The Cannes Secret Speaker session billed as “Guaranteed to inspire” lived up to its promise. Purpose Disruptors co-founder, Lisa Merrick-Lawless, was revealed as Cannes Lions’ Secret Speaker on Wednesday 22 and her 15-minute talk, delivered to 400 delegates, posed the vital question, “Will you choose to use your imagination to create new visions of a Good Life in the future, or will you choose to perpetuate the old Good Life of overconsumption in a climate emergency?”
Merrick-Lawless outlined why the advertising industry is uniquely positioned with the skills to reinvent society and change the way we live. However, the industry currently fails to create compelling stories which demonstrate what a sustainable future looks like. To overcome this “crisis of imagination”, Purpose Disruptors invite the advertising industry to participate in its Good Life 2030 project. The project challenges creatives to think beyond consumption and reimagine the possibilities of advertising to promote a better life for us all.
The IPCC’s Sixth Assessment Report, published in April 2022, made it clear that to halve global emissions by 2030, which is essential to avoid climate breakdown, we must reduce the demand for goods and services. The report also stated, tackling demand could result in up to 40-70% household reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. Furthermore, insights from Purpose Disruptors report, Good Life 2030: Citizen Report revealed UK citizens seek a future filled with connection to self, others and nature, rather than one driven by material consumption.
The Good Life 2030 project launched last year. Three awarded agencies created “adverts for 2030” which premiered at COP26, alongside a documentary created by Purpose Disruptors, produced by The Big Sky, examining how advertising needs to change both itself and its impact upon society. This year, Purpose Disruptors call upon the whole industry to engage.
There are three ways to participate in the Good Life 2030 project:
- Through creativity, by responding to a brief where the future is your client and your goal is to create a compelling vision of a good life in 2030.
- Through immersion into what a good life in 2030 could look like, via Purpose Disruptors workshops, designed to engage imaginative thinking and reflection on possible futures
- Through inspiration, by reading Purpose Disruptors citizen reports, watching the documentary and viewing last year’s adverts for a Good Life 2030. All Good Life 2030 content is open source and available to all.
Merrick-Lawless commented, “We are in a moment of crisis, a crisis of imagination. As an industry we aren’t being very imaginative about how we help in the climate emergency. By participating in the Good Life 2030we can use our collective imagination to create new visions of the future and shape society.”
Grant Hunter, global executive creative director & London chief creative officer of Iris added, “The climate emergency requires radical leaps of imagination. We (the creative industry) absolutely have to use our creativity to make a ‘good life’ look desirable to all. Our response to the Good Life brief questioned the global addiction to ‘stuff’. After all, it’s living a life full of The Good Stuff that really matters – not just buying more stuff.”
What Xav Rees, chief executive officer Havas London & Havas CX/Helia, stated, “Used wisely, advertising has the ability to influence people’s decisions and change their behaviour; the ability to shape culture and improve lives. We have a powerful tool in our hands and now is the time to use it.”
