Nathaël Duboc, Dentsu Creative: “In Cannes, the idea still counts”

Philippe Paget: So how’s your Cannes been so far?

Nathaël Duboc:  It’s noticeable that media platforms have a strong presence this year, particularly Netflix, as of course do Dentsu and Dentsu Creative. We’re delighted that our campaign for Durex has been shortlisted. Over the last three years we’ve been trying to liberate youngsters from injunctions related to sexual performance. There are a lot of pressures on sexuality today. Durex is promoting a natural sexuality, which can be explored with confidence and consent.

Around the subject of lubricant, we made a tool that allows you to explore thanks to an interactive audio podcast, which voice command – so you can keep your hands free – featuring erotic stories with multiple scenarios. Produced in collaboration with Google, it’s inclusive, as everyone has their own interpretation of pleasure. 

It’s certainly a sensitive subject that needs to be treated with finesse...A year and a half after the reorganization of the agency, how has that contributed to your success?

ND: Each agency in the group had developed its own culture, brand and business. After the announcement there were some questions, but these were quickly swept away thanks to the logic of the concept: a single agency brand, Dentsu Creative, for the entire network, as well as a clarification of the offer for clients and the market. The model is the complete integration of all the disciplines: strategy, branding, CRM, digital, AI, experiential and so on. The result is a truly integrated agency combining all these skills in one place. As all the branches had already been aligned into complementary offers before, the transition was very smooth, certainly in France.

A year after the announcement in Cannes, the agency is growing organically and has won new clients. Dentsu Creative France has also become a company with a mission. It has ultimately enabled our clients to benefit from much broader range of expertise and to diversify what they do with us. Horizontal creativity that works in proximity with the media enables us to think about different touchpoints from the very start of the creative process. A building with all disciplines under one roof is the physical translation of the “One Dentsu” that our Japanese colleagues were able to see when they recently came come to visit our premises.

Clients are very present in Cannes this year. Is this the case for you?

ND: (Car maintenance brand) Midas is here with us. The brand is transforming to electric and as such is very interested in technology and innovation. Air France's Flying Blue, another of the agency's major clients, is also present.

What creative trends have you spotted here in Cannes?

ND: There’s societal dimension to the list of winners – a lot of the awarded campaigns are useful to people and to society. But it’s sometimes regrettable that the purpose is out of step with the core business of the brand. Technology is another trend. We’re talking a lot about artificial intelligence. Indeed, the Dentsu Creative network won the Health & Wellness Grand Prix Health & Wellness with a case that uses artificial intelligence.

The big subject last year at Cannes, the metaverse, seems to have vanished from the radar.

ND: It’s because of a lack of utility so far. Artificial intelligence is a concrete tool, which can certainly be scary, but which is already being used by teams for research and visual design. We can talk to an AI in normal language and it will translate that into code. Within Dentsu Creative Europe a group called “Big Minds”, to which France contributes a lot, collaborates on artificial intelligence. And between two sessions, things evolve at a breakneck speed. But it’s important to add that it’s still the idea that counts, especially here in Cannes. 

Nathael Duboc

Managing Director — Dentsu Creative France

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