Creative constraint drives smarter innovations
Brands are under increasing pressure when it comes to creative budgets. Although one of the biggest drivers of marketing effectiveness, creative has the reputation of being the one marketing variable that is the hardest to measure and the first to be cut when budgets tighten.
As a result, creative gets trapped in a cycle of safe bets, marginal gains and iterative thinking, all in the name of risk aversion. But this doesn’t have to be the case, and Cannes Lions showed that innovation thrives under constraint. Smart agencies are hacking their way to impact with leaner, faster, and fresher thinking.
Take Budweiser’s “One Second Ads” as a standout example. Budweiser is a brand that’s always connected with its audience through music. With this campaign they selected dozens of iconic songs and crafted ads playing only the first second of each one – enough for fans to recognize the tune for a chance to win. The campaign got over 68 million impressions, 119% more views than the benchmark, over 125k comments, and thousands of coupons redeemed. A campaign so short and fast that no one could skip, and no fan could ignore, a brilliant demonstration of creative budget efficiency that delivered big-brand results without a big-brand spend.
Creativity that connects
It’s all about the true connection brands build with their audience. Being relatable and grounded in real-time insights is what helps cut through the clutter, and with audiences gravitating toward stories that feel human, relevant, and uplifting, it’s not just what you say, it’s how quickly and cleverly you say it.
Ideas that are data driven and based on audience behavior and interests (with a twist of humour and entertainment will be the ones that hit home).
Ikea’s “U up?” is a perfect example of how brands can do this. With only $4.5k in production, “u up?” transformed Snapchat and Instagram DMs into a new sales channel for IKEA. They sent an infamous late-night hookup message straight to people who were experiencing poor sleep, getting them to consider an IKEA mattress as a solution to their sleeplessness. Respondents received a mattress discount, driving immediate conversion with a 36% increase in mattress sales.
AI is a tool, not the idea
AI is everywhere at the moment, and for good reason. When used thoughtfully, AI can help scale creative, personalize content, and accelerate production. But there’s a catch: when the idea becomes ‘we used AI’, it often loses its magic.
Brands must remember: AI should power the concept, not be the concept. The goal isn’t to be futuristic; it’s to be relevant, genuine, and valuable. Use AI to amplify human insight, not replace it.
The majority of winning work at Cannes Lions leveraged AI in a clever way to power ideas and drive scale. Using it as a tool to drive efficiency, rather than a tool to generate creative ideas.
Reactive in real-time
Some of the best campaigns are responsive and reactive to real time trends creating higher brand engagement and resonance. The most impactful ideas at Cannes Lions were less about saving the world, but insightful and entertaining ideas for real brands trying to connect with people in a lighthearted but innovative way.
One of the best, real-time campaigns showcased at Cannes Lions 2025 was ‘Vaseline Verified’. A social-first campaign that turned viral, user-generated hacks into a brand-owned movement by testing trending uses of Vaseline in the lab and validating safe ones. Awarding creators with a Verified badge—similar to the social blue tick—Vaseline reasserted its authority, engaged 450+ creators, corrected misinformation, and drove a record-breaking 63.3M+ interactions, as well as +13.9% retail sales value growth in just one month.
By responding in real-time to cultural moments like the Oscars and TikTok trends, Vaseline didn’t just debunk myths — it reclaimed control of its narrative in the viral chaos, and transformed into a trusted voice in the creator economy, blending science with social to win hearts, headlines, and market share.
Cannes 2025 proved that in a fast-moving, tech-augmented world, real always resonates. From tight budgets to tighter attention spans, the most impactful work didn’t rely on spectacle. It relied on human truths, real-time relevance, and a willingness to do more with less.
Embrace innovation. Use AI smartly. But never lose sight of what people really want, ideas that are honest, useful, fun, and unmistakably human.
To learn more about creative success, take a listen to our recent podcast where we sit down with Vanessa Bolosier, Incubeta’s Creative Strategy Director, and Jessica Hondolero, VP, Creative Solutions at Clinch to discuss creative solutions that take marketing from a cost center to a profit center – helping businesses grow, accelerate and thrive.
