Getty's Top Three Takeaways from Cannes

Eight days, 350 speakers and one too many glasses of rosé later, Cannes Lions is over for another year. With some of the best creative minds coming together, those in attendance are spoilt with a plethora of beautiful, striking and sometimes strange creative work.

Here are the top three creative trends that shone through to me and my team at this year’s festival.

Immersive visual experiences are the future of advertising

It is safe to say that virtual reality (VR) was always going to be an integral part of discussions at Cannes Lions this year, especially during the two days of Lions Innovation. Much of the shortlisted work featured VR in some way. As the world becomes even more connected through technology, it is no surprise that marketers and advertisers are looking at VR to engage with consumers on a more immersive level.

An excellent example was mentioned during Samsung’s talk on a VR creator’s experience, at the Lumiere Theatre. Marc Mathieu, chief marketing and communications officer at Samsung, showcased shoe brand, TOMS partnership with Charity Water. The footwear company’s campaign titled A Walk in Their Shoes (below) used a VR experience which takes consumers on a trip to Columbia, allowing them to meet a child that they have helped through their purchase. As people crave a higher level of transparency from brands, consumers are looking for something more than just a slogan in campaigns; they crave that human element, which in TOMS’ case was achieved through VR.

VR can enhance our experience of creativity, pushing it beyond entertainment and into education, travel and social good. No doubt we can expect more visual experiences that use VR this year to bring us closer to brands.

The year of creative differences

A noticeable trend that emerged over the week of talks was creative difference. While chaotic visuals featured in some campaigns, a stark contrast of simple designs were also seen in the shortlisted work. At Getty Images, we have named these two artistic approaches ‘Messthetics’ and ‘Silence vs. Noise’. We saw these exemplified throughout the festival and we expect them to continue throughout 2016.

On one hand, there was clear presence of campaigns that aimed to break away from the sanitation of everyday life and celebrate unpredictability through visuals. Volvo Mexico illustrated this in its Airbag Runner campaign (below). The image used shows two people flinging themselves and hitting an airbag, sending all their possessions flying across the room and their faces squirming in contortion. The campaign is a far cry from the usual perfectly staged creative we are used to seeing.

In contrast, we have creative that thrives on a simple and serene visual approach. One piece of work using this came from Tate Modern, which ran an outdoor campaign called 500 Years of Stories (below), which focused on long copy, telling the story behind several works of art, against a white background. The simplicity of the visuals delivers a deliberate and controlled message.

Rebellion stands out

Vogue editor Anna Wintour hosted a talk with Burberry’s CEO, Christopher Bailey that explored the theme of daring to be different and breaking free from the confines of safety. This is a trend we've seen picking up momentum throughout this year, and we have termed it ‘Outsider In.’

Shortlisted campaigns this year showed an appetite for rebellion. Equinox gym launched the Commit to Something campaign that consisted of a series of scenes shot by fashion photographer, Steven Klein. The unusual stories depict everything from a male cheerleader, to a mother who breastfeeds her children in the most unconventional of places. PASSOP’s campaign: #Iam Muslim (below) embraced a similar approach. Images of women wearing Hijab’s with the slogans ‘I am British’ and ‘I am German,’ use political visuals that are confrontational, forcing the eye of the viewers to the image. This rebellion and against the grain creative messaging proved to be one of the popular campaigns at the festival.

Cannes Lions can be relied upon to showcase some of the most brilliant and ground-breaking work from the advertising industry. The trends from this year show how our environmental, technological and political influences impact the visual content we use, and what people demand from brands.