With a yearning for simpler times and lighthearted relief coupled with inclusive narratives that drive societal shifts and a worldly desire for hybrid escapism, new attitudes toward consumption that revolve around core moments in the everyday are changing people’s relationships with brands, businesses and organizations across the globe.

Philip Thomas, Chairman of LIONS, said: "The body of Lion-winning work that emerged from the Jury rooms points the way forward, and demonstrates the power of the industry to drive change, build businesses and shape society."

So what were the key takeaways from this year’s Cannes Lions 2023 winners? We explore the insights behind the ads.

What’s the theme? Light Relief

What did we learn: As the stress of the cost of living crisis grinds on people’s sense of safety and security, people are looking for brands to bring some knowing levity to the everyday

In Cannes 2023, we saw numerous Grand Prix winners who had effectively understood how to help people unwind without trivialising or undermining people’s feelings of anxiety. Early in the week, we saw British Airways scoop up a Grand Prix for their OOH campaign ‘A British Original by Uncommon Creative Studio, London.

A series of billboards presented audiences with three choices around reasons for travel, such as ‘Business, Leisure or ‘Stag Do. Pray for me.’ The humanisation of the travel experience combined with a distinctly British, hun-esque tone of voice works because in making people laugh on their way to work, it briefly harnessed the same feeling that people feel when they travel and built a sense of no-frills escapism into people’s daily routine.

Meanwhile, Apple scooped the highly coveted Grand Prix in the film category with its ‘Relax, It’s iPhone – R.I.P Leon’ campaign by TBWA\Media Arts Lab. In the spot, a man sits with what he thinks is a dead lizard and texts the owner saying that he killed Leon (the lizard). But when Leon springs back to life, he can unsend the message. The copy that follows says simply, ‘Relax, It’s iPhone.’ There’s a similar sense that Apple understands our anxiety and is comfortingly, playfully asserting itself as a helpful tool for managing whatever challenges may come our way.

What’s the theme? Inclusive Innovation

What did we learn: In search of greater representation, people are utilising technology as a means to create a more inclusive world

In Apple’s Grand Prix-winning campaign, The Greatest, the advert spotlighted the range of accessibility features across its devices, demonstrating how features like Voice Control and Door Detection can significantly assist those living with disabilities. The campaign provides a refreshing look at different ways people with disabilities can utilise Apple products while presenting an exciting step forward to embracing inclusivity and accessibility among disabled consumers.

Inclusive innovation was also at the heart of Michelob Ultra Dreamcaster’s campaign, created by FCB New York. The advert, which won the Entertainment for Sport Grand Prix, highlighted how Cameron Black, the first blind journalist to commentate on a live game during the NBA Playoffs, was able to do so by using Michelob Ultra’s ‘Dreamcaster’ platform. Through data and A.I., Black was able to feel different moments and movements throughout the game, thanks to the mix of real-time sounds, vibrations and braille data to create an immersive sensory experience. With Michelob Ultra’s plans to make this tech accessible to all in October 2023, it highlights how brands are not only getting in on the accessibility conversation but are seeking to change it.

The Grand Prix winner for Innovation offered an equally moving example of how technology is providing accessibility for all. The Augmental “Mouthpad” advert by Wunderman Thompson, demonstrates how those with disabilities have struggled to unite with their computers and smart devices and how Mouthpad’s tongue-driven interface can control computers, smartphones, or tablets via Bluetooth. The emotive ad presents an important conversation around the need for hands-free computing and how these products can radically transform day-to-day lives beyond what we imagine.

What’s the theme? Lore Escapism

What did we learn: As global conflicts roll on, people are embracing the chance to get lost in the lore of anything and everything even if it's entirely fictional

While a number of high-profile winners at Cannes 2023 were about truth, transparency, and inclusivity, others were about allowing people to get lost in fictional worlds – creating and expanding lores to encourage deep-seated feelings of fandom. For example, The FIFA x Ted Lasso campaign brought together two fervent groups of fans, bringing Ted Lasso outside of its own lore and universe, and colliding it with the very real-world nature of FIFA. Winning the Brand Experience and Activation Grand Prix at Cannes, the campaign's success highlights how effective the blending of lores can be – with fictional characters bleeding out into the real world, rather than being confined to their own universes.

Taking a similar path was Clash of Clans, with its 10th-anniversary campaign – which scooped Grands Prix in both Gaming and Entertainment categories. The campaign centred around a 40-minute documentary, that re-imagined the history of the game and its inception. Instead of creating a straight-up documentary, Clash took the chance to create a deeper and more intricate lore for the game – ignoring the truth and a real representation of history, and instead creating a more immersive and enjoyable timeline. With the documentary suggests that Clash came into being in 1982 – 30 years before it did in the real world – the campaign was full of fauxstalgic campaigns with the likes of Topps, Champion, and General Mills, all of which didn't actually exist.

In a time where people are looking for an escape, sometimes the real world isn't enough – but rather than relying on people to enter into fantasy, the success of these campaigns shows that there is an opportunity to bring the fantastical into the real world. People are always looking for history, heritage, and lore, in both the real world and those of fantasy, but that doesn't mean the two can be interchangeable and co-exist.

What’s the theme? New perspective

What did we learn: As our relationship with technology becomes more interconnected, people are excited by AI’s creative potential

In an age of information overload, it’s hard to cut through the noise, but a selection of this year’s Grand Prix winners stood out by dreaming big. Nike notably set a new standard for data-driven innovation with their Nike Never Done Evolving ft Serena Williams campaign, created by WPP-agency AKQA. The year-long study of Serena Williams’ on-court technique at every stage of her career used machine learning to develop a new playbook of training models and products for aspiring athletes, but also in a match between two Serena avatars – the first from her first Grand Slam victory in 1999 and the second from her Australian Open win in 2017.

With persistent fears around AI, this campaign showed how machine learning can elevate and support human ambition, with the technological feat of the campaign itself also celebrating the innately human drive to continue to evolve. As a multi-pronged playbook for how to inspire a new generation of athletes, Nike’s approach stood out.

So too did Stella Artois’ campaign, which took the audacious approach of applying algorithmic analysis to historic paintings in the Bellas Artes Museum in Argentina. The algorithm took Stella Artois’ long history and generated an ‘Artois Probability’ to see whether the beer in these paintings would have been a Stella. After creating this percentage per painting, the campaign also included a real-life exhibition that invited people to discover the Artois Probability themselves with a specially created app that was used on the paintings. As brands begin to get creative with AI to integrate themselves deeper into culture, it's making space for new perspectives that rethink cultural legacy through a tech-hued lens.