In this episode of the 'Speakeasier', hosts Asad and Shilpa dive into their experiences at the Cannes Lions Festival. Shilpa shares her thoughts on attending Cannes for the first time, discussing highlights such as a panel with Deepak Chopra and AI-facilitated meditation. The discussion shifts to the impact of AI on the advertising industry and its potential to handle tedious tasks, while preserving the need for human creativity. The hosts also touch on the inclusivity of Cannes, the role of content creators, and the evolving industry norms around DEI and drinking culture. Concluding with reflections on the future of the festival, they emphasize the potential rise of quiet, experiential engagements over traditional digital interactions. 

00:00 Introduction and Greetings 

00:28 Word Association Game 

01:13 First Impressions of Cannes

02:13 AI and Its Impact 

08:32 Nostalgia and Content Creation 

12:57 Cultural Appropriation and Authenticity 

15:22 Reflections on Cannes Experience 

17:09 Questioning Brand Involvement in Rituals 

17:49 Nostalgia and Early Brand Influences 

18:36 The Evolution of Media Consumption 

19:21 Trust and Misinformation in Institutions 

20:16 Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Challenges 

22:08 Experiences at Cannes: Fringe vs. Core Events 

24:26 Inclusivity and Representation at Cannes 

27:21 Future Trends and Changing Norms 

33:53 Concluding Thoughts and Future Episodes

The DEI Landscape: Insights from The Grow Up Report

In this episode of The Speakeasier, Asad and Eli convene after more than a year since the last episode to discuss the latest in Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI). 

Eli joins to share insights from their new report, 'The Grow Up,' which examines the evolving DEI landscape. The conversation touches on recent shifts in corporate DEI policies, responses from organizations like Target and Deloitte UK, and the challenges and opportunities in creating inclusive work environments. 

The episode also explores personal experiences with DEI, complexities of identity, and the importance of understanding diverse perspectives for business growth.

00:00 Introduction and Welcome

00:28 Word Association Game

01:47 Discussion on DEI Landscape

03:52 Insights from the Grow Up Report

05:53 Personal Experiences and Tokenism

14:36 Complexities of Identity and Privilege

20:35 Challenges and Opportunities in DEI

27:13 Conclusion and Call to Action

With more than two decades of experience reporting on media and marketing, Sonoo Singh is one of the most well-known voices in advertising. Formerly editor at Marketing Week and The Drum, she is known for agenda-setting exclusives and high-profile interviews with industry figures from across the world. Today, Sonoo is the co-founder and editor of Creative Salon, a platform to showcase the power of commercial creativity and help nurture the next generation of diverse talent in advertising and marketing.

Sonoo joins us to talk about the power of advertising to influence culture, and how content can be progressive and creative enough to cut through in a world where people pay to skip ads. She also gives her thoughts on how the industry can better position itself as a career option for underrepresented communities, and how the current class of advertising chiefs are creating a ‘new template of leadership’.

Timestamps

(01:31) - Sonoo’s Origin Story

(06:46) - Creative Salon

(11:57) - Advertising’s role in culture

(15:30) - How to turn adverts into art

(20:09) - Leaders perspective on ED&I

(23:11) - Educating communities about advertising

(27.05) - Advertising’s shame about selling

(29.27) - AI and commercial creativity

(35:27) - Rethinking leadership

This episode was hosted by The Unmistakables’ Founder and CEO, Asad Dhunna, and Managing Director, Simone Marquis.

This episode is available to watch along with full subtitles on YouTube.

In the third episode of The Speakeasier, we speak to one of the advertising industry's most acclaimed creative leaders, Chaka Sobhani.

Chaka Sobhani is the Global Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett. Before joining the ad industry, Chaka spent over a decade as an award-winning filmmaker and in television. She set up ITV’s first in-house creative agency, during which time the network regained the no.1 position in the UK, before spending a number of years leading the independent agency Mother. Earlier this year, under her tenure Leo Burnett London won Campaign’s Agency of the Year and Chaka was named Creative Leader of the Year.

In our conversation, Chaka explains why she believes that businesses need to prioritise ED&I as much as new business development, and how leaders can reckon with the time it takes to create meaningful inclusion. Chaka also reveals how her personal origin story drove her to want to tell stories to make others feel represented and connected.

