17015: Cannes Lions, Cannes Liars.

 

MediaPost reported Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity awarded the first ‘Creative Country Of The Year’ trophy to Brazil—a place notorious for scam ads, cultural cluelessness, and countrywide racism. It feels like Time ‘Person Of The Year’ going to Donald Trump.

 

Brazil Is Named Cannes Lions First ‘Creative Country Of The Year’

 

By Steve McClellan

 

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has unveiled a new award — Creative Country Of The Year — and the first recipient is Brazil, which will be honored at the festival in June. 

 

The organization said that the annual accolade recognizes a country’s consistent success at the Festival as well as “a country’s exceptional and enduring commitment to creativity that drives progress and growth.”

 

As part of that recognition this year, the 2025 Festival will feature Brazilian creative showcases, celebratory events, dedicated stage talks and Brazilian-led activations across the City of Cannes, including the return of FilmBrazil, which will host a networking event.

 

Sponsoring this year’s award is Brazilian daily newspaper Estadão, a long-time supporter of the Festival and which celebrates its 150th anniversary this year.  

 

Brazil won its first Lions at the 1971 Festival, collecting two Bronze Lions for Cinema and a Silver Lion for Television. In 1975 it brought home its first Gold Lions, and in 1993 it was awarded its first Grand Prix for ‘The Guarana Diet Campaign’ by Dm9 Publicidade for Guarana Antarctica. Since then, it has gone on to win 1911 Lions, 20 of which have been Grands Prix. 
 
In 1972, Alex Perissinoto served as the first Brazilian Juror, and Christina Carvalho Pinto, the first woman to lead a multinational communication corporation in Latin America — the Young & Rubicam Group — served as the first female Juror from Brazil in 1990. To date, more than 400 Brazilians have served on Cannes Lions Juries. Brazil’s Marcello Serpa brought home Latin America’s first Grand Prix and was honored with the prestigious Lion of St Mark in 2016. 
 
Washington Olivetto, who died last year, was known as the ‘Godfather of Brazilian Advertising’ and winner of Brazil’s first Gold Lion and more than 50 Lions across his career. A special tribute will be made to him at the Festival. 

16822: Chatting About Bias In AI.

 

Adweek published a perspective on addressing bias in AI. Written by an experiential creative and copywriter at Monk, the exposition presented challenges that emerged during the invention of AI-powered robot Sir Martian, named after Sir Martin Sorrell. Um, it sounds like AI bias inspired by a biased A-hole.

 

 

4 Ways to Mitigate Bias in AI and Close the Diversity Deficit

 

Key lessons from a 2024 Cannes activation

 

By Larissa Pontez

 

Feed a prompt to an AI image generator and you’re bound to encounter an insidious pattern: Do the people look … too stunning? Perhaps even wanton? 

 

Gender, race, body type, nationality, religion—you’re almost guaranteed to get prejudiced and outdated stereotypes when using these descriptors in prompts. And “wanton” is a deliberate adjective; it’s mostly used pejoratively toward women, and AI tends to oversexualize female images. These glaring imbalances showcase a recurring problem with AI outputs: the replication of societal biases, which can be harmful to actual people and communities. 

 

I wrestled with this firsthand while helping develop Sir Martian, one of our key AI demos featured at Cannes earlier this year. Sir Martian, playfully named after Sir Martin Sorrell, is an AI-powered robot in the form of an alien caricaturist. Throughout the festival, he invited attendees to sit down for a quick chat and a sketched portrait, based on their appearance and tastes. 

 

I’m proud that the demo was a success, because as you can imagine, this interaction was more than a simple conversation. And it taught me a lot about the privileges and responsibilities of shaping a new technology. Here’s what I learned. 

 

Words matter—your data sets the tone 

 

Most AI tools available for the general public are trained on datasets that aren’t accessible or visible to users, so I feel particularly fortunate to work at a company that creates and trains its own models. It really is a “great power, great responsibility” scenario. 

 

The foundation of any generative AI model should be diverse and comprehensive. By expanding the range of base images and training materials, developers can create AI systems that represent a broader spectrum of human experiences. This enriches outputs and helps combat entrenched biases. 

