This piece was originally published in Ad Age

This year was my first time serving as a jury president for Cannes Lions, and it was a career milestone. The Cannes Lions Selection Committee assembled one of the most globally diverse groups of jurors with whom I’ve ever worked. And they came from some of the most cultural places in the world: São Paulo, Shanghai, San Francisco, Stockholm, Spain, Sydney, Paris, Dubai, Johannesburg and the U.S. Their collective experiences made the time we had together a masterclass. I call them the Avengers!

Round one of judging started in April with a video conference call. There, we met Cannes Lions CEO Simon Cook, Global Jury Director Lisa Berlin and the Cannes Lions support team. They briefed our nine selected jurors and then handed it over to me to share my vision for the Entertainment Lions.

My goal was simple: award “true entertainment,” not ads, as well as reward brands that push the category forward. Remember, the Entertainment category was introduced 12 years ago, so it’s still somewhat nebulous. It was critical that our jury defined the category through our choices, or it could be redundant to Film, Cyber or other categories. Entertainment, not just entertaining, was our evaluation compass.

Round two of judging happened in our respective cities with an additional eight Entertainment shortlist jurors folded into the process. This group has the responsibility of helping the team cull the work down even further, so that when we arrive in Cannes, we can focus our attention on awarding the best work in the world. 

Round three of our judging happened in Cannes. We traveled from around the world to collaborate, debate and discuss the best of the best. It was the first time we had all met in person. The energy was great—I made personalized, Taylor Swift-style friendship bracelets for everyone! Then we got to work. Over two grueling days, we reviewed 109 Entertainment selections, selecting 15 bronze, eight silver and three gold awards. We ordered coffee, had intermittent 10-minute “sun” breaks, and in the end we crowned “We Are Ayenda” this year’s Entertainment Grand Prix.

The half-hour documentary from Anonymous Content and WhatsApp chronicles the Afghan Women’s Youth National Football Team and their daring escape from Afghanistan after the Taliban took power in 2021. Detailing how the team used WhatsApp to plan their escape, “We Are Ayenda” positions the messaging service as a safe, secure space. It was a riveting story of trust, sisterhood and courage.

During the judging, we identified a few trends worth sharing for creatives looking to enter this category next year: 

1. The world came to play.

Entertainment is a category associated with Hollywood. But this year, there was exceptional work from Southeast Asia, India, Australia, Europe and South Africa, to name a few. The diversity brought a richness of narrative and cultural insight never seen before in the category.

2. Entertainment is the new upper funnel.

Episodic entertainment, live events and films amplified across a variety of platforms were prevalent. Brands must create entertainment, not ads, and capture audiences with continuous content to build fandom.

3. AI is still MIA (for now).

AI showed up in its purest form as a technology tool, as well as a way to enable entertainment experiences. But it didn’t dominate the Entertainment category in creative ways ... yet. I believe we’re in “the AI age of discovery.” The industry is navigating total AI adoption. Expect to see more creative uses of AI in narrative storytelling next year.