Breakthrough stories need great twists in the tale

In dialog are, from left, Dana Walden, co-chairman and president of Disney Leisure, American actor Sterling Brown and Dan Fogelman – American scriptwriter and director. Credit score: Cannes Lions 2025 Getty Photographs

Yesterday was the primary day of Cannes Lions 2025. This week-long competition of creativity brings collectively a number of the best advertising and promoting minds from throughout the globe, to debate matters that are each pressing and vital.

This yr, I’m watching Cannes Lions digitally, from the consolation of my house in Bengaluru. So I’ll miss the seashores and yachts of the French Riviera. However I’ll have the distinctive pleasure of listening to those superb discussions whereas having fun with the world’s finest rava idlis and filter espresso.

There have been many desirable periods on Day 1. I liked the dialog on breakthrough storytelling, hosted by Disney. Dana Walden (co-chairman and president of Disney Leisure) was joined by Dan Fogelman (American scriptwriter and Director) and Sterling Brown (American actor) for this dialogue. A key takeaway for me – breakthrough tales require two key components. First, unimaginable twists within the story that the viewers don’t see coming. And second, a robust emotional payoff for the viewers, which might vary from tears to exultation.

Gurinder Chadha

Each these components had been additionally re-emphasised in one other session by none apart from Gurinder Chadha, the celebrated movie Director. I had been moved by her beautiful film “Bend it like Beckham” a few years in the past, and now I used to be equally impressed by what she stated about huge display screen storytelling. She spoke about how she at all times begins with the questions – “What’s the viewers pondering? And the way am I going to shift their opinions?”. And the way she then employs numerous methods, together with shock and subversion, to make this occur.

Her goal is to take the viewers on a journey they don’t seem to be anticipating, to shock them, and hold them invested within the story all through the length of the movie. “My job is to achieve out to your coronary heart”, she stated, “and make you rethink what’s round you”. That’s wonderful recommendation for model storytellers too.

Sir John Hegarty, legend of promoting and founding father of the company Bartle Bogle Hegarty, spoke on why large corporations and companies typically can not dance. However in fact, they should, in the event that they need to survive and develop. He had a strong lesson to share – that genuinely nice inspiration within the sphere of promoting comes from a wedding of the model’s core philosophy and pathbreaking creativity. As I listened to him, I assumed to myself – so many manufacturers concentrate on creativity, but they overlook the rationale why they had been created within the first place.

At shut of day, a dialogue on why manufacturers must embrace neurodiversity touched a strong nerve. With 53% of Gen-Z figuring out as neurodivergent, manufacturers danger dropping these younger folks each as shoppers and as group members, except they embed neurodivergent pondering into their methods. As Lola Younger, the worldwide recording artist, requested all of us at this session – “What’s regular? Regular, regular, regular.” That could be a superb query for entrepreneurs to consider.

Watch this area for insights from Cannes Lions 2025, all through this week.

(Harish Bhat is an avid marketer and bestselling writer. He was beforehand the Model Custodian at Tata Sons)

Revealed on June 16, 2025