Timestamps

(01:57) - Chaka’s origin story

(07:34) - Finding connection through storytelling

(14:38) - Leading with heart

(18:58) - ED&I is as important as new business

(21:31) - Are we talking less about diversity?

(24:35) - Career growth and self-advocacy

(30:53) - How to reflect as a creative leader

(36:27) - Inclusive leadership post-pandemic

(40:12) - What is the nirvana for ED&I?

This episode was hosted by The Unmistakables’ Founder and CEO, Asad Dhunna, and Managing Director, Simone Marquis.

This episode is available to watch along with full subtitles on YouTube.

From Bud Light to Costa Coffee, trans+ representation has consistently hit the headlines this year following several cases of backlash. In the second episode of our new season of The Speakeasier, we speak to campaigner and industry thought leader Marty Davies about the state of trans+ inclusion in advertising.

Marty is the Joint CEO of Outvertising, the advertising industry’s LGBTQIA+ advocacy group and is co-founder of the grassroots community Trans+ Adland. Witnessing a coordinated backlash against trans+ talent in ads, Marty led Outvertising’s call for brands to stand their ground during Pride Month 2023. More than 120 organisations (The Unmistakables included) endorsed the intervention and the top 10 media agencies committed to divesting ad spend from disinformation in the media. Marty is also Campaign’s first transgender columnist and writes extensively about LGBTQIA+ experiences in advertising in her column, A Queer View.

In our conversation, Marty gives her take on what businesses and advertisers can do to support trans+ communities and how organisations must become allies without putting the burden on trans+ colleagues. She also shares how an industry-wide fear of getting things wrong holds back inclusion and the importance of getting comfortable with the reality of our ignorance. 

Time stamps

(03:42) - Marty and Outvertising’s origin story

(07:12) - Advocacy and community exhaustion

(12:12) - Bud Light backlash reaction

(15:49) - What is allyship in advertising?

(20:26) - Learning from ignorance

(24:08) - Trans+ representation in advertising

(30:06) - Retention and mental health

(32:12) - Ad spend funding trans hate

(38:27) - How to respectfully support trans+ talent

This episode was hosted by The Unmistakables’ Founder and CEO, Asad Dhunna, and Managing Director, Simone Marquis.

This episode is available to watch along with full subtitles on YouTube.

As the CEO behind Cannes Lions, Simon Cook has a viewpoint of the global creative community that gives him unique insight into the state of marketing today. Considered the largest gathering in the creative marketing space, Cannes Lions sets the global benchmark for creative excellence, especially through its prestigious and sought-after awards. 

The Unmistakables has worked with Lions as a strategic partner to embed equity, diversity and inclusion into the organisation and its initiatives. In the episode, we speak to Simon to discuss how Lions has gone beyond commitments to put ED&I into the heart of everything it does, and how recent inclusion efforts shaped this year’s festival and awards process.

Simon is deeply passionate about creativity and is a tireless advocate for creative marketing excellence that drives business performance. In the conversation, Simon gives his thoughts on the changing nature of what is considered creative, the role of advertising in culture today, and whether advertisers and marketers should go back to the basics. Simon also explains how businesses are still stuck in a period of ‘unfreezing’ after the pandemic, and why business leaders need to think about ED&I in terms of relevancy. 

This episode was hosted by The Unmistakables’ Founder and CEO, Asad Dhunna, and Managing Director, Simone Marquis.

To find out more about The Unmistakables and our work with Cannes Lions click here. 

This episode is available to watch along with full subtitles on YouTube.

Timestamps:

(01:30) - Simon’s origin story

(06:00) - Innovating as a legacy brand

(09:30) - Embedding ED&I in the heart of Cannes Lions

(14:17) - Building the business case for creativity

(19:02) - Does creative marketing matter in today’s culture?

(22:35) - AI and the future of creativity

(26:07) - Rethinking skills and definitions

(29:15) - Being an introverted CEO

(30:30) - Global fatigue and ‘unfreezing’ after the pandemic

(34:40) - How to recharge