Saatchi & Saatchi’s Love Letter to Creativity Turns 35
PLUS: Inside the B2B Shift at Cannes Lions 2025
Zihan Lyu
June 20, 2025 • Estimated Reading Time: 7 minutes
Hi there,
Day 4 at Cannes Lions brought the heat—on stage and off. From Saatchi’s 35-year love letter to creative risk-takers, to Apple and AXA winning big for campaigns that actually changed lives, Thursday reminded us why we’re here: to celebrate work that’s bold and brilliantly effective.
️ Cannes Dispatch
Saatchi & Saatchi’s Love Letter to Creativity Turns 35
At Cannes Lions Day 4, Saatchi & Saatchi returned with its New Creators Showcase—a 35-year tradition that spotlights new talent and actively commits to it.
The 2025 edition featured 12 emerging creators from across the globe, from the UK to Iran and Lithuania. Each one brings a unique voice—but what unites them is boldness, craft, and a willingness to “just give it a go,” as featured director Billy King put it.
The showcase was introduced with a short film, A 35-Year Love Affair, reflecting on decades of creative discovery and mentorship. As Saatchi CCO Franki Goodwin reminded the Cannes audience, the real commitment is to hiring, backing, and building with the talent.
The message? Real industry change comes when we trade entry fees for opportunity—and turn celebration into collaboration.
Inside the B2B Shift at Cannes Lions 2025
For the first time, B2B took centre stage at Cannes Lions with a dedicated summit hosted by LinkedIn. The B2B Growth Summit drew marketers, sales leaders, and tech innovators to unpack what’s next for business-to-business brand building.
B2B doesn’t mean boring.
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Human connection – LinkedIn’s Jessica Jensen told attendees, “we are humans getting help from AI, not being taken over by robots”. Senior director Kristen Johanson echoed this: “people at businesses sell to other people… human connection is not gonna go away”, and urged B2B brands to “lean into your brand, lead with trust, and build real relationships”.
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AI & storytelling – LinkedIn’s Danielle Medeiros ran an AI-powered quiz, saying “we’re going to get all those delegates…telling stories. And then to watch all that content flood our feed is… really, really exciting”. The summit highlighted video-first engagement (via LinkedIn Studio and Adobe templates) as a powerful growth tactic.
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Purpose-led branding – Danielle advised marketers to “start with purpose: know your audience, your message, and your business goals”, adding that when you “lead with purpose and design with intention, you make an impact”. This underscored how intentional storytelling and clear purpose boost a B2B brand’s strength.
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Next-gen GTM – Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook framed the new B2B Summit as “a natural next step in bringing the global B2B community together in Cannes”. Speakers agreed that blending purpose, story and tech is critical to future go-to-market strategies for B2B brands.
Grand Prix Watch
Axa, Apple, Dove and Dior walk away with gold
Day Four delivered a fresh round of Grand Prix winners—reminding everyone at Cannes that creativity is about both long-term commitment and commercial impact.
Among the highlights:
– AXA turned a home insurance clause into a life-saving innovation, adding “and domestic violence” to their contracts in France—taking home a second Grand Prix for Creative Business Transformation.
– Apple’s Shot on iPhone proved that user-generated content can be a decade-long brand platform—earning it the Creative Effectiveness top prize
– Dove’s two-decade fight for real beauty won Creative Strategy gold—proof that purpose-driven platforms can go the distance.
– LVMH redefined Olympic sponsorship, using the Paris 2024 Games as a stage for luxury’s finest craftsmanship. Dior, Berluti, and Louis Vuitton made history.
Oh, and in Innovation? The UN turned “Nature” into a Spotify artist. Yes, really.
More wins came in for Ziploc, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, and Denmark’s first-ever Innovation Grand Prix via AKQA Copenhagen.
The takeaway? Brands are winning by solving real problems—and building platforms that last.
Partners like Fospha help solve one of the biggest: proving the impact of those platforms. With unified ROAS, incrementality, and full-funnel attribution—Fospha gives marketing teams the confidence to keep investing in what’s actually driving growth.
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Unofficially Cannes Lions Team
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