REPORT: 5% of Cannes Lions winners tapped into generative AI
5% of all the Cannes Lions 2023 winners tapped into generative AI. The most common way to use gen-AI was to crate images, with 3% of the Cannes winners capitalized on it. Looking at the specific image-generation tools, Stable Diffusion was most widely used, followed by DALL-E 2 and Midjourney.
“Even if you weren’t familiar with generative AI before, after November 2022, it was impossible to hide from it. Despite gen-AI platforms such as Stable Diffusion, DALL-E 2, and Midjourney being launched earlier that year, the massive mainstream breakthrough happened with ChatGPT”, comments Lähdevuori. “Taking into account the Cannes Lions entry deadline of April 2023, it didn’t leave too much time for the entered campaigns to really capitalize in gen-AI. That’s why we think the 5% is a rather big number. This is also why it can be well anticipated that this number will increase next year.”
When it comes to artificial intelligence in general, 10% of Cannes 2023 winners used it in their campaigns. This means that half of the campaigns that used AI used the generative side of it. Even though the use of gen-AI is gaining popularity, the number of winners who used AI in general was the same in 2023 as it was in 2019 and 2018, when Kurio published their latest AI reports with Cannes Lions. “The numbers being the same as a few years ago raised two hypotheses. It is possible that these AI crazes come and go, with marketers always tapping into the new shiny toy, or it might be that AI has simply become such an everyday part of marketing campaigns that people don’t state the use of it in their entries,” comments Lähdevuori. “Either way, gen-AI seems to be the bigger winner here. This year, at least.”
Cannes Lions is the most significant competition of the marketing & advertising industry, and a leading festival on creativity. The 70th annual Cannes Lions was held on 19th – 23rd June 2023. The World-Class Lessons On Generative AI in Marketing was released for the first time. Its sample was the entirety of the Cannes Lions winning campaigns, spanning all 32 categories, and 479 campaigns.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Jari Lähdevuori
Creative Director & Partner
Kurio // The Social Media Age(ncy)
jari [at] kurio.fi
+358 (0)50 530 6630
ABOUT THE PUBLISHERS:
Kurio // The Social Media Age(ncy)
Kurio is a social-first creative agency, helping clients do effective marketing and communications via digital channels.
Cannes Lions
Cannes Lions is the most significant competition of the marketing & advertising industry, and a leading festival on creativity. The 70th annual Cannes Lions was held on 19th – 23th June 2023.