Much like last year, sending a Cannes recap a week after feels like you’re so late to the party, it’s cringe. Work is busy. The inbox was very scary. But we’ve made it. The heat dome couldn’t stop us (though it tried). There are a few goals for this letter/pod: 1) Heap praise on the few brands and orgs that did things well 2) Give a healthy dose of constructive criticism 3) Share how we want to reinvent this whole thing, because what else are two fresh pairs of eyes good for? Quick note: this email will get cut off by all the photos. Carry on in the browser for the pics. Enjoy! Hit the links to skip to the bits you fancy * 00:00 — No five takeaways. One giant episode of hot takes (live from a heat dome). * 03:04 — The many worlds of Cannes, and why we happily fit in none of them. * 08:32 — Creators are walking ad platforms now. And dominated the conversation. * 11:12 — Every AI panel opened with the same Claude-written line. * 13:29 — Amazon built a whole port of partners, but missed the one ‘Amazon’ moment. * 16:51 — Cîroc ditched the panels for a wellness villa. Brave. Smart. * 20:56 — Female Quotient got the memo. Even brought daycare. So many claps. * 24:16 — Canva dominated for many reasons. Their own CMO running the line was icing. * 29:07 — Brand Innovators went bigger. * 29:52 — Pinterest wants you offline, and this year they focused the message. * 33:16 — TikTok’s cold room won. The scent bar less so. * 36:51 — Meta filmed your content for you. And provided a breeze. * 41:06 — Edelman House lived up to the promise. A home away from home. * 43:22 — Our dinner: breathwork, phones away, masks off. Such an amazing evening. * 46:31 — The AI Tech Sandbox was beautifully built, yet empty. We have some guesses. * 46:58 — Yahoo looked very cute. But yet again it was quiet. Minus 1 exceptional dinner. * 47:16 — Uber handed out free pizza at 1am. Kings of the gutter bar. * 49:13 — PayPal’s patisserie was a meeting you wanted to go to. * 50:05 — DoorDash had nice amenities. Next year, they could deliver more (literally). * 51:25 — Google and YouTube became the creator hub they wanted to be. * 53:29 — Breakfast with Knotch and chatting about AI tools that actually make sense. * 54:23 — Our happy hour. Feet in the sand. Lovely company. * 55:04 — Our swim. People want to get in the water. With or without the heat dome. * 55:53 — Substack’s breakfast was cute but needed a host. We have ideas. * 56:06 — Collins House. Always exceptional. Always a breath of fresh air. * 58:28 — Burgers Magic Frites was the house party you really wanted to get into. * 1:00:24 — The Carlton is still worth every visit. Crowded but so many familiar faces. * 1:00:52 — Brands & Culture do it right every time. And Kirsten moderated a panel. * 1:01:59 — LinkedIn’s rooftop was nice, but felt a little less integrated this year. * 1:03:22 — Dept’s Souvenir Shop/Secret Garden were the stars/sleeper hit of the week. * 1:05:10 — The Wall Street Journal brought serenity and great conversations. * 1:07:07 — Sport Beach turned us away. But we still discuss it (briefly). * 1:07:59 — Spotify had the hardest ticket in town. * 1:08:22 — Reddit brought real food, and it felt like a new era for them. * 1:13:01 — Adobe is an OG in Cannes, but might be getting out-hustled by Canva. * 1:13:58 — Snapchat. What. Was. Happening?! * 1:17:39 — Grindr’s bus was pure energy in a little footprint. Winning staff. * 1:18:19 — ManyChat went full analog. But maybe you actually missed the brand? * 1:20:00 — Foster Kramer had the crowd Substack missed. A delight in person. * 1:22:19 — The basement, where the work actually lives. Why you go + what’s missing. * 1:24:02 — The awards, and a real push for human creativity. AMAZON A PORT, NOT A PLACE // Amazon built this whole “port” of partner spaces, Twitch, IMDB. All were very cute. Oprah’s gratitude corner, especially. And the rosé fountain in the bar was cute. But the overall brand felt a bit disjointed. And the heat made fun experiences like caricatures an impossibility. Fixable things. But also next year, the yacht, pls. CÎROC ALLS WELL // Cîroc went bold. No panels, all wellness villa: paddle, massages, IV drips (mildly controversial), a helicopter just sitting there. We bet a lot of brands copy this next year. FEMALE QUOTIENT GOT THE MEMO // FQ leveled all the way up. Down on the beach now, with a charm bar, a very smart matcha-ordering situation, swag you’d actually keep, great line-ups, a rooftop for meetings, and daycare so panelists with kids could still show up. They clearly know their audience. CANVA LIVED VALUES, GOOD VIBES // Canva’s always great, but this year it was an experience the whole way through. Pool stage, good experiential moments, XP Land, the best Pride party on the Croisette. But the best part was their C-Suite running the lines on the last night, so their teams could celebrate. Obviously, no one else would know that. And