Simon Cook - The criteria of creativity

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