Checkup - Shaheed Peera

As Cannes winds up another year, we caught up with Shaheed Peera, Founder of The Creative Floor to get his take on this years event, warts and all.

Advertising is having an identity crisis. And that’s a good thing

Let’s be honest: advertising has always been a bit of a chameleon. It changes outfits with every new tech trend, cultural wave and Cannes Lions category. But right now? It’s going through one of its biggest personality shifts yet.

Thanks to tech, we’re living in an age where ideas that once got you laughed out of a pitch room are now entirely doable. Want to build a virtual billboard on the moon? There’s probably an app for that. Want a campaign that adapts in real-time based on someone’s shoe colour? Tech says: “Sure, why not.”

Tech is the new magic wand (but watch where you wave it)

Technology has gone from being an enabler to a full-blown creative partner. AI can now write, design, animate and even tell us the optimal time to post our dog-in-a-cape ad. It’s fast, impressive… and mildly strange.

But with great power comes great “please don’t scrape my artwork without asking.” There’s a growing (and completely justified) call for AI companies to be transparent about where they’re sourcing visual data. Creators are asking for licensing, attribution and cold hard cash. And they’re right to. If AI’s going to be our co-pilot, it needs to respect the rights of those it’s learning from. Think less art thief, more collaborative apprentice. One who pays their dues.

The Influencer economy grows up (kind of)

Meanwhile, influencers are shifting from thirst-traps to thought-leaders. The new wave of influence isn’t just filtered perfection, it’s academic credibility. Universities and researchers are now building audiences on TikTok and YouTube to counter misinformation with actual, you know, facts.

It’s part of a wider trend: people are hungry for depth, not just dopamine. They want experts who can break things down in a way that’s engaging and accurate, not just someone selling a crypto skincare range. The lines between entertainment and education are blurring and for once, that might be a good thing.

Scam work? The internet is watching

Let’s talk about the elephant in the judging room: scam work. For years, ad-land whispered about it behind closed doors. The ghost campaigns, the one-off ads that ran at 3am for one viewer just to qualify for awards. But now? The public’s got the mic.

Scam work is being called out louder and more publicly than ever before. YouTubers are posting exposés, industry blogs are naming names, and creatives are less willing to stay silent. Even advertising royalty like Sir John Hegarty have stepped up, calling out scam work as “damaging to the credibility of the industry.” And he’s not wrong.

We’re in an era of radical transparency, clients, customers and junior creatives are all watching. If a campaign smells fishy, someone’s going to post about it. And that’s a good thing. It means more accountability, more honesty and hopefully… fewer ads about shampoo saving democracy.

The future is about teams, not departments

The classic art director-copywriter duo may have been iconic in the '60s, but creativity now lives in collaboration. The best ideas are coming from teams with diverse perspectives: strategists, technologists, designers, behavioural scientists and yes, sometimes even the client.

Advertising is shifting from being department-led to discipline-driven. Creativity isn’t just about crafting ads anymore, it’s about designing experiences, solving business challenges and building brands that contribute to culture, not just borrow from it.

And the customer? They’re no longer the target at the end of the process. They’re part of it. Co-creators. Beta-testers. Sharers and shapers of the stories we tell. It’s less Mad Men, more Maker Mindset.

So, where are we headed?

If there’s a theme to all this, it’s that advertising is growing up. Slowly. Kicking and screaming at times. But it’s happening.

We’re learning that doing work that’s sustainable, responsible and culturally aware doesn’t mean sacrificing creativity. In fact, it demands more of it. We’re being asked to dream big, but dream with ethics. To innovate, but without exploiting. To entertain, but with some actual purpose behind it.

It’s no longer enough to just make something that looks good and wins awards. The work needs to work. For the brand, the audience, and ideally the world we live in.

Long live the rebirth

So no, advertising isn’t dead. But it is shedding some of its old skin. The era of smoke, mirrors and scammy lions is being called out (finally). What’s rising in its place is something smarter, more human and hopefully… a little more honest.

We’re not just selling stuff anymore. We’re solving business problems with creativity, and if we do it right, maybe even making the world slightly less ridiculous than it already is.

And if not? There’s always moon billboards.