NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Group Black, Procter & Gamble, and The Cannes Can: Diversity Collective (CC:DC) are accelerating efforts to “Widen The Screen,” strengthening the pipeline of diverse creative talent in the advertising industry with the launch of the Widen The Screen Creative Bootcamp at the 2022 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The Creative Bootcamp will offer coaching, development, mentorship and exposure to 10 diverse, mid-career creators and is an expansion of P&G’s Widen The Screen initiative and Group Black’s mission to create a more equitable media ecosystem, a demonstration of the cross-sector collaboration needed to drive tangible progress, and a combined continued call to action from the trio of brands on a global stage. These 10 Widen the Screen Ambassadors are the first cohort to participate in a global creative immersion program that includes sponsored access to international creative festivals including Cannes, Dubai Lynx, Davos, among others.
CC:DC began to address the lack of diversity at Cannes Lions in 2018 by providing access and opportunity for five diverse emerging professionals to participate in the Young Lions Academy. In 2019, the program increased the number of participants to twenty-five and debuted Inkwell Beach: Cannes – the first activation of its kind dedicated to bring solution-oriented diversity, equity and inclusion programming to the festival. This year, Inkwell Beach builds upon that promise by providing the spaces to facilitate further change, through hosting the Creative Bootcamp with P&G and Group Black.
The ten creatives will represent Brazil, Nigeria, the United Kingdom and the United States. In addition to participating in the bootcamp, they will have access to the entire Cannes Lions programming and “on the spot” hiring opportunities with participating agencies like DDB and Egami Group. Other brands like FQ, H&K, IAB, Oglivy, United Talent Artists, VMLY&R, Wunderman Thompson and Zeno have also committed their support by sponsoring additional CC:DC Scholars/Ambassadors to experience the 2022 festival.
“We are excited that CC:DC’s impact in now global. We are providing opportunities to creatives from four different continents including Africa, South America, Europe and North America,” says Adrianne Smith, founder of CC:DC.
On day one of the festival, Andre Gray, Executive Creative Director, Grey Group, will be the primary creative guide to lead program participants through a creative activation brief that will allow them to showcase their creative skills in a final presentation made on Thursday to a panel of judges. They will also be allotted daily office hours with top executive creative directors including Walter Geer, Executive Creative Director, VMLY&R, and Vann Graves, Executive Director, VCU Brandcenter and Cannes Lions Creative Academy Dean.
“Our mission is to provide a pipeline to not only increase access for Black creators but ensure that dollars that have been promised to them are distributed equitably,” says Group Black co-founder and CEO Travis Montaque. “The Creative Bootcamp is a huge step in the right direction when it comes to highlighting and supporting more diverse voices at tentpole industry events like Cannes.”
P&G’s Widen The Screen initiative challenges racial bias by expanding the narrative of Black life on screen, funding projects for creatives of color and increasing investment in Black-owned and Black-operated media companies, a comprehensive approach to address the equity challenges in the industry.
“Widen The Screen is a call to action to increase investment in multicultural creators, the stories they create, and in diverse media who can support them”, says Chief Brand Officer at P&G Marc Pritchard. “Cannes, which is known for creativity, is an important stage for the launch of the Creator Bootcamp to bring more diverse creative talent to the advertising industry”.
“CC:DC’s Scholars/Ambassadors Program and Inkwell Beach: Cannes is the catalyst for global access and opportunity for creatives of color and underrepresented communities. The partnership with Group Black and P&G helps to further CC:DC’s mantra, Don’t Talk About It. Be About It”, says Adrianne Smith, founder of CC:DC.
About Group Black
Group Black is where culture calls home. Group Black's objective is to build the largest collective of Black-owned media and diverse creators by actively deepening the pipeline of media dollars allocated to Black-owned media businesses and by investing in the next generation of innovative and equitable media. It is composed of two divisions, Group Black Media and Group Black Ventures, with the simple mission to dramatically transform the face of media investment and ownership. Group Black seeks to connect a diverse generation looking for content and experiences that reflect who they are. (www.groupblack.co)
About Cannes Can: Diversity Collective
CANNES CAN: DIVERSITY COLLECTIVE (CC:DC) (501c3) was conceptualized in 2017 due to the continued conversation regarding the lack of diversity in the Advertising/Marketing Industry. For decades, there have been a plethora of industry leaders that have expressed concern regarding this issue. CC:DC has moved beyond concern to creation, by creating the opportunity for previously absent faces of color to be represented at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
CC:DC has created the opportunity for industry leaders to move beyond concern to creative encounters. CC:DC has developed a synergistic opportunity and atmosphere of exposure, networking and job creation with the hopes of being the conduit to eradicate some of the concern centered around diversity and inclusion. CC:DC has created opportunities for brands and agencies to: Not Just Talk About It. But Instead, Be About It!
About P&G
P&G serves consumers around the world with one of the strongest portfolios of trusted, quality, leadership brands, including Always®, Ambi Pur®, Ariel®, Bounty®, Charmin®, Crest®, Dawn®, Downy®, Fairy®, Febreze®, Gain®, Gillette®, Head & Shoulders®, Lenor®, Olay®, Oral-B®, Pampers®, Pantene®, SK-II®, Tide®, Vicks®, and Whisper®. The P&G community includes operations in approximately 70 countries worldwide. Please visit https://www.pg.com for the latest news and information about P&G and its brands. For other P&G news, visit us at https://www.pg.com/news.
