Adpeople do. Cannes Lions has received 40,133 entries this year: 37,426 entries in Cannes Lions, 
 1,862
 in Lions Health and 845 in Lions Innovation.

And according to Philip Thomas, chief executive officer, Lions Festivals, that means the industry “believes in the power of creativity as a driving force for business and for brands. The Lions are a proxy for great creativity, and it is exciting to see marketers globally pushing themselves and their agency partners to produce truly outstanding work, and having the confidence to bring it to Cannes Lions to compete on the world stage.”

Cannes Lions categories undergoing notable growth spurts are:
a. Creative Effectiveness +100%
b. Branded Content & Entertainment +18%
c. Film +8%
d. Film Craft +6%

“It’s particularly interesting to see such significant rises in these categories. Creative Effectiveness has doubled, adding yet more evidence for creativity as a business driver, while categories like Film, Film Craft and Branded Content & Entertainment show how important these tools are for telling stories,” Thomas noted.

Press and Outdoor have declined this year. Press, understandable. Outdoor, not at all.

On the other hand Radio has bounced back from a steady decrease the last few years to come close to its highest-ever entry number.

New gender equality champion category, Glass Lion: The Lion for Change, has received 166 entries in its launch year. All proceeds will go to a charity that will be chosen from a shortlist of ten by Cannes Lions delegates during the Festival.

Lions Health has received 1,862 entries in its second year, a 30% increase.

Festival director, Louise Benson, attributes this to “a growing creative confidence in an industry that has to work within restrictive frameworks…there was clear evidence that people are determined to push through these boundaries to embrace the challenges, largely because of the hugely personal and palpable results that can be achieved.”

Lions Innovation, the category where data, technology and creativity intersect, has received 226 entries into the Innovation category and 619 entries into Creative Data. Japan, the UK, USA and Germany are the stand-out countries in terms of numbers. Terry Savage, chairman, Lions Festivals, observed that it was “a very strong start for the Festival and symbolic of the industry shifts which see data and technology being used as necessary creative tools.”