 

With Sir Martian, specificity was essential for aligning user inputs with desired outputs. After some trial and error, we found that we had to train the model combining visual input with very precise text prompts in order to get it to represent people accurately. 

When given a picture of a Black woman and the prompt “woman with braids,” the AI model automatically defaulted to a woman with German-style braids. We had to train and fine-tune it using specific terms like “cornrows” and “box braids” to get it to create accurate drawings. Giving the system a wider variety of terms to connect to visual references was crucial to getting more diverse depictions. 

 

This step was humbling because I encountered my own limitations in the process. For example, we don’t have a large Muslim population where I’m based in Brazil, yet a global audience traveling to Cannes would likely include women in hijabs or chadors. This prompted me to research the nuances between different articles of dress that, to an untrained eye, may have been seen as interchangeable. The experience highlighted the importance of stepping outside of our bubbles to recognize what we don’t know, in order to learn and incorporate diverse cultural elements that better serve global users. 

 

Diversity is (and isn’t) everyone’s responsibility 

 

As the only woman on the team building Sir Martian, the problematic depiction of women raised alarm bells for me early on but didn’t faze my male colleagues until I brought it to their attention. We need more diverse teams who can authentically lead AI in the right direction. But at the same time, the onus shouldn’t be on minorities alone to fix biases that have affected them for generations. 

 

Overcoming these biases demands collective effort. After I discovered flaws in Sir Martian’s AI model, I partnered closely with a developer on the project who was dedicated to addressing these issues. I reached out to a Black co-worker and Muslim women in our global community for their feedback on whether Sir Martian’s drawings were respectfully reflecting their identities. These are just some examples of the cross-disciplinary collaboration that needs to happen in order to make a change; once you flip the switch and understand what needs to be done, the rate of progress is astounding. 

 

The industry has a ways to go, but we’re seeing positive change. Since Sir Martian launched, we’ve instated a global AI policy to help staff become more conscious of common biases that occur in AI systems, such as data bias, algorithmic bias, and confirmation bias. Perhaps more importantly, fostering an inclusive environment encourages a shared responsibility in creating AI systems that accurately and fairly reflect diverse experiences, ultimately benefiting everyone. 

 

Know where to draw the line, and back up your decisions 

 

Our industry celebrates how AI will unlock personalization for everyone, but there are limits. The unfortunate reality is that, when it comes to accurately depicting everyone, we can’t perfectly address every difference on every project. But we can try to be as thorough as possible given the limits of technology, time, and budgets. 

 

When it comes to being more diverse and inclusive, for example, people naturally focus on accounting for a variety of skin tones. That’s great, but it’s often as far as we go. What about different body types and sizes? How might a generated portrait differ when someone is sitting in a wheelchair instead of standing up?

 

We should not only address these questions, but also begin asking them at a project’s inception. Those of us developing consumer-facing generative AI activations must be conscious of where our parameters fall, as well as able to justify the decisions we make. 

 

When working on Sir Martian for the demo in Cannes, we decided to leave children out of the training data, knowing that they were not our target audience. This was a conscious decision rather than a blind spot in our process, as representation and inclusion so often are in AI projects.

 

It’s time to do better 

 

We all know that AI is an amazing tool that has progressed by leaps and bounds over the last few years, but one thing it can’t do is correct our own blind spots. That’s on us to identify and address. 

 

AI serves as a mirror to our society, reflecting both its progress and its persistent challenges. If left unchecked, biases can become even more ingrained through AI. Tackling this issue isn’t a task for minorities alone—it’s something we all need to work on together. This shared commitment can help genuinely turn AI into a force for positive change. 

16761: From The Cannes Lions International Festival Of Creepy Activity.

 

Adweek published a lengthy exposé about two female students who filed a sexual assault complaint against an Adland consultant, stemming from an incident that allegedly happened at the 2024 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

 

The alleged predatory perpetrator apparently didn’t read the #timeTo guide to understanding sexual harassment. A Diet Madison Avenue approach might’ve been more effective.

 

The Adweek content closed with an invitation for people to come forward if they have a similar experience to share. Expect an extensive series.

