The Youth Lab
CANNESMAXXING
Our team headed to the 2026 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, where the conversations were just as important as the awards.
Cannes continues to remind us that – while we can’t ignore emergent tools, tech and platforms – nor can we the fundamentals. Award-winning ideas are still ones built on trust, collaboration, and human creativity.
Here, THINKHOUSE Founder Jane McDaid shares her 10 biggest takeaways from the week.
1: This year, the biggest brands were all flexing how ‘all in’ they’ve gone on Creators.
Cannes made it clear that creators are no longer just a campaign tactic, partner or distribution channels – they are becoming fully fledged media businesses shaping where attention, entertainment and brand investment flows next.
Pic: Brand leaders explore the creator wave during the CMO panel discussion with Todd Kaplan (Kraft Heinz), Asmita Dubey (L’Oréal) and Paloma Azulay (McDonald’s).
2: GEO has already proven its capability to scale business. It’s an open goal.
Generative Engine Optimisation isn’t just the next evolution of search, it’s about building the authority and credibility that makes your brand part of AI-generated discovery and recommendations – not just search results.
Pic: Chelsea Carson from T&P gave a masterclass in GEO’s super-power
3: The brilliant basics of marketing are still brilliant
Among all the conversations around AI and innovation, Cannes also served up a timely reminder that consistency, mental availability and strong brand assets remain foundational – and more critical than ever to working toward long-term growth.
Pic: Mark Ritson and Byron Sharp aligning on marketing’s best practices
4: AI is growing and reimagining new creative marketing spaces, not ‘killing jobs’
The AI conversation is maturing past fear and speculation into something far more useful: understanding how technology can unlock entirely new territories for human creativity to seize and explore.
Pic: AI actress Tilly Norwood created by the brilliant, growing team at Particle6.
5: “The ultimate play for marketing control” - what Mark Zuckerberg said was an insult to clients.
As tech platforms continue to promise brands greater automation, one of Cannes’ clearest messages was that efficiency should never come at the expense of the strategic thinking, creativity and originality brands actually depend on.
Pic: Arthur Sadoun CEO of Publicis shuts down the hyperbole and reinforces the value of agencies
6: Movies at the speed of TikTok – the micro drama boom is the next Entertainment Economy
Short-form storytelling is getting its cinematic glow up and, in the process, proving to be one of the most powerful new frontiers for capturing attention, entertaining audiences, and driving cultural relevance.
Pic: Scott Brown (ex Mr. Beast), Sasha Tkachenko (Mydrama) and Hannah Stocking (creator) on a panel discussing how the future of entertainment is shaped by creators.
7: PR investments are set to double as LLMs dominate search and reward cited sources.
As AI increasingly becomes the gateway to discovery, brands with strong PR and earned media strategies will be better positioned to influence how they are surfaced and consumed.
Pic: Jane McDaid, Founder of THINKHOUSE joined agency leaders from Scandinavia, UK, Northern Ireland and Australia to discuss the future, and growing importance, of Earned Media.
8: ‘Purpose’ might be out of fashion but it wasn’t hard to see it in action throughout some of the best brand work all week long.
While the language around purpose may be evolving, the strongest work at Cannes proved that brands creating genuine social and cultural impact continue to build deeper and more meaningful connections.
Pic: By bringing leaders together on board the Stad Amsterdam Tall Ship in the Bay of Cannes - there was great space and time to discuss leadership and impact with Founders and CMOs from across the global marketing community. Thanks to AdNetZero for the invite.
9: Cannes is a way to fall in love with the business of influence, over and over again. We keep coming back.
Cannes keeps reminding us that influence isn’t about reach and attention alone, it’s about shaping culture, earning trust and creating quality work people actively choose to engage with and share.
Pic: Jane McDaid in the Creator Terrace- a space that’s tripled in size this year to allow for the increased attendance of creators and specialist creator agencies and agents.
10: Collaboration produces exceptional results.
Great creativity is still a team sport. Some of the strongest work at Cannes proved that standout ideas rarely come from one team alone, but from ambitious collaboration between brands, agencies and partners willing to take risks, trust each other and go after something bigger than themselves.
Pic: THINKHOUSE Founder Jane McDaid joins the full team on stage to accept the Grand Prix for Heineken’s “The Pub That Refused to Die” after winning 4 x Bronze Lions, including one for PR, throughout the week. A testament to the highest levels of collaboration, trust and ambition between Publicis Dublin, LePub Milan, THINKHOUSE, The Romans, Dentsu and the brilliant client teams across Dublin and Amsterdam.