Khaled AlShehhi, Executive Director of Marketing and Communication, UAE Government Media OfficeCannes Lions 2025 felt less like a festival of fireworks and more like a stress test of truth. Serving on the PR jury, I spent long nights debating whether ideas deserved a Lion once the gloss was stripped away. That perspective shaped seven lessons I carried home, and each one speaks to where brand storytelling is heading next.
Being believed is now worth more than being seen. On day one, Apple’s Tor Myhren warned that AI will not save advertising unless humans raise the standard. Later, our jury dropped a high-gloss submission the moment its impact numbers proved to be guesses. The work that climbed to Gold arrived with proof the public would recognise as real. In an era of deepfakes and automated hype, authority must be earned the hard way.
Authority grows fastest when you bring credible partners on board. Dove’s ‘Real Beauty’ campaign won the Grand Prix in the Glass: The Lion for Change category at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2025 because NGOs, creators and media figures all shared ownership of the message. India’s Lucky Yatra, this year’s PR Grand Prix, paired Indian Railways with broadcasters and a lottery mechanic that turned humble train tickets into national news. The biggest spend wasn’t media; it was relationship-building.
Everyone praises diversity but few show it working in real time. Our jury did. We came from five continents and every corner of communications, so each case was cross-examined for cultural nuance, ethical red flags and lived experience I could never see alone. Early debates felt slower until they didn’t.
By the time we reached the Grand Prix shortlist, the work had survived every angle of attack. When the chair of the jury called for a show of hands – 10 hands rose in 10 seconds. Many voices didn’t create gridlock; they created confidence. If you want fast, decisive calls, fill the room with people who see the world differently.
Creators underscored the same truth. In government, you never put a spokesperson on stage without a clear brief. The rule now applies when you hand your story to an influencer. The Social and Creator Grand Prix, ‘Vaseline Verified’, proved it. TikTok dermatology voices received the brand’s lab results up front and freedom to film in their own style – sometimes playful and sometimes clinical.
Safe hacks earned a ‘Verified’ stamp while dangerous myths were debunked by the same creators. Because the message arrived through trusted voices, followers believed it instantly and spread it widely. Credibility that you can’t buy was amplified to millions in minutes.
The same demand for openness echoed on the sustainability stage. Ad Net Zero used Cannes to publish its latest carbon-measurement framework and called on brands to release emissions data as openly as financials. Gulf regulators and mega-projects are moving toward full carbon disclosure in supplier tenders; marketing briefs won’t lag far behind, so this ‘radical transparency’ will reach our tender desks sooner than many expect.
Elsewhere, analysts conceded that a single universal metric for marketing is fantasy; brands must embrace multiple measures and show their working. Sunlight is expanding, and anything opaque –whether carbon footprint, fees or research methods – will soon look suspect.
The Design for Behavioural Change Lion also earned the spotlight. Lucky Yatra used the chance to win a trophy, showing how it altered commuter habits. Another winner, ‘Caption With Intention’, rewired video captions so deaf viewers could feel suspense, humour and irony. Ideas that change what people do – not just what they remember – now set the creative bar.
Pure PR success came from ideas born for conversation, not media spend. Nordea Bank’s ‘Parental Leave Mortgage’ let parents pause repayments during leave and spread through press coverage without a hero film.
In the jury room we pressed every contender with three questions: Is it culturally urgent? Can it move without paid support? Will it survive fact-checking tomorrow? Campaigns that cleared that bar soared; those that relied on rented attention faded.
So, what should marketers in our region take from Cannes? First, prove impact before you proclaim it, because audiences now inspect the footnotes. Second, invite unlikely partners – creators, regulators, even rivals – because coalitions unlock reach that money cannot buy. Third, design ideas to shift behaviour, not merely impressions; when habits change, headlines follow.
Judging Cannes was a reminder that creativity and public trust are now inseparable. Ideas succeed when they act like good policy: evidence-based, coalition-built, transparent and human. That was the standard we applied at two in the morning in the jury room, and it is the same standard audiences apply in daylight.
By Khaled AlShehhi, Executive Director of Marketing and Communication, UAE Government Media Office
