Cannes Lions 2026, a debrief by Deft

Brand moats in a marketing wind tunnel

We spent the week at Cannes Lions absorbing all the conversations across the main stage, the fringe events, in closed meetings and around the table at private dinners. You can read our takeout of the key themes and what we believe this means for the future of marketing.

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See what's inside first

From tools to moats

We've distilled a week of talks into five dominant themes from brands using AI at Cannes Lions 2026.

What makes our view valuable

Ten years coming to Cannes

We read it year on year. Our background in marketing and tech has made us part of the Cannes furniture.

Marketing experts first, AI experts second

We know the craft, not just the tools.

In the game day-to-day

We work inside large enterprise marketing teams. We know the real challenges and can spot the opportunities.

AI your people own

We advocate for excellence through AI, not your people replaced by it.

What's in the report

Five headlines of our key takeouts from across the festival. Download the report to find out more about each.

Robots can't build brands

Good AI vs Bad AI

AI is a wind tunnel

Machines that make things

Brands for humans and agents

The full report

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