Marketers on Super-Yachts

Together with:

Issue #248 | June 20, 2024

You may recognize the beautiful, beach-side city of Cannes for its flashy annual film festival. But, there’s actually another yearly event Cannes is known for — Cannes Lions, aka the “International Festival of Creativity.”

Despite its name, Cannes Lions is not really known for its creativity. Instead, it is mostly known as a booze, schmooze, and Coke fest for tech and ad executives. Nepo-babies, mega-corps, and the nepo-babies who run mega-corps use the occasion to charter superyachts and show-pony celebrities for who-wore-what photo ops.

Like most industry events, there are panels and fireside chats, full of announcements scripted by publicists, and chatter about the most dire topics affecting multi-millionaires in the ad biz. The event is essentially the pinnacle of media and advertising, and it’s certainly fun and flattering to be invited.

While influencers (like Emma Chamberlain and Tinx) have been present at the festival for years, this year, Cannes Lions made a special effort for social media stars. The festival introduced a new track for creators in collaboration with social media marketing company Viral Nation — for the low, low cost of $1200 per ticket.

Meanwhile, as a Wall Street Journal report revealed this week, creators are struggling to make ends meet. Sponsorship deals are dwindling, platforms are shrinking creator payouts, and political concerns like the potential TikTok ban in the U.S. are looming over creators’ heads.

As our columnist Lon Harris writes about in more detail, despite the new creator track, the festival still largely felt like marketers patting themselves on the back for how much money they could make using creators.

Lon’s piece is a compelling read, chock-full of thoughtful and witty commentary, colorful detail, and interesting anecdotes (like MediaLink and UTA’s appearance at the fest as they try to move on from a messy breakup with MediaLink founder Michael Kassan.) I highly recommend reading it.

– Grace Stanley, Deputy Editor

CULTURE

Behind Cannes Lions’ Glitzy Facade

The event praises creators but loves money.

By Lon Harris, Passionfruit Contributor

→ READ THE FULL STORY

Start Your Beauty Line Today!

Blanka lets anyone create their own branded makeup or skincare line and generate income. Choose from hundreds of products that you can brand, customize, and sell on your IG/TikTok. When you get orders, Blanka ships your orders to your customers, so you never have to deal with inventory.

GET FREE ACCESS

IN THE BIZ

Any creator on Spotify can now upload video podcasts, a privilege previously reserved for creators hosted by the platform.
Adobe has updated its confusing terms of use after a lawsuit and creator backlash.
A new study found that YouTube’s algorithm is more likely to recommend right-wing and Christian videos to users.
The U.S. Surgeon General wants to put child safety warning labels on social media platforms.