What Stood Out (And Why) At Cannes Lions 2025

It’s Christmas in June for creative marketers everywhere! You guessed it, it’s Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity time! Though we had every intention of attending in person this year, (un)fortunately, client work kept us too busy to cross the ocean.  But, no worries here because we’re giving you the next best thing, our take on the hits and misses in brand activations from afar ;)

As I caught FOMO watching the content from Cannes take over my feed, my marketing hat immediately took over as I couldn’t help but notice the abundance of brand activations that clearly understood the assignment better than others.

Think of it, you’re a brand hosting an activation at the literal Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, the bar is high. The goal here is to be as creative as you possibly can. However, at the same time, when you’re blending creativity with strategy, you’re that much closer to an actual ROI and not just some flashy booth.

Take Meta for example, alongside their annual Meta Beach, thought leadership panels and product demos, they also built a reel skatepark on the Croisette in collaboration with skating icons Mark Oblow and Remio. And let’s not get it twisted, this wasn’t just some photo-op activation to take a few pictures at and keep it moving. Their idea was to showcase just how easy it is to shoot, edit and post Reels on the go. Influencers and creatives were invited to skate, film, and publish content in the moment, using Meta’s tools. 

They gave their guests an experience all while seamlessly pushing their strategy of staying top of mind forward: reels are for raw, fast and creative storytelling. And the best part? It’s super easy. 

Another favourite was Linkedin. They came in hot with video creation at the forefront. We’ve already mentioned in our previous newsletter how video content has become more prominent on the corporate platform and Linkedin validated every bit of it. By using a custom built AI web application, guests had the opportunity to create personalized videos made to stand out in the feed. The app felt like a Magic 8 Ball in the palm of their hand unlocking the exact content that was trending for their unique profile and recommending the best times to post for optimal success. What more could you ask for? 

Last but definitely not least is Canva. If you know me, you know I do most of my work on this platform and I’m here for all of it! For their first year at Cannes, Canva came correct with creativity and human connection as their driving forces behind their Canva Creative Cabana. 

Between colourful giveaways, creative content photo ops, daily talks, cool refreshments, private meeting rooms, and panels, they built an activation that was simple, collaborative, and creatively bold, just like the app itself. 

It was perfectly on-brand for the platform that champions the ease of creating while promoting seamless teamwork. 

Needless to say, there were so many brands and immersive experiences at Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity that needed a standing O, but these were the three that truly resonated with me. Each one found their own way to breakthrough the pleasing aesthetics and instead be born out of intention. They blended creativity with purpose and strategy with experience to not only look good for the feed but make sense for the brand and audience. 

Any brand activations catch your attention? Share them with us! 

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Written by: Giovanna Pagano