Cannes Lions 2022: What Happened at Spotify Beach in Cannes?
Cannes, my dear, Cannes is back. Last week, Spotify returned to the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity to celebrate in the only way we know how: with evening music parties, daytime panels, and star-studded nights that rocked the Croisette. Alongside thousands of our closest friends, we had a front-row seat, so we bring you all the information now - in written and audio form (of course).
If you want to hear about the top trends that took center stage (or if your boss at work asked you for a summary of the Cannes Festival), read or listen below. And not just for the favorites playlist, but there are some added gems in our audio summary for all listeners...
It Started Better Than Ever
22 Cannes Lions saw more movement in the Radio + Audio categories than ever before. At Spotify, this is music to our ears - and apparently also to the ears of the Lions jury members.
The Grand Prix winner in Radio + Audio was Vice World News and Dentsu Webchutney from Bengaluru and Mumbai for their historic unfiltered tour at the British Museum. Among the Gold Lion winners in Radio + Audio were also: Savanna Cider "Jab Jab" by Gray South Africa and Dell "Because I'll Always Be Me" by VMLY&R New York.
Here at Spotify Advertising, we were proud to take home our Gold Lion (our first!) for the renowned B2B campaign "A Song for Every CMO," created with our partners at FCB New York. If you need us, we're still celebrating...
In response to the number of audio entries, Mariana O'Kelly, the Lions jury president from Ogilvy US, noted that the immense diversity of voice content demonstrated the "limitless potential" of what was once considered a somewhat traditional category. "We've seen voice used in NFTs, we've seen branded radio stations inside games, we've seen it in WhatsApp, on the product... So voice is definitely not a traditional channel anymore. It pervasive and organic in its use."
The celebration of audio continued at Spotify Beach where we highlighted "Batman Unburied," a Spotify original podcast. Content and advertising manager at Spotify, Dawn Ostroff, hosted a discussion that included Winston Duke, the voice of Batman/Bruce Wayne, Hasan Minhaj, the voice of The Riddler, and Peter Girardi, executive vice president of alternative programming for Warner Brothers Animation. The quartet explored why audio is the perfect platform for telling this iconic story. If you've already made your way through the first season, don't worry: the second season is on its way, faster than the Batmobile to the crime scene.
Want more of the actual Spotify Beach experience? Listen to a voice postcard from the team that made it all happen (with a little sleep) on Spotify For the Record podcast.
Representation: Outside Voice IRL
Representation was a big topic of conversation both on Croisette and at Spotify Beach. To amplify historically marginalized voices, we brought back one of our first-ever IRL audio programs. Our Outside Voice panel featured journalist and host of Spotify original podcast "Jemele Hill is Unbothered," Jemele Hill, and voice actor and co-founder of the Voice Actors of Color Association, Joan Baker. The discussion, titled "Acting Behind the Microphone," explored lifting the voices of historically marginalized communities and how Hill and Baker, as women of color, create opportunities for others. Season 3 of Outside Voice is now available on Spotify, along with previous seasons featuring 21 impactful coordinators using their platforms to make meaningful change.
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