 

Two Students File Sexual Assault Complaint Against Ad Industry Consultant in Cannes

 

The women say the man told them to accept men’s ‘forwardness’ to succeed in marketing

 

By Rebecca Stewart

 

[Sensitive content: This article mentions sexual assault. Help is available through the National Sexual Assault Hotline at 1-800-656-4673.] 

 

Two U.S. undergraduate marketing students, *Emma and *Julie, who attended Cannes Lions as part of an educational program, have filed a report with Cannes police accusing a U.S. ad industry contractor of sexual assault.

 

The two women, 20, say the man—who appeared to them to be in his late 30s—not only groped them but also told them they must learn to accept men’s “forwardness” if they want to succeed in the advertising field.

 

ADWEEK is using pseudonyms for the women with their permission. We are also aware of their identities, as well as the identity of the man they have accused of sexual assault. Through his lawyer, the man said their account is “entirely false.”

 

The women were prepared to go public with their account but decided not to after each received a letter threatening a lawsuit. One woman received a further communication by post to her home address. The women told ADWEEK they did not have the resources to defend themselves in court.

 

The bigger picture

 

In 2024, the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity brought 12,000 creatives, marketers, media staffers, and agency execs to the French Riviera, with more joining around the fringes of the official event without a pass.

 

Students are also becoming a bigger fixture at Cannes, drawn in by programs including Young Lions. Organizers confirmed to ADWEEK that “several hundred” students attend Cannes Lions each year, noting a “steady increase” in attendance since 2020.

 

Days at the event are followed by late-night festivities, with parties, concerts, and experiences taking place along the beaches and hotels that line the city. Amid a whirlwind week of networking and celebrations, festival organizers have been urged to bolster safety measures in recent years, partnering with industry groups such as timeTo to tackle sexual harassment.

 

Emma and Julie’s account follows several women speaking out after their experiences at the 2024 event. These include freelance TV documentary director and partnerships director at Brixton Finishing School, Dagmar Bennett, who wrote in Campaign that a senior male business associate asked her if she would exchange sex for money. Ad industry luminary and president of the Glass jury, Cindy Gallop, also said she saw several instances of men acting in a sexist way when presenting their entries alongside women.

 

Organizers confirmed they could not provide stats related to sexual assault at the festival, relying on incidents reported directly to them for visibility of the issue. A spokesperson referred ADWEEK to the police for such details. The Cannes police did not respond to a request for stats related to sexual assault.

 

Cannes has the highest number of police per capita in France. Cannes Lions did not confirm how much extra policing happens during the event, saying hotel venues were responsible for their own security. Organizers confirmed that Cannes Lions security teams were briefed to intervene, record, and report any offensive or dangerous behavior.

 

Beyond the parameters of the festival, the spokesperson said the Lions team worked closely with the City of Cannes and relevant authorities on safety.

 

Emma and Julie had come to Cannes for class credit, with the aim of strengthening their networking skills.

 

When they first arrived in the crowded lobby of the Carlton around 1 a.m., they were excited to mingle and chat with creatives. Several people at the festival had recommended the venue as a hot late-night networking destination; Emma recalled the Grand Prix Lions trophies on tables as people celebrated their wins.

 

The next day, they would spend four hours at a Cannes police station each filing a statement as part of a sexual assault allegation against the industry contractor, who works for a tech startup that recently received millions in funding and counts major household name corporations among its clients, per its website.

 

‘He came out of nowhere’

 

Shortly after arriving at the Carlton, Emma and Julie went outside to the garden at the rear of the hotel to catch their breath, Emma said.

 

The two recalled speaking to another person for around 10 minutes.

 

When that interaction ended, a man they would later identify as the accused—whom Emma and Julie both described as heavily intoxicated—“came out of nowhere” from behind Julie and grabbed her wrist, Julie recalled to police. “You’re drunk,” Julie told him. “I think so,” he replied.

 

In the garden, the man asked her to spin around, and then again—and then one more time, slower, so he could “get a better look.”

 

The 20-year-old complied, but both women were growing uneasy. Julie took a selfie with the man to record the encounter. Emma also snapped a photo from behind Julie, capturing his face. Both images were reviewed by ADWEEK.

