Advertisers Head To France To Do More Than Sip Rose

Advertising giants are set to gather in the south of France for the Cannes Lions festival and celebrate the ad industry. The event will showcase the industry's hottest trends and award savvy creatives for their work on successful campaigns. New Trends This year, attendees are tipping their hats to ethical advertisers whose campaigns made waves this year by pulling on the public's heartstrings. Procter & Gamble's PG "LikeAGirl" advertisements for its Always brand and the ALS ice bucket challenge are among the campaigns being recognized as social media superpowers after their powerful, do-good messages had a major impact across the globe. A New Kind Of Consumer Many advertisers are turning to more socially aware, ethical campaigns in order to reach the growing number of consumers who have become jaded by typical selling tactics. Unilever's UL "campaign for real beauty" for its brand Dove was one of the first of these types of marketing efforts, and its warm reception has pushed other companies to similarly paint themselves as a part of the solution to social and environmental challenges. New Challenges This year's event is also unique in that it has drawn a crowd of relatively new, but equally powerful names like Facebook FB, SnapChat and Twitter TWTR. With digital advertising emerging as a fast-growing trend, Cannes Lions is set to hold several seminars relating to the challenges advertisers face in that space. From controversial topics like digital transparency and ad blocking to new developments in technology like virtual reality, the gathering is expected to spur on discussions regarding how the advertising business will evolve to cope with the rapidly changing digital landscape.