The who’s-who of the marketing and communications world converged from June 22-26 for a week of education, idea exchanges and relationship-building at the 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. Once again, some of the best interactions and experiences took place outside of the Palais des Festivals.
And let’s just say there was a lot happening. So we begin with part one of our coverage, spanning activations, suites and VIP events that took place on the Croisette and beyond. Stay tuned for part deux.
ADOBE EVERYWHERE
As the first-ever headline partner of LIONS Creators, Adobe’s presence was spread far and wide across the festival this year, and decidedly creator-focused. Case in point: Creator Beach behind the Palais operated as a content and podcast studio, venue for panels, and place to explore the Adobe Firefly creative studio through interactive activations powered by Firefly APIs.
Meanwhile, the Majestic Hotel returned as Adobe’s home base, where the Adweek Sunset Cocktail Series with executives from the NFL, Ulta Beauty and Walt Disney Imagineering went down, among events.
Additional programming included an expanded experience at the Parvis with activations hosted alongside L’Oréal and Disney Imagineering, rooftop panels at The Carlton with LinkedIn, sessions at Stagwell’s Sport Beach, and a presence at Pinterest’s Manifestival, where Adobe powered a Pinterest Visual Search activation, during which on-site designers used Adobe Express to help attendees discover their personal style and create custom-printed journals.
Photos: Courtesy of Adobe
AMAZON’S PORT
When in France, do as the French do. At least that seemed to be Amazon’s take. The brand brought its larger-than-life Amazon Port experience back to Cannes, this time crafting a French village-themed footprint, with “storefronts” set up along “Le Boulevard d’Amazon” representing different Amazon properties, like Twitch and Prime Video.
Each shop offered its own experiential moment. IMDb drew caricatures, Twitch dished out ice cream, Prime Video ran a bookshop, Fire TV hosted a sports pub and Wondery provided a gratitude garden. A hidden, self-guided speakeasy, where attendees could uncover campaign strategy insights away from the main crowd, rounded out the boulevard.
The central activation was Rue Visionnaire, powered by AWS. Visitors used an AI agent interface to build an entire business from scratch, across ideation, branding and operations, before earning a physical key that triggered a “grand opening” for the biz, complete with a proposed logo, brand identity and live ad campaign across Amazon’s ecosystem, including Amazon.com, Alexa+, Prime Video and Twitch.
Of course, there was plenty of content to consume on the Amazon Port main stage. Brand execs explored advertising’s next era of creativity alongside a slate of top-tier speakers, like Priyanka Chopra Jonas, Questlove, NFL cmo Tim Ellis, Kevin Durant and Candace Parker. And on the Cannes main stage, Oprah Winfrey discussed her new Amazon partnership.
Other highlights: The Amazon Ads Gazette, a publication that featured thought leadership and tactical insights from 30 partners that was displayed in a French newsstand-inspired installation; the Amazon Port Café, serving coffee, croissants and conversation, and all-day beverage service; and a series of happy hours and entertainment events throughout the week, including some invite-only affairs. (Agencies: Salt Productions; DesignScene; Pinch Creative)
Photos: Courtesy of Amazon
BLOOMBERG MEDIA’S BISTRO
Bloomberg Media returned to BOBO Bistro with a “Good Business” programming hub that played host to invitation-only breakfasts, luncheons and curated dinners throughout the week. Senior leaders gathered to discuss subjects like corporate reputation and what it actually takes to move business forward, and how AI is reshaping advertising’s services layer, all topics that Bloomberg’s own research shows is top of mind for modern brand execs.
To boot, “The Executive Table,” a short-form video series filmed on the Croisette, captured candid moments with marketing and biz leaders that aired on Bloomberg TV and digital platforms.
Photos: Courtesy of Bloomberg Media
CANVA’S CREATIVE CABANA
Canva and its surfing-themed Creative Cabana, in all its whimsical glory, returned to Cannes to double-down on the industry’s modern rallying cry: that in an AI-driven world, human connection and creative access matter more than ever—which makes experiential matter more than ever.
Content-wise, the brand hosted an experiential-themed brunch, and hosted packed sessions and panels on the High Tides stage, which was surrounded by a pool-tile-themed backdrop, a real mini pool with floats, and surfboard and lifesaver décor.
Design- and activation- wise, the footprint spanned a confetti shower, which is just what it sounds like; a Creative Juices juice bar; a Creative Surf Shop featuring brand merch; beachy photo ops with messaging like “Out of office, in good company”; a themed Find Your Brand Flavor gelato bar; and a Post Card Parlour for selecting and sending real post cards.
Photos: Courtesy of Variety
CÎROC’S ATHLETIC CLUB
Cîroc brought its traveling Athletic Club platform to the Château de la Croix des Gardes, positioning it as a daytime hospitality destination built around leisure and organic connection, rather than definitive brand activations. The experience included social aspects, like live djs, and pickleball lessons with celebrity coach Matt Manasse, as well as wellness and recovery offerings, including massages, IV drips, and beauty touch-up stations, all alongside craft cocktails. To boot, Cîroc provided shuttle service and shipped custom merch directly to attendees’ homes. (Agency: Team Epiphany)
CYMBIOTIKA’S WELLNESS SAMPLING
Supplement brand Cymbiotika popped up in several spaces at Cannes with a focus on hospitality and wellness, including at the Cîroc Athletic Club, where it operated a custom frozen lemonade cart featuring Frozen Immunity Lemonade and Frozen Immunity Pink Lemonade, and dished out exclusive co-branded Athletic Club hats, plus Cymbiotika keychains paired with Vitamin C packets.
