By Joanna McElnea, Community Manager + Disability Advocate, Creative Spirit
Activations that piqued our interest
The First-Ever Cannes MetaVerse Disco supporting Creative Spirit!
Gary Vaynerchuk’s VaynerX, their long-term diverse hiring partner Hidden, and non-profit Creative Spirit have joined forces to bring the metaverse to Cannes Lions in a first-ever phygital party at the festival. The party aims to democratize access to what are otherwise elite events and create global awareness of Creative Spirit, an organization that matches individuals with disabilities, particularly those with intellectual, developmental, and learning disabilities, with fair wage jobs at the best companies in the world.
The event will take place in two forms on the evening of Thursday, June 23rd – a physical Yacht Disco Party on the VaynerX Yacht in Cannes, and, concurrently, a metaverse Beach Club Party taking place in Voxels’ virtual world, built by imnotArt. Partygoers at each event will have the chance to interact – the live DJ set on the yacht will be streamed into the Voxels imnotArt Beach Club, providing the Cannes vibe to the global virtual audience, and all attendees will hear stories from Creative Spirit from around the globe (with signed delivery for the hearing impaired). Virtual attendees will have the opportunity to participate in interactive activities such as a treasure hunt.
VaynerX and Hidden hope that the event will provide a fun moment for anyone to have their first metaverse (and Cannes!) experience while raising awareness at scale for Creative Spirit. Flowcodes on both the yacht and in the metaverse event will link to a Creative Spirit donation page to encourage contributions to this important cause.
People can sign up for the metaverse event here. You can learn more about Creative Spirit here.
We are so grateful to our partners who are also making this event possible, Infillion, Yieldmo, The Advertising Club Of New York, and Voya Financial. Thank you all. we are grateful daily for your support and dedication to our mission to place 1 million people with disabilities in fair wage roles by 2030. Catch you online or in-person this Thursday night.
Great Ads for Good Virtual Exhibition – Vote for your favorites online here
Online experiences are a creative and innovative way to make mainstream experiences at Cannes accessible to those who are unable to attend the event. We have seen several great examples of this throughout the festival this year which we will explore later on.
Infillion Garden – Located at The Majestic Hotel, Cannes Lions Festival – Cannes, France
See their schedule of events here
The infillion garden has a number of interesting experiences.
Their virtual reality experience is accessible to those with sight and hearing. We would love to see this group experiment with other senses to create an immersive reality for other types of consumers with disabilities.
SRMG Pop-Up Experience
We were extremely pleased to see the raps leading into SRMG’s experience. Sadly these are a rarity at Cannes Lions for a variety of reasons; it’s an additional cost to install these ramps on-site, low priority of accessibility on agendas, and undereducation of in-expensive accessible/adaptive alternatives. Although this is a great example of prioritizing physical disability at the festival we as a team are still generally concerned with the mainstream adoption of accessibility for people with disabilities (visible and invisible) at the festival this year. Next year we would love to see more examples of invisible disabilities being included accommodates and prioritized.
Pannels that caught our eyes, ears, or limbs
Diversity Champions Powering the Future of Media, Marketing, and Tech – Infillion
Friday 11:00 – 12:00 – Infillion Garden
The full spectrum of the Metaverse may be years from now, but the initial experience and rules shaping the next virtually immersive, social world are happening now. With mostly male leadership designing the first technologies and experiences for gaming and cryptocurrency, now is the time to break the ceiling. Meet the advocates defining the Metaverse to ensure inclusivity in the following web. https://infillion.com/cannes/
Purpose Driven Progress – Tangible Actions to Achieve DE&I Now – Cannes Lions and The Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media
Monday 20, 16:15 – 16:45 (30min) – The Forum, Palais I
Join the #GeenaDavisInstitute and global brand leaders from #Google, #Meta, and #Mars as they unpack the latest insights and look into the future of DE&I.
The new analysis from the Geena Davis Institute reveals where we are making the most and least progress for gender, race/ethnicity, LGBTQIA, #disabilities, age 50+, and Body Type in Cannes Lions Film and Film Craft Ads from 2020 and 2021.
Come and gain practical recommendations on how we can systemically achieve diversity, equity, and inclusion goals in the global ads. Get inspired and learn from the creative trailblazers driving DE&I onscreen and behind the camera. Find out what actions you need to take now to make a change.
Questions this session will answer:
- Are women finally out of the kitchen, driving, and attending sporting events, or are they still relegated to domesticity?
- Are men shown as caregivers and doing the laundry?
- Are we reflecting the stories of marginalized communities in our global ads?
How to Use Inclusivity to Advance Human-Centered Design? – Havas Health Plus
Thursday 23, 13:00 – 13:30 (30min) – The Forum, Palais I
Delve into what it takes to design with empathy and combat disparity in representation as we forge new ways of working with patients. Some health institutions are leading the way. You’ll hear from the Cognitive Empowerment Program at Georgia Tech and Emory – a living laboratory that empowers individuals with MCI to co-design new technology to fit into their lives.
Learn about their pioneering approach to accessibility and its applications across industries. Understand how radical inclusivity leads to groundbreaking solutions for often-overlooked communities and diverse populations within and outside health.
Design-for-all might be the most significant innovation at play when looking at healthcare innovation beyond pharmacologic intervention. In this session, you’ll find out how to apply it across
Questions this session will answer:
- How can you use inclusivity to advance human-centered design in your work?
- How can you consider all aspects of inclusivity to advance innovation and design across different categories?
- What role does human-centered design play in non-pharmacologic interventions in cognitive decline, and how can you apply these insights to your work?
It’s Not the Time to Pat Ourselves on the Back – Unstereotype Alliance
Tuesday 21, 16:15 – 16:45 (30min), Debussy Theatre, Palais I
For every campaign that has successfully challenged stereotypes, for every pledge to improve diversity, equity, and inclusion, there are still ads that hold society back and industry inequity that proves just how far we have to go. The Unstereotype Alliance will challenge the audience to reflect on their efforts and inspire them to act. Positive stories of impact will be contrasted with negative comments from the public and individual stories of adversity. TV Presenter, Diversity Expert & Award-winning Author June Sarpong will join transgender icon Munroe Bergdorf in a conversation about the criticality of positive representation. Munroe will share her story and shine a light on the urgent change that must be made and the industry’s task to act now.
Breaking Through the Screen – (Re)engaging Audiences With Innovative Experiences – Rodeo FX
Wednesday 22, 14:30 – 15:00 (30min) – Terrace Stage, The Terrace
Connecting with audiences in a post-pandemic world requires new approaches that blur the lines between virtual and physical worlds through communal experiences, both big and small. In this conversation, we will examine three unique experiences from the past year and the creative and technological innovations that will help to shape the brand experiences of tomorrow.
Learn how to re-think engagement towards your audience and walk away with new creative techniques to create more meaningful, even otherworldly connections.
Questions this session will answer:
- Virtual vs. IRL? How can you build an experience that reaches audiences in both worlds?
- How can your brand’s digital assets transform into physical experiences through the latest technology?
- Why is it important to expand your reach into the physical realm and create real-world engagement?
View the full Cannes Lion’s Schedule Here – We just searched for #Accsessability and #Disability and felt right at home with most of the results. Catch you at one of the below panels this week.
Creative Spirit US #hiredifferent
