker, Digiwoo

This year's Cannes Lions was a powerful testament to change. The vibe of inclusion was off the charts (still room for improvement), and it put a permanent smile on my face. I mean, have you seen the Digital Leading Ladies lunch? I'm one of the founders – picture 70 fierce females gathering under one roof, taking charge and owning the scene. And let me tell you, the Google Pride party was like a supernova of inclusivity, setting the festival on fire. But hold up, the real jaw-dropper? Our DigiLearning superstars stealing the damn spotlight at the ��pk10 party, unleashing their moves to Cameo's iconic jam, Candy. That's the kind of unity we crave, my friends, more of this please! Cannes Lions, mark my words, these mind-blowing moments are etched in our memory for good.

Maria McDowell

Founder, Lollipop Mentoring

Attending Cannes with four Lollipop mentees through the #CannesForAll initiative with Brixton Finishing School and DigiLearning was a fantastic experience that I sincerely appreciate. Our talent had access to various breakfasts, talks and opportunities due to our sponsors – thank you.

Seeing more diverse faces in Cannes was inspirational. I got to meet a few of my heroes and there was definitely a real sense of camaraderie among black and brown individuals (insert video of me tearing up the dance floor at TikTok and the closing parties).

Amidst the overall positivity, there were moments of unease. Inclusivity sometimes felt performative, mainly focusing on very junior black and brown individuals. While it provided great opportunities for them, I wasn’t sure if there were genuine networking opportunities for anything other than junior roles. Real business connections and sponsorships seem to favour white attendees and owners making connections among themselves – not surprising as we are human and are all creatures of habit.

Things are changing but let's do more for 2024. I'd love to see more representation at all levels on panels, not just in black spaces and not just talking about race. We must dismantle inequitable dynamics. I think we can all work together to foster a truly inclusive environment where authentic connections and opportunities are accessible to everyone. We can do it!

Ally Owen

Founder, Brixton Finishing School and founder, #CannesforAll

This was my first Cannes – despite a career that has spanned three decades at some of the biggest names in our industry (and winning a fair fist of awards). This says a lot about how inclusive the pool of industry elite who attend has been in the past – so my "inclusion" focus will be on who got to go this year.

As a "veteran’" of our industry, I am not surprised it was my first rosé rodeo and I am extremely appreciative of those who funded and supported #CannesForAll to ensure we made it out there with our talented cohort.

Miss Havisham complex aside (if you are going to wait to be asked to Cannes you will most likely be waiting forever…) there were moments, among the insane, wonderful and beguiling circus that is the Croisette, where it felt like a revolutionary act just to be present.

I met some wonderful humans and our cohort were welcomed and had incredible experiences. I had always presumed someone "like me" would never be allowed the privilege of attending and now I felt our cohort were "part" of it.

It was hard not to be hopeful that change was afoot at events with a strong #CannesForAll, #BlackatCannes and #BlackOut attendee presence or when I saw many of Brixton Finishing School’s allies and partners in the crowd. When the stages were blessed with names like Spike Lee or when I was dancing at the Google Pride Party.

I was embedded in the #CannesForAll’s cohort which meant I was in a more inclusive environment looking out at the rest of the much less inclusive industry. This may have given me rosé-tinted glasses (poor pun intended).

My question is – how inclusive would the crowds have felt without #CannesForAll, #BlackatCannes or #BlackOut? Without the huge efforts made by our #CannesForAll alliance or Cephas Williams to bring talents to Cannes, or to celebrate talent there like Lydia Amoah’s work?

Cannes is an expensive undertaking so understandably industry players feel they can only limit attendance to their most senior teams – a handful of individuals. This in turn reinforces the lack of attendee inclusion as we know the top tier is the least balanced and representative of the talent in our society.

Yes, it was more inclusive than previously because of the initiatives to make it so. I am extremely grateful to those who sponsored us and made this happen. These need to continue, with more funding so they can grow – let’s truly make 2024 a #CannesForAll.

Jacqueline Darkwa

Partnerships manager at Brixton Finishing School

Being fully transparent, I didn’t have high hopes for my experience at Cannes. As a young black woman I was concerned that at a festival noted for its exclusivity, I would walk away feeling annoyed and frustrated. My experience was not perfect, but I can say that Cannes 2023 was a transformative week. For this, I have to thank the initiatives that blazed a path for my presence: Cannes Can: Diversity Collective, Black at Cannes, Black Out, Group Black, and of course #CannesForAll. Let me be clear, we should have always been welcome in these spaces. This is the start – the work is not done. I’m excited to see the legacy and honoured to be a part of this monumental event.

Ali Hanan

Founder and chief executive, Creative Equals

Mixed, is the answer. For inside Palais itself, it's a yes. As a speaker, from end-to-end of this experience, a requirement for DEI was baked into the curation of the content into the onsite delivery. Over the years, the jury line-up has improved immeasurably. We celebrate the progress here.

For the first time, we noted, there was a creche, a quiet area and onsite festival contacts for delegates who may have found the festival experience overwhelming. As a dyslexic, I find juggling mic and clicker confusing and the tech team ensured I had the right equipment on the day of our event. Our delegates were a diverse, global group and we had a lively debate about the integrity of DEI as a part of award-winning work. On fringes, as you'd expect during Pride month, LGBT+ was celebrated wholeheartedly. This year it felt more poignant than ever against the current political backdrop.

On the agency side, it’s a "no". On the main stage, the agencies collecting the Grand Prix awards showed a clear "say-do" gap in their commitment to diversity. While the winning Young Lions teams gave us hope for the future, agency leaders walking on stage told a different story. While representation in the work is improving, we have to question its authenticity. Gender diversity seems to have improved somewhat (there were instances of #toomanyguysonegirl and an all-male team from Apple); however, racial diversity "behind the work" was at an all-time low at the Friday night awards show. We know. We counted.

Chloe Davies

Founder, It Takes a Village

I’m still unpacking my thoughts from my first Cannes, but what I will say is there is more of a disconnect between the definition of inclusion and the realities of what I witnessed in its collective name than I had been led to believe. Don’t get me wrong; there were some incredible spaces especially on the fringe and great individual talks and phenomenal speakers who inspired me. I connected with global change makers, friends old and new, and I know Rome wasn’t built in a day, but my jury is still out and I’m looking forward to engaging with what happens over the coming months to 2024.

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