Is purpose all it’s cracked up to be?

This event report explores whether advertising’s first function – as a channel through which a brand increases sales of its product or service – has been lost to the pursuit of purpose.

If advertising is in crisis, a glance over the city of Cannes in late June might explain why. Where the view over the old port once hosted agency yachts, this year you were more likely to see ad tech revellers or Bermuda-sporting consultants ambling shakily along the quayside. Snapchat's ferris wheel in front of the Palais and the elegant Facebook and YouTube beaches compounded the visual reminder that the battle for attention has shifted focus, and is now being fought by a new breed of combatant.

For agencies, and their creatives, this is all deeply worrying. After all, the festival...

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