2024 Cannes Lions: Finding Creativity in the Everyday

SETTING THE TONE

Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard’s keynote speech contextualized what so many marketers today are trying to do — make everyday moments magical. For brands that live in the home, whether it’s kitchen clean ups or laundry messes, there are endless opportunities for solving problems. Which equals limitless possibilities for finding creativity in the everyday!

How do we make that happen?

• Find those everyday moments that matter — For our brands this means visiting people in their homes and where they shop, to observe actual behavior in how they experience our products. It requires human interaction to get the true essence of a moment — like the first whiff of clean, fresh laundry, the importance of a smooth shave when kissing your adorable little grandson or the wonderful feeling of that soft, fresh pillow and sheet after a long day.
• Find how your brand matters in those moments — It’s important to define how the brand provides a tangible and noticeably superior performance benefit — like clothes that are fresh as if dried outdoors, the cleanest, closest shave, irresistible softness and comfort from your favorite fabrics — while also thinking expansively about how your brand contributes to emotional outcomes and how they make you feel.
• Find the magic of a creative brand idea to make those moments matter more — It’s where both sides of the brain work together to combine logic and feeling. How do you know when you’ve landed the idea? Your spine tingles. It’s that physiological reaction when something really touches you. Logic connects the dots in your brain, and emotion makes you feel in your heart and your soul. Even with all the technology available to us, the answer won’t be found in the data or the algorithms. The answer is in the idea which comes from the heart and the soul.

This is the creative formula we are using to connect with our consumers in their everyday lives — here are some examples:

• Safeguard is using the most mentioned sentence in Chinese homes — “wash your hands and eat” — to show superior germ protection matters because it safeguards your home and safeguards your family’s health, especially during one of the most important times of year — Chinese New Year.

• Through its Share the Load campaign, Ariel is changing the minds of people in India, notably men, that laundry is a woman’s job. A poignant moment of concern about the everyday tasks of caring for home while away — with the laundry chore and the Ariel brand at the center.

• Head and Shoulders developed its “I Don’t” campaign, which is now expanding throughout Europe to find local everyday moments where the brand matters, even in remote villages in Greece, where having dandruff is prime news for local gossip.

INSPIRING CONVERSATIONS

During the Festival, P&G leaders participated in a variety of sessions that focused on inclusion, creativity and impact. Three standouts include:

Brand Stories with Purpose: Kimberly Doebereiner, Group Vice President of Future in Advertising, talked about the making of the upcoming feature documentary, “Rising Phoenix: A New Revolution” that pushes for diverse representation both in front of and behind the camera, with half of the crew identifying as having a disability.

Tapping Culture For Creativity: Damon Jones, Chief Communications Officer, discussed how brands and brand leaders can most effectively tap into the power of cultural connections to strengthen relationships with target audiences and avoid common missteps.

Multicultural Marketing: Lela Coffey, Vice President of Multicultural Business Acceleration, talked about how multicultural marketing is mainstream marketing and how it isn’t a catch phrase or a catch all. It’s a business accelerator in helping P&G serve all potential consumers and each unique consumer group.

RECOGNIZING CREATIVITY

Each year, only 10% of all entries make the shortlist, and only 3% win an Award. Given the increasingly competitive nature of the awards, being shortlisted is an honor, so it's noteworthy to see our brands and partners well-recognized by being shortlisted for 12 awards and winning four.

Tide and Saatchi & Saatchi won across the board snagging recognitions for You’re Gonna Need More Tide in the Social & Influencer Category, including:

• Two Gold Lions for Brand Storytelling and Consumer Goods
• A Silver Lion for Use of Humour
• A Bronze Lion for Innovative Use of Creators, Influencers or Celebrities

The biggest wins come when we work with partners, and our network of Creative MVPs around the world who are truly best in class. We congratulate all teams and agencies who collaborate to produce creative, award-worthy campaigns and those whose work was recognized at Cannes.

Together we can find creativity in everyday moments where brands matter and where brilliant creative brand ideas make those moments matter more.