Uber takes center stage at Cannes Lions: innovation, creativity, and the future of advertising

In 2025, La Croisette buzzed with more than just festival energy, as Uber Advertising returned to Cannes Lions for the third consecutive year. 

Our mission? Simple. Spark meaningful conversations about next-level advertising innovations. Facilitate connections between industry leaders and emerging voices. Share game-changing insights that’ll reshape how brands reach consumers on the move. And demonstrate that Uber isn’t just a platform—it’s a creative, collaborative partner.

While Cannes Lions explored industry transformation and the challenge of advertising in an age of disruption, we came to rewrite the rules of the road. 

Uber Advertising’s presence at Cannes Lions wasn’t just about showcasing our existing capabilities—we wanted to push the boundaries of what’s possible in mobility advertising, from creative innovation to contextual relevance.

And the proof was everywhere.

At the exclusive Uber Villa—a cool, calm oasis designed for connection, indulgence and industry inspiration—we curated a series of thought-provoking panels that sparked meaningful dialogue between brand marketers and industry leaders.

The conversations were as diverse as they were inspiring, tackling a different facet of the evolving advertising landscape:

‘Commerce Media’s Next Chapter: How CMOs Can Turn Consumer Intelligence Into Growth,’ challenged attendees to rethink first-party data strategies. Our LiveRamp partnership featured Paypal’s Mark Grether, Uber’s Kristi Argyilan, CVS’s Parbinder Dhariwal and Live Ramp’s Vihan Sharma in conversation with The Palmer Group’s Shelly Palmer, exploring how CMOs can turn consumer intelligence into growth.

‘Champions of Sports Culture, Hosted by Variety’ brought together Olympic Gold Medalists Jordan Chiles and Tara Davis-Woodhall in conversation with NBA CMO Tammy Henault,  Uber US & Canada Head of Marketing Georgie Jeffreys, and American Express EVP Jess Ling to explore strategies for engaging sports fans—one of the most passionate consumer segments. Moderated by Variety Co-Editor-in-Chief, Cynthia Littleton.

‘From Bondi to the Big Time: Exporting Creativity from the Edge of the World’, examined how Australasian creativity breaks global borders. B&T Editor Tom Fogden brought together a panel of Aussie and Kiwi talent, featuring Leo Burnett’s Andrew Ferguson, Canva’s Cat van der Werff, Uber Marketing’s Lucinda Barlow, and Uber Advertising’s Michael Levine to discuss the strengths of Australasian ideation and why the region exports strong talent globally. 

‘Rules of the Road: Best Practices for Breakthrough Creative,’ unpacked the creative principles that broke through in 2025. In a lively discussion moderated by Campaign Deputy Editor Gemma Charles, the panel brought together BBH’s Karen Martin, McDonald’s Ben Sherburn, Uber Advertising’s Mrinalini Nair, and National Research Group’s Natalie Lacey to discuss what makes creative truly connect – not just in the moment, but in a lasting and impactful way. Listen to our speakers share their biggest takeaways below:

‘Influencing Now: How The On-Demand Economy Won Young Consumers,’ explored how the on-demand economy won young consumers – and how their changing demands impact wider audiences. In partnership with Axios, Global Head of Uber Advertising Kristi Argyilan discussed the paradigm shift among this in-demand audience with Axios’  Nicholas Johnston.

Other speakers included Business Insider CEO, Barbara Peng; Spotify Chief Public Affairs Officer, Dustee Jenkins; Comedian and Content Creator, Jake Shane; and Dotdash Meredith CEO, Neil Vogel.

Beyond the Uber Villa, our team commanded industry stages through strategic partnerships with The Female Quotient, The Drum, T-Mobile, Beet.tv, Criteo, Alter Agents and New Digital Age, leading insightful conversations, while inspiring the industry to create campaigns that truly resonate.

Ashan Khan, Global Head of Agency Partnerships at Uber Advertising, joined industry leaders to explore AI’s revolutionary impact on advertising, from personalized storytelling to transforming media strategy.  Meanwhile, Corey Rados, Uber Advertising’s Creative Strategy Lead, joined FQ’s™ Emerging Platforms Shaping the Future of the Creator Economy, discussing what it means for brands to show up meaningfully in the moment: 

Paul Wright, Head of EMEA Sales for Uber Advertising, joined a Campaign and Criteo panel – ‘From clicks to connection: the return of joyful shopping’ – exploring the future of commerce, examining how brands can leverage AI, performance data and audiences to create more joyful, relevant shopping experiences that go beyond the traditional approach. 

The theme of enhanced consumer connection was continued in separate interviews with Beet.tv, where two Uber Advertising leaders outlined how the platform captures consumers at moments of intent, revolutionizing brand-consumer connections.

Whether it was intimate conversations with industry leaders, or panels at the Villa or on the Croisette, every session delivered the same powerful insight: authenticity isn’t a buzzword—it’s the baseline. Relevance isn’t optional—it’s essential. And being “of the moment” isn’t about trend-chasing—it’s about understanding exactly where your audience is, when they’re there, and what they need right now.

The festival provided the ideal stage for Uber Advertising to spotlight recently announced innovations that signal a new era for ads on the platform, each designed to give brands more creative control, better targeting capabilities, and deeper insights into consumer behavior.

We launched our Creative Studio—cementing bespoke solutions as part of Uber Advertising’s suite of solutions and proving our commitment to being a true creative partner to brands. 

Brands can now harness Uber’s premium Journey Ads surface programmatically in Europe. This expansion represents more than geographical reach—it’s about delivering precision at scale, ensuring brands can connect with Uber’s premium, diverse, and in-demand audience across markets, even if programmatic is their preferred mode of buying.

Understanding that great creative work is both art and science, Uber Advertising’s Global Head of Ads Industry Marketing, Mrinalini Nair, addressed the importance of cultural sensitivity in global creative strategy during our panel: ‘Rules for the road: Creative Best Practices’, in partnership with Campaign UK.

The creative best practices framework draws from millions of ad interactions across the Uber platform to identify what truly drives engagement and conversion in the mobile-first, on-demand economy. 

Perhaps most importantly, Uber’s Cannes presence highlighted the emergence of Gen Uber—not just a demographic, but a mindset that’s fundamentally changing how consumers interact with brands and make purchasing decisions. 

Uber’s Cannes Lions presence revealed a clear vision: advertising’s future lies in creativity and technology working together, reaching consumers with precision while enhancing rather than interrupting their experience.

For brands seeking meaningful consumer connections, the message was both inspiration and invitation. The tools exist, insights are clear, and opportunity is massive. The question isn’t whether mobile-first, contextual advertising is the future—it’s whether brands are ready to embrace it.

Ready to join the movement? Discover how Uber Advertising’s solutions can transform your brand’s connection with consumers in motion.