At first glance, diversity and equality dominated the narrative at Cannes this year but the other story was around the growing contempt for the “Technology Hype Cycle”. AR, VR, AI, IGTV, Twitch IRL, and what the fuck is The Alexa Marketing Stack!?

This is just one man on the street’s observation but after talking to cohorts at SXSW, The Webbys and Cannes this year, I can confirm that ad people seem burned out on the “next big thing”. Keeping up can be burdensome, overwhelming and frustrating unless we remember this: New technology and new marketing channels are just fresh ways to tell a brand story. The methods of delivering the story may be changing but a brand is still “the sum total of all the emotions, thoughts, images, history, possibilities, and gossip that exist in the marketplace about a certain company” – Luke Sullivan, 1998.

Here’s a nice wrap-up on the subject from Tasha Cronin, Head of Interactive at Droga5: “Creative agencies that feel the pressure to jump onto the next tech bandwagon need to take a step back toward the basics.” Enjoy.