Cannes Lions has confirmed that, after consulting with the agency DM9, the winning project of the Grand Prix in Creative Data“Efficient Way to pay” for the Consul brand, has been removed. The measure arrives after having discovered that the agency, which is part of the DDB network, used content generated and manipulated by AI in the case of the case to simulate real facts and results of the campaign, causing the jury to receive inaccurate information during its deliberations.
“Cannes Lions exists to celebrate authentic, representative and responsible creativity”
“This violates Cannes Lions’s participation standards on factual representation and undermines the confidence placed at work by our jurors and the community in general. Cannes Lions exists to celebrate authentic, representative and responsible creativity”they have declared from the organization of the festival in a statement.
The DM9 agency recognized manipulation a few days ago, in the words of its co-president Pipo Calazans, confirming that it was related to the proposal and apologizing for what happened.
The altered parties correspond to Testimony of a clienta fragment of the Ted Talk of the North Carolina Senator and an RPeport of the Brazilian CNN. In fact, a CNN spokesman confirmed this week that CNN Brazil had already filed a formal complaint to the DM9 already Whirlpool agency for the manipulated use of the images. And it is that the journalist who appears in the video of the case left CNN Brazil in December 2022, according to this spokesman.
“Efficient Way to pay” raised a new payment model, so that Brazilian families were made with new seeing appliances and had the possibility of paying them in installments thanks to money saved in their energy bills.
“After an exhaustive investigation and review, carried out in consultation with the parties involved and the independent auditors of Cannes Lions, we conclude that the only appropriate course of action is to withdraw the entrance of the festival and, therefore, withdraw the Grand Prix and all the associated awards”they explain from Cannes Lions.
They have not earned him, therefore, the apologies offered by the agency DM9 That, in addition, he assured to be taking the necessary measures to solve what happened, including the improvement of his work routines, the reinforcement of safety in the agency processes and the strengthening of the guidelines of his code of conduct, “A document that guides the behavior on various fronts and expresses our commitment to the highest ethical standards”they commented since the agency these days.
The agency has proactively withdrawn the “Plastic Blood” and “Gold = Death” campaigns
As a consequence, not only has the Grand Prix been withdrawn in the last edition of the festival, but, as an additional measure and after an exhaustive internal review, DM9 has decided to withdraw the “Plastic Blood” participations for Oka Biotech and “Gold = Death” for Urihi Yanomami. “All parties recognize that the level of legitimacy does not meet the necessary standards. Therefore, all awards will be withdrawn”they clarify from the Cannes Lions organization.
Some Latin news websites are already confirming in fact The departure of Icaro Doria as creative director of DM9who was the one who confirmed a few days ago Cannes Lions’s investigation to the magazine Ad age; Of course, pointing out that, despite everything, the work presented was legitimate.
Measures from now
As confirmed by his co-president, Pipo Calazans, from the DM9 agency they will establish a Ethics Committee of Artificial Intelligencewith the participation of external and independent members of different segments, to establish guidelines, promote debates and promote the responsible use of this technology. “We want to deepen the dialogue with all the actors in the industry, helping to ensure that the use of AI is always aligned with the principles of truthfulness, respect and image rights,” They have affirmed. “This episode reinforces not only the importance of deepening the debate on the application of new technologies, such as the use of AI in the advertising industry, but also reaffirms our conviction that success is not only the result of talent and creativity, but also a reflection of our way of working and interacting, with a solid commitment to ethics and integrity.”
From Cannes Lions have announced in a statement that they will introduce a series of Improved measures to ensure that the awards maintain their solidity in the era of synthetic content and generative AI. These include:
- Commitment: An improved code of conduct that must be signed by all participating companies
- Transparency: Mandatory indication of the use of AI as part of the registration process. Not doing so will be a reason for disqualification or retirement
- Detection: Content detection tools can be used to help identify manipulated case materials
- Award: A dedicated review committee composed of AI experts, ethics and content integrity
“These measures will be backed by formal compliance procedures, including the possible disqualification, public dissemination or withdrawal of the prize when necessary”They conclude from the organization of the festival.
