Andre is attending Cannes Lions as a shortlist juror, reviewing the work submitted into the Social and Creator category.
On a sun-soaked Cannes Lions stage, where the future of advertising is often hotly debated and algorithmically dissected, Apple’s Tor Myhren delivered a message that cut through the AI noise like a song you didn’t realize you missed. "You gotta feel it."
It wasn’t a technophobic plea, nor a nostalgic throwback. It was a challenge - a call to remember what truly moves people isn’t always machine-generated perfection, but human-crafted imperfection.
Myhren, Apple’s VP of Marketing Communications and Cannes Marketer of the Year, leaned into contradiction. AI, he admitted, is the most exciting tool creatives have ever had. Yet, it’s still just that: a tool. "AI won't kill advertising. But it won't save it either," he said. "That's our job."
Design That Listens - Literally
Apple’s showcase wasn’t about flexing cinematic budgets or hyping flashy new gadgets. Instead, they zoomed in on a humble yet profound feature: AirPods Pro’s ability to double as hearing aids.
It took four years to perfect, a quiet triumph of human-centered design. Myhren shared how it helped his own father, transforming accessibility from a feature into a feeling. It wasn’t innovation for innovation’s sake. It was innovation that listens.
The accompanying ad? Nearly silent for the first 40 seconds. You could almost hear a creative director whispering, “An algorithm would never.”
When Craft Fights Surveillance
Then came Flock, Apple’s surreal ad where surveillance cameras morph into malevolent birds. Every single creature was built by hand—not generated, not rendered. It was human creativity flapping its wings against the numbing sameness of programmatic storytelling.
The point wasn’t subtle. Privacy is more than a setting, it’s a value. And values need artists, not just engineers.
Vision That’s More Than Virtual
Apple also lifted the curtain on storytelling through its Vision Pro headset, blending cinema and immersive tech in ways that feel more Spielberg than Silicon Valley. With their Shot on iPhone campaign turning 10 (and Danny Boyle reportedly using it to shoot 28 Years Later), Apple reminded us that powerful stories aren’t always built in studios, they can start in your pocket.
The Final Take
In a year where Cannes has been buzzing with generative everything, generative copy, generative media, generative strategy, it was refreshing to be reminded that generative feeling still belongs to humans.
As Myhren echoed Steve Jobs’ words, “Make something wonderful,” you could feel the room recalibrate. This wasn’t about resisting AI. It was about leading it. With taste. With purpose. With pulse.
Because in the end, no matter how advanced our tools become, you can’t teach a machine how to make someone cry, laugh, or remember. That takes heart.
And no matter how fast tech evolves, heart still takes the lead.
