The United Nations Secretary General, Ban Ki Moon, presented a keynote speech at the Cannes Lions advertising festival on 24 June calling on the advertising industry to work together to support the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals. On stage alongside the Secretary-General were the heads of five of the world’s largest ad agencies: Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Havas, Michael Roth, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of IPG, John Wren, President and Chief Executive Officer of Omnicom, Maurice Lévy, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Publicis Groupe and Sir Martin Sorrell, founder and Chief Executive Officer of WPP. Dentsu CEO Tadashi Ishii sent a video message to the event from Tokyo.
Ban Ki Moon said: “I am here to ask for your help. This is Cannes, so I have come with a pitch. I know all of you have tremendous power to shape opinions. You are master story-tellers. And I want you to help us create the biggest campaign ever for humanity.”
He went on to explain the challenge: “Last September, leaders of 193 member states of the United Nations adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development with 17 goals. If we implement these by 2030, all seven billion people on this planet will be put forward towards a future where nobody will be left behind. I ask you to use all your creativity, ingenuity, innovation and power of persuasion. Help us transform a complex and abstract agenda into personal, emotional and concrete walkable solutions, and make it your own story.”
The six agencies have agreed to work together – putting side their differences and competing commercial interests – to promote the SDGs over the coming 14 years.
The work of promoting the SDGs will move from the advertising industry to the media industry at the Business&Climate Summit in London on 28 and 29 June when Sir Martin Sorrell will expand on his mission to promote the SDGs and encourage media companies to join the advertising sector’s initiative. Sir Martin will open a special two-hour session at the Summit that will also see AIB CEO Simon Spanswick talk about how the media industry across the world is working on the SDGs and climate change in particular.