Cannes 2026: Worth it

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We’ll get to a dispatch of the third day of Cannes Lions, soon—but first, we’ve got to talk about RAYE.

At the hotly anticipated Spotify Beach concert Tuesday night, the British singer-songwriter, who took the stage a little after midnight (following performances by rappers Mike D and Central Cee), wowed the crowd with her effortless vocal riffs and runs—but not before she took a gentle crack at the industry attendees.

“I know this is a corporate crowd, but as far as corporate crowds go, this is a solid six and a half,” RAYE joked to the crowd. “And I’ve performed for some ones and twos.” Later, she spotted a true fan in the crowd, singing along—and sure enough, he was soon displayed on the big screen, beaming and holding up heart hands.

Her performance was definitely a highlight of the week so far, which has also included impeccable French cuisine, extra-healthy pours of wine, and celebrity sightings Morning Brew-wide (including Alan Cumming, Keke Palmer, Flavor Flav, and Alexis Ohanian).

I started my day on a yacht—the Teads yacht, to be precise—moderating a panel with executives from Axel Springer, Teads, Stagwell, and The Trade Desk about news publishers’ path forward through the AI era, especially as consumers look for trusted sources of information, before I sat down with Tamika Young, Hinge’s CMCO, for a conversation about the brand’s strategy. I’m soon headed to another panel with The Harris Poll and the 4As (about their joint study on consumer perceptions of AI use), before capping off the day with another interview.

So far, I’ve gotten to sit down with eight executives across companies and industries to hear about their strategies. A few observations so far:

Millennials are officially dead: Across the Croisette, Gen Z is the target audience for many consumer-facing brands. Millennials? We don’t know her.

Offline is the new online: Throughout the week, IRL marketing has been on full display along the Croisette and a big factor in conversations.

B2B doesn’t have to be boring: This is a line straight from Yahoo CMO Josh Line, who sat down with me yesterday. “A business audience are consumers also,” he said. Words to live by.

More to come on some takeaways from the week in the newsletter and in the next episode of Marketing Brew Weekly, which Jennimai and I are recording tomorrow afternoon. For now, au revoir!