“If You're Betting Against Us, You're Going To Bet Wrong”

ROB REILLY, Chief Creative Officer, WPP, reflects on India's creative pulse, WPP's Al strategy, and why Cannes Lions 2025 marks the return of purposeful creativity in this conversation with Noor Fathima Warsia. Edited excerpts

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Last year, you said AI gave you back something difficult to find — time. This year, many speakers are downplaying AI hype and putting human creativity back at the centre. Has Cannes Lions reached a turning point?

Yes, it’s a bit of an inflexion point. We’ve recently launched WPP Open’s global campaign, which I authored. This is rare for a Global CCO. The platform, ‘Transforming how we create for the World’s Biggest Brands’, aims to not only demonstrate WPP’s commitment to AI but also to involve our people in this journey. AI is a tool. For creatives, it frees up time to solve bigger problems. That’s the beauty. It lets us dream up those ideas that people love, share and talk about. But AI didn’t write the copy – I did. I used WPP Open to edit and test the logic. It’s like having an honest, kind editor.