Photos by Joffray Jouve & Mike Fox

Cannes Lions sets the global standard for what exceptional marketing and creativity look like.

The festival attracts over 12,000 attendees from nearly 100 countries, with a significant percentage of delegates holding senior roles. This density of decision-makers and industry influencers creates unparalleled networking opportunities through private and invite-only events across Cannes, France. Some of the biggest brands in the world attended Cannes Lions this year and made memorable experiences for everyone who believes in their journey. Read below.

Amazon Port

Amazon Port wasn’t just a beach club – it was a strategic crossroads of creativity, commerce, and culture, delivering a powerful, experience-led narrative that resonated on emotional, intellectual, and technological levels. It demonstrated how brands can use immersive environments to tell richer stories, forge real connections, and make meaningful announcements – a real blueprint for future festival activations.

TikTok’s Private Hotel Carlton Garden Experience

TikTok transformed the Carlton Hotel Gardens into an interactive “TikTok Garden.” Attendees immersed themselves in creator demos, hands-on content creation stations, branded swag drops, and “Only on TikTok” surprises. The highlight was the invite‑only closing party. The energizing dance floor was driven by stellar musical talent and cultural flair, with sounds from DJ Shu.

TikTok’s Hotel Carlton presence showcased strategic brilliance: a dynamic, immersive environment connecting creators, brands, and marketers warpped in social energy and cultural momentum.

ADWeek Activation At Hôtel Barrière Le Majestic +  Adobe’s Living Gallery

A dedicated branded house at ADWeek spanned multiple days (June 15–20), packed with fireside chats, group conversations, and panels covering retail media, AI, creator economy, brand-building, and more – co-hosted with partners like Teads, Zeta, Albertsons, Nativo, Nestlé, Accenture Song, GumGum, Acast, Tracksuit, among others. 

Along with private brand experiences, Adobe had their own setup with live artwork creation using Adobe tools, personalized tote‑making, and artistic collaborations that brought creativity to life in real time. Adobe doubled its Cannes presence in 2025 compared to 2024, expanding from Young Lions sponsorships into full-hotel immersion and high-visibility brand experiences like signage, cabanas, and partnerships.

DEPT’s Secret Garden’s Exclusive Paradise At J.W. Marriott

DEPT®’s Secret Garden was more than an activation—it was a thoughtfully orchestrated sanctuary of insight. By blending serene hospitality with cutting-edge ideas and real-world application, it elegantly cut through festival noise – making it one of Cannes Lions 2025’s most strategic and curated activations.

The programming aimed to “bring the noise down and the level of conversation up,” delivering substance over spectacle with speakers in partnership with AfriCannes. The experience was no doubt one of the most memorable experiences throughout the festival.

“We know Cannes can be overwhelming. We wanted to create a space that brings the noise down and the level of conversation up.” – Dimi Albers, Global CEO, DEPT®

Canva’s Creative Cabana

At Cannes Lions 2025, Canva debuted its Creative Cabana, a vibrant and immersive beachfront activation at La Plage du Martinez. Titled “A Sea of Ideas,” the space was a true reflection of Canva’s ethos: making creativity accessible, collaborative, and powered by smart, intuitive design. The Cabana was designed as a laid-back, beautifully styled retreat where attendees could explore the latest in visual storytelling and AI-powered content creation.

By blending meaningful content, networking, and joyful moments, Canva’s Cabana stood out not just as a product showcase but as a living embodiment of creative empowerment—an elegant mix of purpose, play, and possibility on the Croisette.

Trust us, there was way more to the festival than just these activations! But these were the ones that we attended and stuck out in a major way. Stay tuned for our Cannes Lions 2025 documentary that explores these places in detail!

Why These Activations Matter