The Trade Desk at Cannes Lions: AI evolves creative but human insight still leads
Partner content
By combining responsible use of AI with a focus on protecting brand reputation, The Trade Desk can help advertisers unlock more meaningful, sustainable growth on the open internet.
The advertising industry is at an inflexion point.
With increasing scrutiny on social platforms and growing debate around AI-generated content, brands have a real opportunity to rethink how they invest and engage. This is not about pulling back; it is about investing smarter in channels and partners that prioritise transparency, innovation and long-term value.
At The Trade Desk, we see this as a moment for progress. By combining thoughtful, responsible use of AI with a clear focus on protecting brand reputation, we can help advertisers unlock more meaningful, sustainable growth on the open internet.
As we head into Cannes, the most forward-thinking brands will be those asking the right questions about where their budgets go, how their data is used, and how to balance automation with human insight to maximise this season’s opportunity.
Advertisers drive AI – not the other way round
For the past two years, AI at Cannes has been about rapid progress: volume, speed, scale. This year should be about considered use. What AI does well, and where human judgement still leads.
For most clients, AI’s real value is quieter than the conference circuit suggests: better targeting, sharper insight, more efficient spend. The infrastructure, not the headline.
The businesses delivering results are the ones being specific about the division of labour between AI and the people running campaigns. Precise data, human strategy. That’s the combination that works.
The risk with AI that isn’t governed or audited is that nobody can answer the basic question: who decided that, and why? Brands should be using AI to realise their visions, not the other way round.
At The Trade Desk, we are transparent about the AI that underpins how brands get seen by consumers.
Media buying, previously a similar experience to stumbling around in the dark, can be transformed by AI. Platforms such as Kokai evaluate 20m ad opportunities per second while advertisers retain full decisioning control; advertisers can justify spend in real-time, not just post-campaign.
In a suitably summery example, Campari found that Kokai delivered a 260% increase in household conversions with three channels compared to a display-only campaign.
Trust in AI comes from being able to answer the who and why questions. Someone needs to be accountable.
Salvaging brand reputation from social media
Brand safety used to be simple: keep ads away from harmful content, using categorisation and exclusion lists.
That definition is no longer sufficient.
Recent rulings have exposed serious concerns around social platforms and user protection, yet the industry’s investment model has remained largely unchanged and that now needs to shift.
Brand safety must now encompass the platforms advertising revenue supports, not just the content an ad sits beside. With the UK digital advertising market forecast to approach £45bn in 2026, that money is not neutral, it is a powerful signal of where the industry is placing its trust and investment.
This is why brand safety is now a board level decision. The wrong platform association can damage a brand. Cannes conversations have historically acknowledged this but driven limited action. This year needs to be different. Regulatory scrutiny is rising, reputational risks are well documented, and the open internet offers a credible, scalable alternative.
Consumers are highly engaged online, with social media alone accounting for more than a third of daily internet time. Yet investment patterns have not fully kept pace with how and where audiences engage, or with the environments that offer real transparency.
Correcting that imbalance is not just the responsible choice; it is a commercial opportunity. Increasingly, brands are recognising that and acting.
The era of always-on sports fandom
The summer of sport is becoming the summer of CTV. It is the clearest answer to what brands are asking for: premium, brand-safe inventory, real measurement, and no conflict of interest.
Sport has always delivered attentive, engaged audiences. Netflix moving into WWE and live boxing, and Amazon securing Premier League and Champions League rights, are clear signs of a broader shift already underway.
With the tournament hosted across North America, time zones will push UK audiences towards CTV. Research from The Trade Desk and Appinio found that 88% of sports fans watch live sport on connected channels, including CTV, and 60% of Brits will follow the tournament. ITVX will stream matches free of charge, with STV Player serving audiences in Scotland.
These are high-attention moments in premium, accountable environments. Our research shows that premium CTV is 3.2 times more likely to be seen as innovative and 2.6 times more likely to drive perceptions of success than less premium alternatives. Advertisers know what they are buying, can measure what it delivers, and can be confident in what they are funding.
Every major brand with a UK presence will be asking where its money goes this summer. CTV offers a clear answer. How the industry responds during the World Cup will be the first real proof point of whether the brand safety conversation at Cannes this year translates into meaningful action.
To unlock this opportunity, the industry must be willing to be held to account for where it places its money and its trust. In AI, that means being clear about what the technology does and who controls it. In brand safety, it means recognising that funding a platform is an endorsement of it.
The industry has asked for consumer trust for years. Cannes 2026 is the moment to start earning it.
Phil Duffield is the VP Northern Europe at The Trade Desk