This report shares highlights from the Creative Impact content stream at Cannes Lions 2024 and features winning work from the Creative Effectiveness Lions. It will show you how to identify and maximise opportunities for business growth.

This year’s Creative Impact stream, co-curated by LIONS and sister company WARC(opens in a new tab), sought to drive the effectiveness conversation at Cannes Lions.

This has never been more relevant in a landscape where so much marketing content is either ignored or actively avoided: System1’s Chief Innovation Officer Orlando Wood claimed in his Debussy session with Sir John Hegarty, ‘The Next Creative Revolution(opens in a new tab)’, that only 6% of the $750bn spent annually on advertising is truly effective.

In short, dull ads cost more money than creatively interesting ads, according to research by System1 and the IPA. To be specific about the scale of the problem: ‘dull’ advertisers in the US (advertisers currently paying for work that is not even registering with audiences) would have to spend $189bn in additional media spend to match ‘non-dull’ advertisers (advertisers successfully engaging with people on an emotional level). So brands that can identify creative opportunities to grab attention, engage audiences and maintain a conversation with them have a significant head start.

Three themes from the 2024 Creative Impact stream