The difficulties of Great Companies to adapt to the changes, on the one hand, and the opportunities that for all types of companies are generating the artificial intelligenceon the other, were the elements, in principle disparate, that John Hegarty, the legendary British creative, combined in his presentation during Cannes Lions 2025 under the title “Adapt or die: giants cannot dance” And that he held, apart from notable ideas, a conversation between Hegarty himself and his 1980 self.

The basic idea that the founder of the mythical BBH agency transmitted to the audience is that they are Business philosophy and creativityand not the size, the fundamental ingredients of success in today’s corporate world; and that artificial intelligence can play a very important role in this field. In this sense, consider it a collaborator, not a tool, and even postulates it as a way to keep alive in companies The spirit of its founders.

“Many of the conversations that are taking place in Cannes this year deal with AI, and it is very understandable that it is. The digitalization process has been quite linear until now, but artificial intelligence will be something deeply transformative, not only for creative industries, but for all sectors”he said.

Printing. Renaissance. Ia

Under his point of view, we live a moment similar to that of the Printing invention: No one could then anticipate that this novelty would bring a consequence of such huge dimensions as The Renaissance And, in the same way, it is impossible to predict today what will come as a result of the generalization of AI.

However, there are, in your opinion, some issues on which we can reflect on these changes and one is that The greats will cost to adapt. “It’s not about whether the little one wins the big one or if the big one surpasses the little one. It is that the brave wins the bureaucratic”he said, thus entering the subject of his talk.

He referred here as an example to the current situation of some giants of the advertising sector – the OMNICOM and Interpublic’s merger process or the constant changes in WPP – and pointed out that “The volume is no longer a strategy, it is simply inertia and generates bureaucracy. This has always been so, but now it becomes more evident than ever.”

Hegarty defined this situation as “The Paradox of Progress”: The volume makes adapting to the news more difficult. And, in addition, artificial intelligence has changed not only creativity, but who dominates the game, which It will generate a new type of company. Of the traditional pyramidal structure with the boss on the cusp, it will go to an inverted pyramid in which the head is below with the role of detecting the talent that exists in the organization and arbitrating the ways of responding to it and enhancing it.

Unable to assume it

Hegarty believes that big companies need to change the way they organize and work, “But many will not be able to assume it,” He warned “And that will be terminal for them: AI is democratizing opportunities. Creativity is the only land in which it is going to compete and there the volume plays against because the giants do not know how to dance.”

At this point, Hegarty pointed out that for him AI is not a toolwhich is what usually says about her, but a collaborator with whom we can act as a creative director: to tell him what we need, provide information and guide him in the processes. “Somehow, it is something exciting and fascinating. We can apply creativity to scale, but only if we redefine the way of thinking and operating of our company.”

What can giants do in this situation? Create a culture in which the philosophy of the company (its beliefs, its founding objective, its values) are driven by Creativity. “This is what they have done and do all the big brands”said Hegarty. “They start from a philosophy and that applies creativity, which is what brings change and innovation.”

“Creativity is in the heart of innovation. Remembering this is crucial”said the rapporteur. In this scenario, the tragedy of the big companies is that they become operational, not inspiring (“Operational, not inspirational”according to his words in English) and, although the size holds and helps in certain situations, it is no longer so important. The recipe to overcome this situation is, according to Hegarty, go back to the basicsrediscover the original philosophy and impulse with which the company was born.

“The problem is that in large companies philosophy dies with the founder”said Hegarty. “The company continues but the founder’s passion is diluted and his ideas are forgetting. This is a big problem but things must be like that? The answer is not.”

Talking to Chanel, with Bernbach … and with the young Hegarty

At this point, Hegarty alluded to Christianity as an example of institution that he has managed to keep his values ​​and his message alive for a very long time, after the death of his founder, and made a proposal that almost pretty with science fiction. “What can companies do now? With AI, founders may never disappear. Artificial intelligence can be a way to keep them alive, in force, to be able to talk to them. Imagine that you could have a conversation with Coco Chanel or, speaking of our sector, with Bill Bernbach. And it would not only be possible Vivas is an interesting perspective, right?

To exemplify, his idea, Hegarty proposed to the audience a small game: talk to his 1980 self, when he was creative director at TBWA London and the agency had just won the Grand Prix in Cannes with his famous “Kipper” spot, for Lego.

And so it was: on the screen a youthful John appeared in black and white who spoke of his recent creative success and asked for advice for his career 45 years later. And he gave him three, surely obvious in view of what has been his career:

• Create your own companyso you don’t have to answer anyone except your clients
• Assumes the presidency of the company together with the executive creative direction of the same
• He money He has a voice, but no soul

After this joke, Hegarty ended his presentation by saying that the business opportunity is not in size and that they are Business philosophy and culture which supports companies and makes them unique.
In his opinion, AI is promoting a great opportunity to make a creative transformation that defined as follows. “Move faster. Build culture. It enhances brave ideas and give them scale. Discover your creative philosophy. Redesign your structure.”

For Hegarty, this is how giants can learn to dance. “But it’s very difficult”he concluded. “Many will not be able to do so. So you do not try to be the greatest, but the most daring. AI gives us the opportunity to rethink things and perhaps will bring a new rebirth.”