AB InBev CMO Marcel Marcondes opened the 2023 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity after his company was named Marketing Team of the Year for the first time in history two years in a row.
Speaking in front of a packed house to open the 2023 Cannes Lions 70th edition, his initial message was that as a company that sells beer, his aim was to create more drinking opportunities; an idea B&T can get right behind.
He said that as the leading beer brewing company in the world, AB InBev’s key mission was to lead and to grow the category.
Making little mention of the Bud Light fiasco that has dominated headlines recently, Marcondes said that Bud Light would soon be back to number one off the back of the company listening to its customers.
“It’s tough to see all the controversial and divisive debates happening in the U.S. the last couple of weeks involving lots of brands and companies, including, especially, Bud Light,” he said.
“When things get divisive and controversial so easily, I think it’s an important wake-up call to all of us marketers to be very humble,” he added.
And to be fair, if any business was in the position to absorb such a massive backlash, AB InBev would undoubtedly be it.
Not only named the Cannes Lions Marketer of the Year two years running, but the company has also been named the Effies most effective brand for the same brace as well as the WARC brand of choice for the same period.
But far from take a victory lap, Marcondes stressed the importance of staying humble.
“It’s been a process of learning, and we’ve made a lot of mistakes,” says Marcondes. “The big thing we’ve learned from experience is that the trap is when you think great work is what gets people’s attention, period. People feel, especially nowadays, that they need to chase attention in culture. Just because something gets a lot of attention, doesn’t mean it’s great. The key elements we learned from our mistakes is that creativity is great only when it’s used to address real consumer and business problems.”
