Marc Pritchard, the chief brand officer at consumer good group Procter & Gamble, thinks the advertising world is becoming less relevant when it comes to creativity.
At the Cannes Lions festival, the world's biggest advertiser announced a series of creative partnerships its says are aimed at reimagining creativity and reinventing advertising.
Pritchard has been a critic of the agency model, this year describing it as archiac and a hold over from the days of Mad Men. He's on record as saying he wants to move much of his ad spend in-house.
The partnerships announced by Procter & Gamble at the Cannes Lions embrace the convergence of advertising, journalism, filmmaking, music, comedy, and technology.
They also bring together creative innovators who "embrace equality and inclusion to create more inspiring creativity" that people want to experience time and time again.
“For too long, the ad world has been in its own world – separate from other creative industries and becoming less relevant to consumers," says Pritchard.
"It’s time to reimagine creativity to reinvent advertising.
"There are vast sources of creativity available, and today P&G is taking action to merge the ad world with other creative worlds though partnerships that embrace humanity and broaden our view of what advertising could be.”
At the Cannes Lions, P&G called on the industry to lead disruption by joining forces with other creative worlds.
Among the partnerhsips is one with singer, song-writer John Legend to explore various aspects of humanity and the human experience, such as parenthood, modern masculinity, music and social justice, with P&G's Pampers, Gillette and SK-II brands.
John Legend says it's critical that those with influence use it to make a positive impact on the world.
"I'm committed to connecting people, opening their hearts and minds and helping them see each other's concerns and aspirations,” he says.
“We can change the game when we talk about justice, community, family and how brands can create products and foster conversations that make the world better. I'm happy to partner with a company that strives to be a force for good in the world and develops thought-provoking creative work that will drive change.”
Another partnership, with Arianna Huffington’s Thrive Global, embeds “micro-step habit stacking” into P&G brands such as Oral-B and Crest, Pampers, Venus, Secret and Pantene, blending cognitive and behavioral science with life science to help consumers reduce stress and improve health.
Huffington says great brands are habits for their consumers and P&G’s brands are daily habits for up to 5 billion consumers around the world.
“Thrive's innovative partnership with P&G is focused on leveraging the daily habit moments associated with P&G products – like brushing your teeth or changing diapers – as a springboard for Thrive's Microsteps, scientifically-backed ways to reduce stress, improve health and increase performance," she says.
"Behavioral science shows that habit-stacking – attaching a new habit to an existing habit so that it becomes a sustainable routine – is the fastest way to build a new habit and make it stick.
"At a time of unprecedented stress and burnout and a mental health epidemic, our partnership represents a new and important way to deliver on our missions of improving consumers' lives and helping people lead healthier, more fulfilled lives through the brands and products they love and use every day.”
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