 

Julie tried to get him to leave her alone by becoming more standoffish and deflecting his compliments. Eventually, he grabbed her hand and put it to his chest, she told police.

 

“I balled it up into a fist, but he wouldn’t let go of it. He had his other hand firmly planted around my waist,” she said to ADWEEK. She gently pushed him away.

 

Eventually, according to her police report, the industry contractor grabbed her hands and tried to pull her closer again, placing them low on her hips at the top of her buttocks.

 

As he shifted his body closer to hers, he claimed to be salsa dancing, Julie said. She told him she did not like to dance. When Julie spotted the person she’d been speaking to before, she bolted in his direction, she said.

 

‘I’ll hit you in the fucking face’

 

The man then turned his attention to Emma, who had been speaking with someone else, both women said.

 

Emma explained to the man that she and Julie were students and were at Cannes Lions to network. When Emma showed little interest in the conversation, she said, the man told her she had an “attitude” and dismissed her as a “fucking child.” That is when he put his hand on her buttocks, she told police.

 

As she told ADWEEK, “I backed away, and he got more aggressive, telling me to ‘chill out,’ and if I wanted to go somewhere in business I would kind of have to accept men’s forwardness and inappropriateness if I wanted to do well in my career.”

 

A man saying I need to accept sexual assault from men to be able to do well in my career was just crazy to hear.

Emma, student

 

Emma found this interaction disheartening. “I want to go into business, and a man saying I need to accept sexual assault from men to be able to do well in my career was just crazy to hear,” she said. When Emma questioned why he was speaking to her like this, she asserts that the man told her: “If you don’t chill out, I’ll hit you in the fucking face.”

 

“I got really scared,” she said. “It froze me.”

 

She says she tried to further de-escalate by apologizing for her behavior, telling the industry contractor she was “just stressed.”

 

The man turned her around and started pulling at her hair, she said. “So I grabbed my hair because I’m confused as to what he’s doing,” she said. “I’m like, ‘don’t pull my hair, please.’” She then recalled the man massaging her shoulders.

 

“Because his hands were so big, they were starting to be around my neck—too forward on my front to be a back massage or shoulder massage, and they started going around my neck,” Emma said. She made eye contact with Julie who came up and told her it was time to go.

 

The man asked for their phone numbers, but Julie persuaded the man to get out his phone and request to connect with her by scanning the QR code on her LinkedIn app instead.

 

The LinkedIn profile revealed his name, and both women recognized him from his profile picture, which also matched the photos of him they had taken earlier that night.

On his LinkedIn profile, he listed himself as a director for a tech company. His profile has since been deleted.

 

The tech business told ADWEEK in a statement that the man was not a full-time employee, but a private contractor who had provided consulting services for the business. The statement said that the company did not send the man to Cannes, nor provide any resources for him to attend.

 

“The company was unaware that he may have attended the festival until after the festival’s conclusion,” the statement said.

 

Both women ran out of the Carlton. When they got onto the street, they were crying and struggling to breathe or speak, they said, but they agreed they couldn’t stay silent about what happened.

 

“We were like, ‘We can’t let him get away with it,’” said Julie. “I felt like fish in a barrel.”

 

‘I’m no longer going to just let this roll off my back’

 

After leaving, the pair said they contacted an on-site professor, texting him that they “just had an unpleasant and scary experience at the TikTok activation at the Carlton. … It’s not okay AT ALL for an industry professional to behave that way regardless of how intoxicated he is.”

 

The professor met them at the premises and escorted them home. ADWEEK has seen a timestamped screenshot of Julie’s message to the professor.

 

At 10 a.m. that morning, Emma and Julie spoke to the security team at Ascential (the current parent company of Cannes Lions pending its sale to Informa) to file a report.

 

The head of security told the women that the Cannes Lions organization would revoke the man’s delegate pass, the women said. However, they later discovered that the man was not an official pass holder, as the organization confirmed to ADWEEK. Cannes Lions declined to further discuss this case.

 

The two women then went to a Cannes police station and filed their reports against the man. ADWEEK has reviewed both police reports, and an interpreter who accompanied both women to file their statements verified to ADWEEK that the statements, taken in English but memorialized in French, were accurately translated.

