Imagine Don Draper, the suave, cigarette-wielding ad man from the golden age of Mad Men, waking up in 2025. His smooth pitches, once delivered in smoky boardrooms, now collide with AI dashboards, creator collectives, and rapid-fire multi-asset campaigns all happening in real time. Instead of a single brilliant idea, Don now wrestles with dozens of iterations, influencer livestreams, and data-driven insights all on his smartphone.
“There aren’t new rules of marketing,” Don mutters as he scrolls through analytics, “but there is a new pace and scale.”
The pace is dizzying. Campaigns don’t just flash and fade; they age like wine, gaining strength over months and years through consistency and repetition across multiple channels. Control of the brand? Don’s old-fashioned iron grip loosens. Brands live in creator communities now, open to remixing, reinterpretation, and authentic cultural conversations. “Trust the creators,” echoes in his mind, as he watches a viral dance challenge riff off his latest campaign.
Speed, powered by AI and data, moves marketing faster than the speed of Don’s old cigarette smoke rings. Yet, the core remains: strong creative ideas that form platforms or universes, big, adaptable concepts fueling a multitude of expressions.
As he toggles between emotion and metrics, craft and algorithm, Don grips a timeless truth: “Marketing hasn’t changed, but marketers must.” With a rueful grin, he embraces this new world where some things never change... they just move faster.
Cannes Lions Unpacked
This playful scenario captures the essence of an event held on August 28, 2025, called Cannes Lions Unpacked: a The Marketing Society initiative that examined Cannes Lions 2025 highlights and reframed creativity through the lens of Asia. It was clear from the day’s rich discussions that creativity today extends far beyond traditional advertising and permeates all aspects of marketing.
The event spotlighted a fundamental reality: marketing’s game has changed in pace and scale, but the rules remain rooted in consistent storytelling and strong ideas.
Consistency emerged as a critical theme. Contrary to fears of rapid campaign wear-out, many insights shared revealed campaigns can and should age like wine, growing in strength by reinforcing a brand platform over time rather than burning out quickly. This long-term view challenges marketers to think about sustained presence and evolving narratives in an age of attention fragmentation.
Letting go of brand control was another resounding message. The old top-down brand guardianship model gives way to collaborative ecosystems where creators act as brand co-authors. This shift enables brands to engage more genuinely with culture, making marketing a two-way conversation that builds trust and relevance.
Technology, especially AI and data, now supercharges marketing’s ability to deliver scale, speed, and precision. The rapid pace of asset production from dozens to hundreds in some cases would be unimaginable in Don Draper’s time, yet must be anchored by strategic purpose. Data insights fuel responsiveness and agility but never replace the need for a unifying creative platform.
This technological transformation reflects what Sir Martin Sorrell described as a fundamental industry blind spot. Speaking at the event, he noted: 'It is a new golden age but it's super different. It's not Don Draper, it's totally different and I don't think we have taken that on board.' His warning was pointed, too many still romanticize the whisky-soaked pitch meetings of advertising's past when success now requires agility, accountability, and real-time performance measurement."
Creative ideas themselves have migrated from one-off campaigns to platforms or universes consistently applied ideas that can be adapted broadly across channels, markets, and moments. These platforms are no longer linear ads but living systems that engage consumers at multiple touchpoints, accommodating the complexity of modern media landscapes.
Asia’s role in this evolution was celebrated with enthusiasm. Far from simply adopting global trends, the region is creating new models of creativity, blending cultural nuance with hyper-digital execution. The creative confidence emerging from Asia signals a leading role in the global marketing conversation.
Closing reflections emphasized that creativity is no longer just about communications; it is a key business driver of growth that must seamlessly link with business metrics and organizational strategy. The future demands marketers who can navigate the high-speed, data-rich world while staying creatively anchored to purpose and emotion.
So, if Don Draper could speak to today’s marketers, he might say this: While the marketing landscape has transformed dramatically, speeding up, scaling out, and democratizing creativity, the essence of the craft remains. It’s about telling consistent stories, embracing imperfection, unlocking creative collaboration, and combining human insight with technology’s power. Marketing hasn’t changed, but marketers must.
And mastering that delicate balance, as Cannes Lions Unpacked so vividly reveals, is the key to winning in today’s ever-evolving marketing universe.
Image credit: OpenAI & ChatGPT
Writing credit: Lex Bradshaw-Zanger supported by Perplexity AI
Lex Bradshaw-Zanger, Chief Marketing & Digital Officer, L’Oréal SAPMENA Region & The Marketing Society, Singapore Board Member
