First impressions of Cannes Lions
July 2, 2025
This year, I had the pleasure of being part of the Pumpkin Cannes Lions team and attending the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity for the first time. After a week of sun, briefings, lots of AI talk and socialising, I returned to a similarly sunny London with many learnings and memories under my belt.
The Cannes Lions team was led by some experienced Pumpkins, so I could learn from the best. The team gave me thorough advice beforehand and I felt well-prepared for the late nights and early starts.
The prep meant the festival was exactly what I expected. Lots of activations down the Croisette, many brands hosting their workshops and panels and a fair bit of who can do it bigger and better on flashy yachts. The festival is as much about what happens outside the Palais as inside; it’s all about the fringe events, the networking and the parties.
Cannes Lions doesn’t start on the Croisette, it starts at the airport. We were bumping into journalists and clients at check-in, and one client even made a new business lead on the flight out.
Activations
The activations and brand houses were numerous. Wall Street Journal House was one of my favourites, its chilled vibe made briefings there particularly relaxed. It also had a wellness room which, after the parties and late nights, I’m sure many people turned to. It was also host to famous faces delivering sessions including Jimmy Fallon, David Beckham and Ryan Reynolds.
Amazon Port was another personal favourite especially with its different experiences to try out, such as an AI perfume lab where a personalised scent was created based on your answers to questions. This was a very cool and creative idea from Amazon using AI, allowing you to leave with something far more memorable than a tote bag.
Pinterest beach also had some clever ideas with numerous workshops where you could embroider a cap, create a tin wallet with personalised items inside and even get a tattoo, which probably wasn’t the smartest idea in 30-degree heat.
Highlights
The Pumpkin press party stood out for me. From the excitement of getting ready with my colleagues and decorating the cheese board, to shifts on the door welcoming journalists and new contacts made. There is no shortage of fancy parties at Cannes, but our low-key gathering with familiar faces and McDonald’s fries makes it a special, relaxed way to kick the week off. For a first timer at Cannes and as someone who’s been working at Pumpkin for almost a year now, it was a great way to put faces to names and see everyone I’ve been emailing back and forth over the past year together in one room.
Key takeaways and recommendations
Apart from the obvious housekeeping like making sure you have a portable charger, a fan and maybe some paracetamol, depending on your partying habits, my main recommendation for first-timers is to keep evenings semi-free. You could meet someone during the day at a networking event or panel and be invited to join a dinner or event that same evening. So, it’s nice to allow for some spontaneity.
The fomo is real. You could be at the buzziest party, but there could always be something better. You can’t be everywhere and people are constantly talking about where you want to be.
It’s not all about work and sharing key messages; Cannes is a great place to form stronger relationships through the casual conversations as well as the more prescripted. Journalists were often more engaged in briefings when clients talked about their personal life and their interests outside of work as well as their work.
Overall, what I loved most about my experience and the concept of Cannes Lions is that it’s all about the people. Bumping into people they know and haven’t seen since last year’s festival, catching up with journalists and clients which is difficult to do with everyone’s busy schedules. At Cannes, everyone’s in one place with one focus.
By Isabella Turner