 

At the time of writing, the police had passed the case on to French prosecutors but neither woman has received an update on the status of the case. The Cannes police told ADWEEK it was unable to comment, citing privacy laws.

 

A representative from Carlton Hotel owner InterContinental Hotels Group said the company was cooperating with the local police on this case but declined to comment further.

 

Emma and Julie also emailed their allegations to the CEO and director of operations of the business that had contracted the man.

 

In a reply seen by ADWEEK, the director of operations said the business has a zero-tolerance policy toward sexual assault, and that the company would conduct an internal investigation into what happened.

 

The company told ADWEEK in July: “The investigation process is currently active. At this time, [the man’s] consultancy contract has been suspended.”

 

When ADWEEK contacted the company again in August to ask whether the contractor had been terminated, its lawyers stated it had no further comment.

 

Emma and Julie have not heard from the company since June. They hope that in speaking out, they can spur more “safety and accountability” for women and students at the festival.

 

Their reason for going to the police was not just because they felt “grossed out and humiliated,” said Julie. “It was mostly because we didn’t want this to happen to other women.”

 

Cannes Lions pointed to its timeTo partnership and said its team was on site to ensure delegates were “appropriately supported” where needed.

 

Emma and Julie said the encounter with the man happened in view of other people. But no one seemed to notice as everyone was in their own “bubbles.”

 

This has lit a fire under me. I’m no longer going just to let this roll off my back. I’m going to take action.

Julie, student

 

And the accused himself seemed unconcerned about the exchange, the women recalled.

 

“We felt the man was very, very comfortable with what he did. This man did not seem ashamed, nor did he feel that people were watching him whatsoever,” Emma said.

 

A Cannes Lions spokesperson said it worked closely with the City of Cannes and relevant authorities to provide a safe environment and a code of conduct for delegates.

 

“This is not the first time I’ve been assaulted. It’s not the first time I’ve been talked about like that, not the first time someone has gotten up in my space,” Julie said. “This has lit a fire under me. I’m no longer going just to let this roll off my back. I’m going to take action.”

 

Both Emma and Julie intend to return next year. They have spoken with organizers and senior industry figures about improving women’s safety at the festival for 2025.

 

Julie had begged to go to Cannes when the opportunity first came up, she said, and won’t let what she experienced at the Carlton dampen her love for the industry and all Cannes Lions represents.

 

If you have a similar experience to share, reach out to Rebecca Stewart confidentially on the encrypted messaging app Signal @rebecca.stewart.03.

16733: Effie To Become Extra Effin’ Exclusive…?

 

MediaPost reported further on how the merger and acquisitions mania in Adland is extending to awards. An earlier story revealed Ascential—parent company of the Cannes International Festival of Creativity—is considering a $1.5 billion acquisition offer from UK-based Informa.

 

Now Ascential is seeking to acquire the Effie Awards, merging the effectiveness trophies with Lions prizes.

 

As previously noted, Ascential and Informa appear to be run by White men and White women. While the Effie Board of Directors looks reasonably diverse, the Effie Team resembles Ascential and Informa.

 

In short, the blended awards would display more White than gold.

 

Effie Soon To Live In (Cannes) Lions Den

 

By Steve McClellan

 

Events company Ascential, parent of the Cannes International Festival of Creativity and Lions Awards, has entered into an agreement to acquire the commercial assets of the Effie ad effectiveness awards.

 

Subject to regulatory approval, Effie will join Ascential’s Lions Division.

 

In addition to hosting the marketing effectiveness awards, Effie provides insights from over 125 markets, in addition to tools and training.

 

If the deal goes through Ascential will also enter a partnership with the not-for-profit Effie Worldwide organization, which will be transformed into a new global Foundation, The Effie Lions Foundation, Inc. It will be dedicated to training all marketing students, especially those under-represented in the marketing community. Additionally, the Foundation will provide a home for Lions’ existing not-for-profit initiatives and provide access to some of the Lions Division digital products.

 

Philip Thomas, CEO, Ascential, stated, “The coming together of Lions and Effie is a powerful testament to the fact that effectiveness and creativity in marketing are inextricably linked.”

