Every June, the global creative elite descend upon the French Riviera not just for the rosé and the yacht parties, but for something far more combustible: the potential to redefine the future of creativity. The Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is where reputations are made, philosophies are challenged, and ideas gain altitude. But in a world saturated with purpose-washing and pixel-perfect case studies, what really deserves to win? I chatted with Nils Leonard, co-founder of Uncommon Creative Studio — a shop known for shaking the industry out of its self-congratulatory slumber and of whose work I am a big, big fan — about what still matters in 2025. His answer? Work that feels like someone gave a damn. Work that risks discomfort, rattles the status quo, and actually means something.
In a time when creativity feels both more commodified and more necessary than ever, Leonard argues that its true power lies not in polish but in provocation. Awards shows like Cannes still matter, not because they validate the work, but because they spotlight the few pieces brave enough to shift culture. “Selling can be honest. Being divisive can be genuine,” he says. The question isn’t whether creativity has power. It’s whether the industry still has the courage to use it. Read our chat below (lightly edited for length and clarity).
Sometimes you see a piece of work so pure in its vision and so iconic in its execution, you can’t help but feel it.
What kind of work do you hope gets celebrated at Cannes this year, and what kind of work are you tired of seeing awarded?
Cannes has power. It can either create reference points or it can reinforce the tired and rigged perception of awards shows. It honestly comes down to the jury and its leader to genuinely push each other toward the most iconic work. Whatever view you have of Cannes, the work that wins there gets seen. I’d love to not just see the same stuff that’s been winning at other shows, but an arsenal of work that brings energy and inspiration back to our game. The one thing a show like Cannes can do is force you to witness work that will change the game, change your view of the work you do every day, and ultimately, sometimes push an industry forward.
Guinness ‘A Lovely Day’ film by Uncommon Creative Studio.
The world is saturated with “purpose-driven” campaigns. So, what does honesty and genuineness look like in 2025? Can awards shows even be a fair judge of that anymore?
Work with purpose isn’t a bad thing. What’s bad is fictional work ham-fisted with a purpose the brand has no relationship to, then machined into a plinky piano-sound case study. I’d love to believe the industry has developed a better nose for what is legit and what is case study guff. Award shows wouldn’t be my first port of call for a conversation around honesty and genuine intention, but then sometimes you see a piece of work so pure in its vision and so iconic in its execution, you can’t help but feel it. Selling can be honest. Provoking can be honest. Being beautiful can be honest. Being divisive can be the most genuine thing an agency or studio could do. Ultimately does someone just look at that piece of work and say ‘Fuck, that person gave a shit’. You can feel the ‘work’ in work.
Vimeo’s “ReFrame” film by Uncommon Creative Studio. I wrote about this entire identity earlier this year.
Uncommon’s work often elevates everyday truths — quiet moments, community, collective exhaustion — and makes them feel almost sacred. What’s your process for identifying those universal emotional threads in a brief, and how do you protect them from being watered down?
Our process is to share a vision with our client partners from the start. One that we all agree will take the brand and the work somewhere special. The task is then holding each other to that vision. Everything matters here. Every key change, line break, scrawl or gentle observation is a chance to push the work somewhere more powerful. We aren’t just trying to finish projects, we are trying to create reference points, and the clients we make our best work with share that ambition.
BritBox’s “See it Differently” film by Uncommon Creative Studio. Learn more about the epic 14-hour single-take sequence here.
We are at our most creative when trouble is at our door.
Do you think true creativity requires discomfort? How does Uncommon stay brave enough to sit in tension rather than resolve it too quickly with polish or platitudes?
I think the best briefs for creativity make the need for change greater than the need for comfort. This can be forced by business challenges, internal changes or just raw ambition, but when a brand is propelled by frustration or threat, it tends to behave in a more radical, more creative way. Humans, and brands as a result, can be in their most creative state when they are threatened. We often ask: ‘What is scarier, what will happen if we do this, or what will happen if we do nothing?’ H&M One Second Suit, The Ecover Rewear Chair, and The Ordinary’s Secret Ingredient are all examples of this mindset in action.
British Airways’ “A British Original Period Drama” film by Uncommon Creative Studio
The best brands have a relationship with creativity that is far more than a strategy or facet of marketing.
We often hear that creativity is the last competitive advantage. But what if it’s more than that? What if it’s a kind of modern-day philosophy, an ethical stance, even? Do you think creativity has a responsibility beyond the brief?
The best brands have a relationship with creativity that is far more than a strategy or facet of marketing. Apple, Off White, and A24 are all brands with a creative and disruptive spirit at their heart, they harboured fantasies for a different version of events and a conviction to turn the category they exist in, on its side. This spirit not only gave them an original and powerful mission but also drove an agility and resilience into these businesses, seeing them through the inevitable challenges they faced. A lot of the work we do as a studio isn’t just bringing our creativity to brands but starting inside out, helping build a culture of creativity from the heart of the business way before we get to any form of marketing asking how the brand and its beliefs can start a fire inside that will take everything forwards.
Chelsea FC’s “We Burn Blue” film by Uncommon Creative Studio
We’re living in an age of deep crisis and distraction. What is the role of creativity not just in advertising, but in society at large? Is it still capable of shifting culture, or has it become too commodified to hold real power?
We are at our most creative when trouble is at our door. While creativity and creative companies continue to ask those less ambitious than them for permission to make their ideas come true, we will remain dependent and ultimately weak. The artists Gilbert & George said, ‘Make the world believe in you and pay heavily for the privilege.’ Whether we are looking at the climate emergency or the anxiety epidemic with our youth, the problems we face as a race will only be solved by new ideas and new behaviours. There has never been a greater call for creativity at its most powerful, but only if we believe.
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