At the Wellness Oasis x LinkedIn event at the Carlton, Cymbiotika provided a rooftop mocktail experience, a product sampling station and a branded summer shop featuring passport holders, hats, fans, keychains and wellness essentials. (Partners: The Bait Shoppe, The Wellness Oasis)
And at OBB’s “100 Most Influential People” yacht event, the brand created custom food-and-beverage moments throughout the evening, including branded mocktails, gelato, macarons, and jelly bites created specifically for the experience.
GLANCE’S AI FASHION DEMOS
Glance by InMobi made a design statement at Cannes with a fully branded, monochromatic purple venue adorned with overhead garlands, which served as a hub for meetings, panels and major partnership announcements, including launches with Samsung and Motorola. The audience experienced Glance’s AI-powered tech firsthand via interactive demos that allowed participants to instantly see themselves wearing sports apparel and celebrating in the south of France.
For added reach, Glance activated at Stagwell’s Sport Beach, where attendees could engage with the technology and experience the company’s vision for the future of personalized, AI-driven commerce and content discovery. (Agencies: Turnkey, production; Events by Claudia, hospitality)
MICROSOFT’S GARDENS
While many brands lean into a nautical theme while activating on the beach, Microsoft arrived at Cannes Lions 2026 with multisensory gardens to help festivalgoers explore the concept of “human AI,” where nature and tech merge to create an atmosphere where people can connect and discuss new ideas in a way that feels natural.
Attendees were surrounded by lush plants and flowers, a tranquil color palette and tactile materials as they listened to panels, sessions and fireside chats about AI agents’ impact on the funnel, marketing leadership in the AI economy and more. There were also curated events, including a Black Joy Brunch, and content moments, like a branded, garden-themed Polaroid photo op.
In addition, messaging across the space read “Find your flow,” and visitors had a chance to create personalized Flow State Mantras and AI-generated artwork designed to help them discover what being “in flow” means to them, and how it can help professionals think, create and connect in different ways. (Agency: Wonderland)
MOTOROLA’S COLOR-CODED EVENT
On June 23, Motorola took over the Villa Archange, and in partnership with Pantone, created a color-coded outdoor event, an apt setting for invited creators, media and industry leaders to discuss how technology is increasingly shaped by color, design, craftsmanship and culture.
The main event was a conversation led by Motorola and Lenovo cmo Emily Ketchen, alongside execs from Pantone and Bose, that explored how elements linked to fashion, luxury and self-expression, from color palettes to premium finishes, are redefining consumers’ expectations for modern tech.
Other key touchpoints included a phone accessory bar featuring crystal charms from Swarovski (only in Cannes…), a custom menu whipped up by chef Bruno Oger and a live illustrator who captured attendees’ personal style.
Photo credit: Motorola
REDDIT’S DELI
In true Reddit form, the brand brought a multifaceted, two-story Community Deli to Cannes to demonstrate how conversations broaden the consumer decision journey, and that Reddit is where those conversations are happening. The space included playful wall decals that were tied to the platform’s top 100 most active subreddits, and festivalgoers could scan any of them with their phones to jump directly into those communities.
Of course, an actual deli menu was available, giving attendees a chance to order sandwiches based on their personal interests, while a Sweet Success aisle included a candy bar and showcased how brands have found success on the platform via tablets, and an aisle of “shelf-stable” food items each featured a Reddit conversation on the back. A hard soda bar inspired by trending communities and Reddit merch were additionally on tap.
For marketers looking to dig deeper, the Fresh Cave showcased how Reddit’s community intelligence can power smarter, more efficient marketing. And a second-floor Conversation Studio offered programming and industry discussions all the week.
Before attendees left the space, they were given a fresh bloom that represented “giving someone their flowers.” Nice.
VARIETY’S PANEL PARTNERSHIPS
Variety lived up to its namesake with a range of experiences and events at Cannes, from a Brand Visionaries happy hour presented by Google TV featuring cmos from the likes of Crocs, Instacart and Fanatics, to its c-suite taking the stage and networking with executives at the Canva Creative Cabana, to a private Canva x Variety Supper on the Croisette presented by AWS, to a Brand Entertainment for Fans panel led by Walmart, the NFL and L’Oreal USA, and presented by Walmart Connect.
Photos: Courtesy of Variety
YAHOO’S EXPLORERS SOCIETY
With its most ambitious Cannes activation to date, Yahoo transformed La Plage du Martinez into the Yahoo Explorers Society, a nautical-themed gathering space inspired by Jacques Cousteau and the brand’s standing as one of the internet’s OG search guides.
Built around the launch of Yahoo Scout, the company’s new AI-powered search engine, the experience blended hospitality, tech and storytelling, with themed destinations like The Loading Bar, The Nav Bar, and The Engine Room, plus premium meeting spaces for industry conversations throughout the week.
The centerpiece was a giant, traveling purple submarine installation showcasing Yahoo Scout, appearing both at the beach and on the Parvis beside the Palais des Festivals, featuring product demos, content capture and giveaways.
Programming spanned guided meditation and journaling with Yahoo Mail, rapid-fire pitch coaching with Yahoo Finance’s Brian Sozzi, and a soccer-themed evening celebrating culture and community with Yahoo Sports. The week culminated with an exclusive concert headlined by dj Tiësto.
Stay tuned for the full Explorers Society case study. (Agency: Amplify)
Photo credit: Lawrence Howe Photo
Featured photo: Courtesy of Informa