 

Headquartered in New York, with offices in Beijing and the UK, Effie has a network of 59 partners covering over 125 markets. Effie will continue to be led by Traci Alford, President and CEO, Effie Worldwide.

16722: An Award-Winning Merger Of Exclusivity + Systemic Racism…?

MediaPost reported Ascential—parent company of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity—is considering a $1.5 billion acquisition offer from UK-based Informa.

 

There’s something appropriate about an enterprise tied to Adland—where mergers and acquisitions are common occurrences for White advertising agencies and holding companies—now undergoing the process too.

 

Based on their respective websites, both companies appear to be run by White men and White women—so there’s a corporate and cultural fit. Don’t expect either place, however, to land a Glass Lion or other patronizing trophy for performative DEIBA+ achievements.

 

Indeed, any such prize for Ascential or Informa would likely constitute a scam award.

 

Cannes Lions Operator Ascential Weighing $1.5B Bid

 

By Joe Mandese

 

Ascential plc, the parent company of the Cannes Lions festival and other assets relevant to the ad industry, is weighing a $1.5 billion acquisition offer from British publishing company Informa plc.

 

“Following recent movement in Ascential’s share price, the board of Ascential confirms that it has received a conditional proposal from Informa PLC regarding a possible cash offer for the entire issued and to be issued share capital of Ascential at 568 pence per Ascential share,” Ascential said in a regulatory statement, adding that the current proposal follows “a number of approaches by Informa to Ascential in recent months.”

 

The statement goes on to say Ascential’s board is “minded to recommend” Informa’s most recent proposal.

 

Ascential, which recently sold its Flywheel Digital commerce assets to Omnicom for nearly a billion dollars, also is in the process of selling agency technology startup Hudson MX, which it has said it is discussing with multiple potential bidders.

16691: Glass Lions Tainted By Ass Lions…?

 

More About Advertising reported on charges of sexist behavior leveled against male advertising professionals behind entries for a Glass Lion trophy, exposing another blatant example of hypocrisy in Adland.

 

Expect the #timeTo guide to understanding sexual harassment to receive expanded updates for the next Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

 

Gee, it all feels as outrageous as White advertising agencies winning awards for campaigns promoting DEIBA+ perspectives.

 

Jane Austin in Cannes: Cindy Gallop calls out sexist behaviour at Cannes

 

By Jane Austin

 

Some male advertising professionals behind entries for the Glass Lion for Change category this year are definitely not practicing what they preach in their creative work.

 

Cindy Gallop, president of the Glass Lions jury, said on that several individuals who presented their work to the jury this week exhibited sexist behaviour while doing so and jury had contacted those entrants later to express their displeasure.

 

This included “the man talking over the woman, the man physically blocking the woman with his body while presenting, using the woman as a prop,” said Gallop.

 

As Gallop pointed out, this is indicative of ongoing sexism in the industry. It also further highlights the hypocrisy of this industry. The messaging about DE&I, and issues like sexism, harassment, bullying and gender discrimination, is often just that – messaging. Behind all the posturing about change, the same old sexist rules still apply.

 

Thankfully, more awareness has been raised at Cannes this year about the sexist behaviour and harassment that has long been a feature of the festival. We’re seeing some action being taken this year, with the TimeTo initiative to tackle sexual harassment in advertising, partnering with Cannes Lions to produce new anti-harassment guidance.

 

In addition, women have stronger voices than ever at Cannes, with the likes of the Female Quotient Equality Lounge and MadWomen hosting thought-provoking discussions. Though the focus on girly culture that’s sometimes a feature of female-focused events at Cannes (the makeovers, the pink cocktails etc) can jar a bit with the seriousness of the issue. But hey, you can be serious about feminism and still want to look good.

 

Gallop and the Glass jury have done what everyone in this industry should be doing: calling out sexist behaviour for what it is and demonstrating that it will not be tolerated. If behaviour like this goes unchecked in any work environment, DE&I initiatives don’t amount to much more than processes and empty promises.

 

You can create campaigns that celebrate women all you like, but if your behaviour doesn’t change, nothing will. It’s not just a matter of talking about diversity, it’s about behaving like a human being who respects others and shows some human decency. In the rush to hustle in Cannes, some are forgetting that entirely.

