French agency group Publicis in recent years has chosen one key message to hammer home as the industry gathers in Cannes. Last year it was the power of creators, as the holding company highlighted how creator campaigns can reach Super Bowl-sized audiences for a fraction of the cost. The year before, it issued a call to “cut the BS from AI”, promoting a ‘BSBot’ which would analyse text from speeches, press releases, and articles to assess the veracity of any AI claims made.
This year, AI hype is once again in Publicis’s sights, though this time the French group is more specifically calling out its agency competitors. AI, according to Publicis, has “widened the gap between what is promised in pitches and what can actually be achieved”, which in turn has contributed to the commoditisation of agency work and contributed to an overall race to the bottom in the agency world.
“The compound effect of overpromising on AI and unsustainable commercial offers in pitches to generate headlines is leading to massive jobs cuts in our industry,” said Publicis Groupe CEO Arthur Sadoun. “Collectively, we have to stop this race to the bottom and reaffirm our unique ability to deliver what clients really want: love for their brands, growth they can see, success they can measure. That’s why Publicis’ sessions in Cannes will demonstrate that the only pitch promise that counts is business results.”
While previously Publicis has supported its big Cannes statements with flashy stunts across the week, this year it’s running sessions across the week with clients and investors outlining some case studies of how it’s used AI to help win pitches, and what’s unfolded in practice. Presumably Publicis wants to paint a picture that its own AI promises made in pitches are actually delivered. Notably, it’ll be focussing on Mars and Coca-Cola, two media accounts which it won from rival holdco WPP last year.
“Free AI and data for life”
This isn’t the first time that Publicis has publicly called out what it sees as bad practices in pitches. On an earnings call at the start of last year, Sadoun complained of “silly behaviour” when it comes to pricing, suggesting that competitors had won accounts primarily by setting very low prices.
And pricing seems to be one of Publicis’s gripes when it comes to AI’s role in pitching too. A tongue-in-cheek video released by the company shows fake pitch decks with phrases including “we’ll work for free for a full year”, “free AI and data for life,” and “adopt our AI platform, receive a $5 million bonus”.
The film also shows mock-ups of a number of fairly outlandish agency pitch promises which it claims are based on real examples, including a promise to send a client on a shopping date with their favourite Italian designer, and a pledge that the client wouldn’t have to pay until they won a Gold Lion.
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