that’s what was so f-ing cool about it. Very inspiring. Love them even more. BRAND INNOVATORS BIGGER, DARKER, COOLER // Big move to the beach. Private cabana offices around the edges for sponsors. A bit dark but certainly cooler. Like many, the casting of the panels was 1 creator to many brands. Not wrong, but felt a bit traditional. PINTEREST CLEARLY GOOD // Always the most experiential, but this year the message felt tighter: we’re an online platform that wants you living your IRL life. Bleach/hair salon, tattoos themed to their 2026 predictions, DIY notebooks. Only note: they shaded the patisserie, which was kind of the whole show last year. Just wish there had been a way to check in for some experiences as the lines in the heat were TOUGH. TIKTOK COOL BUT SMELLY // Fully enclosed, fully air conditioned, which was lovely. Closing off the room for talks is nice for noise, but hard when running late is a perpetual Cannes-life problem. The build-your-own scent bar inside was tough. Macy’s fragrance floor smells. TikTok has the right team, but really needs to figure out its brand (the kind with a capital B). META SURPRISINGLY ELEVATED // We did not expect “elevated” from Meta, but got it. A whole gradient event sub-brand, a flower Mobius you walk through, very rad uniforms. The creator vignettes (Laila Gohar, Yuki Kawae, Louis Rubi — who did the uniforms, and more) were staffed with creators to help you get perfect content. The only ding was the grumpy staff (not the event producers, who were a delight). In fairness, the heat was criminally difficult. EDELMAN HOUSE A REAL HOUSE // First activation they’ve ever done, and it was the one place that actually felt like a house, not “come see our brand.” AC, coffee, matcha, popsicles, cold towels, happy hour every day, open to everyone. Great clients (hi, Victoria’s Secret’s new CMO), genuinely delightful staff. Nailed it. OUR DINNER MASKS OFF // Twenty people, cocktails, then breathwork with our good friend Michael, then the kind of real conversation nobody else was making room for. Not the 27th creator-slash-AI chat. A meaningful connection in a sea of networking. Thank you to Edelman for giving us the keys for the night. AI TECH SANDBOX GOOD BUT MISSED // Beautifully fabricated. Completely empty. Rows of demos, a robot, and nobody touching any of it. Build for what people want, not for what you want to show them. YAHOO CUTE BUT QUIET // Visually cute, as always. But mostly a meeting space with no real reason to wander in. But Emily Sundberg hosted a dinner there. A big get for Yahoo. UBER FREE PIZZA, ZERO CREDIT // After 1am, right by the gutter bar, Uber gave everyone whole free pizzas. There was a bit more opportunity to own the moment. And given that Uber is essentially the bus system of the entire Croisette, they could go (meaningfully) bigger. PAYPAL SIMPLE BUT WORKED // PayPal took over an actual patisserie for meetings and made it adorable. DOORDASH A+ AMENITIES // Bigger this year and well done. The market of amenities was very on brand. But next year, they could deliver on what they are known for in a cool way. GOOGLE / YOUTUBE THE CREATOR HUB // A functioning restaurant, car experiences, demos, all checked the box. But our friend Trigg told us it became the place creators came to find each other which was cool. Just, please, more airflow. KNOTCH DONE RIGHT // We try to steer clear of ad-tech, but Knotch has a lovely team and a genuinely cool product: custom AI-built websites tailored to each person (their first client is Google, which is pretty rad). This is the AI we like, very Age of Authorship. Not replacing human creativity, just leveling up your experience. Not paid to say it. Just like the folx. OUR HAPPY HOUR & SWIM THE REPRIEVE // Feet in the sand, bodies in the water, brilliant people. Loved it. SUBSTACK MORE TO COME // Held at Collins House. Fantastic venue and great food. And we love the Substack team. But it was missing a bit of energy. Like every intimate party, it would have benefited from a very good host who intro’d you to rad people. Next year, they’ll go bigger, surely. We have ideas. COLLINS HOUSE ALWAYS HOME // Beautiful as ever. Brian and the boys just do it right: interesting speakers, good chat, a great singer at the after-party, and actual wind. People post up there all day and skip the Croisette entirely. Next year we want a speaking slot ;) BURGERS MAGIC FRITES HOUSE PARTY // Felt exactly like a friend’s house party, because it basically is one. Perfect food when everyone’s absolutely ravenous, a more art-side crowd, and a vibe totally different from the corporate day. Loved it. CARLTON HOTEL STILL THE MOVE // Everyone poo-poos the Carlton (too crowded, too much), but it’s still where you run into everyone (hi Lara Jackson, hi Hector). Pricey, delicious, ruthlessly professional waiters, and blessedly air-conditioned. We needed it. BRANDS & CULTUR