16685: A Guide To Understanding Exclusivity At Cannes.

 

Campaign published a performative PR perspective on a ‘difficult yet essential subject’—sexual harassment at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

 

Seems White women are damsels in distress at the iconic awards soiree. Although their alleged trials and tribulations pale in comparison to the bullshit thrown at women of color.

 

A couple of advocacy groups teamed up to create a guide to understanding sexual harassment. Yeah, that should solve matters. Expect opportunistic morons to submit the heat shield for a Glass Lion.

 

To underscore how White women are prized and prioritized over racial and ethnic groups, it should be noted that no one has volunteered to publish a Green Book for non-White festival attendees.

 

Oh, and security should’ve kept an eye on all FCB and former DraftFCB visitors.

 

Sexual harassment at Cannes: a ‘difficult yet essential subject’

 

By Karen Stacey

 

There are a lot of inspiring lessons to be learned at Cannes, but we shouldn’t ever let the hectic schedule and fun make us lose sight of what is truly important; taking personal responsibility for our actions, and taking responsibility for those around us.

 

So, before we all get our delegate badges and start scheduling talks and seminars, it’s vital that we’re all fully educated about this difficult yet essential subject. This isn’t just for visitors and managers on the ground, it goes for senior leaders back home, too.

 

We know that, sadly, sexual harassment still exists and it can happen anywhere, but the risks rise when alcohol is free-flowing and people are away from home. We also know that what starts as a fun trip can quickly become a nightmare for anyone who experiences sexual harassment.

 

That’s why this year, Cannes Lions has teamed up with TimeTo and Wildstorm PR to create an invaluable guide to understanding the issues around sexual harassment. Not just in Cannes, but anywhere outside of the office where the drink is flowing and the inhibitions are dropping.

 

The move is designed to create and foster a supportive environment of respect and accountability, where anyone attending in any capacity feels secure and empowered to enjoy themselves safely and to speak up about sexual harassment, should they need to.

 

The onus shouldn’t solely be on individuals. People need to trust that employers, event organisers and others with a duty of care are looking out for them. Everyone attending must play a part in addressing this issue – either by stepping in if they see it happening, or stopping if they are perpetrating it.

 

That is what this guide does so well. It helps navigate the grey areas around sexual harassment by splitting its core messaging into three distinct sections tailored to employers, employees and delegates. Each section offers a specific focus for that audience and provides guidance for before, during, and after the festival.

 

Examples of guidance include advice before Cannes for senior leaders, managers and HR to establish and make clear policies and procedures; ensuring policies including anti-harassment guidance; outlining what constitutes harassment; the consequences for engaging in such behaviour; and the procedures for reporting incidents.

 

It also offers helpful advice for all attendees at Cannes, including connecting with others and having a support system for uncomfortable situations. This year, the WACL Empower Café provides a safe space for those affected by sexual harassment, offering guidance on the next steps alongside the guide’s information.

 

Additionally, it addresses the barriers to reporting sexual harassment. Incidents that occur at the event may not be reported until participants have returned to the UK, highlighting the importance of creating a supportive environment in the moment for any disclosures.

 

If you notice a friend or colleague behaving in a way that’s offensive or inappropriate, and you feel safe addressing it, speak up. You can let them know that their behaviour isn’t acceptable and point out the impact. Sometimes, people need a new perspective on their actions.

 

So, when you’re packing your slides or flip-flops and sunscreen or picking up your lanyard, grab the guide as well.

 

But if you really feel you won’t get anything from it or that you don’t have the time, then maybe just take a few seconds while you’re at passport control or queueing for croissants and think about these things:

 

• Take the safety of your team seriously

 

• Lead by example

 

• Put guardrails in place

 

• Take your own safety seriously

 

• Treat people politely and like human beings

 

• Don’t make people feel awkward – don’t force them to have another drink, listen to what they are saying and read their responses.

 

It’s basically as simple as treating everyone you meet with respect.

 

Karen Stacey is the chief executive of Digital Cinema Media, and outgoing vice-president and incoming president of WACL