Steve Babaeko, Guy Parker, Others Headline Discourse On Diversity, Equality & Inclusion At Cannes

It is officially the second day at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity, and activities are in full swing with a thought-provoking panel discussion that puts the spotlight on the advertising industry’s struggles with Diversity, Equality and Inclusion (DEI).

The session, hosted by the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS), featured new research exposing problematic stereotyping in global ads along with perspectives from industry leaders on driving meaningful change. Madeline Di Nonno, President and CEO of the Geena Davis Institute, presented sobering findings from their latest research analyzing representation in advertisements across the world, to set the stage for what would become an interactive and important discussion on concrete actions for achieving meaningful DEI progress in advertising.

Representing Africa on the panel and speaking to pertinent issues was  Steve Babaeko, President of the Advertising Agencies Association of Nigeria (AAAN) and Group Chief Executive Officer, X3M Ideas . As one of the few African advertising leaders on the Croisette, Babaeko brought an urgent voice to the discussion.

Other panelists who lent their voice to the focus of the session include Guy Parker, President of the International Council for Advertising Self-Regulation (ICAS) & Chief Executive of the Advertising Standards Authority; Komal Singh, Senior Product Manager at Google and Sophie Roosen, Director of Brands and Impact, Union des marques.

The panel, moderated by Jeffrey Greenbaum of the Global Advertising Lawyers Alliance and Chair of IAA’s Public Policy Council, made clear that despite growing awareness, the ad world still has a long way to go in realizing authentic diversity and inclusion on its stages and screens.