The advertising industry talks a lot about inclusion. This week at Cannes Lions 2025, Havas is turning that talk into action with the launch of “Beyond the Brief”—a global campaign that boldly reframes how the industry views neurodivergent talent in a world increasingly influenced by AI and creative disruption.
Unveiled by Donna Murphy, Global CEO of Havas Creative and Health Networks, on the festival’s opening day, Beyond the Brief is more than a campaign—it’s a movement. Anchored by real-world activations, thought leadership, and inclusive programming, Havas is challenging agencies and brands to reimagine who creativity is for, and who it’s led by.
“The creative industry is at a pivotal transformation point,” said Murphy. “The rise of AI has changed our tools. Now we need to rethink our talent—especially the overlooked brilliance of neurodivergent minds.”
A Cannes Debut That Refuses to Whisper
The campaign launched with a head-turning, unbranded teaser along the Croisette, with cryptic digital displays asking: “What if the future of creativity doesn’t look like the past — and never did?” QR codes led curious festival-goers to a sleek microsite detailing Havas’ full neurodiversity-driven programming.
At the core of the initiative is Havas’ first-ever mainstage panel, “Neurodivergent Minds: They Don’t Need Advertising – Advertising Needs Them,” hosted at the Palais Lumière Theatre. The session, moderated by The New York Times’ Michael Barbaro, features a powerful lineup including:
- Global artist Lola Young
- Renee Connolly, Chief Belonging & Inclusion Officer, Merck KGaA
- Donna Murphy, Havas CEO
“ADHD isn’t a barrier—it’s the engine,” said Lola Young. “There’s power in the mess, and brilliance in the minds people have spent too long trying to ‘fix’.”
Beyond Awareness: A Roadmap for Action
While neurodiversity has entered mainstream DEI conversations, Havas is pushing the dialogue further—with new data, actionable insights, and a future-focused lens that blends creative minds and AI innovation.
The Beyond the Brief campaign also includes:
- “The New Creative Alchemy” panel at Havas Café, exploring the synergy between neurodivergent thinking and generative AI
- A downloadable insights report offering brands and agencies a roadmap for tapping neurodivergent talent—not as an exception, but as essential
- Continuous programming throughout Cannes and beyond, with a clear message: this isn’t just an Havas effort—it’s a call to arms for the entire industry
Why This Matters: Talent Is the New Tech
As AI rewrites the mechanics of creative production, the real differentiator won’t be who has the best tools—it’ll be who has the most original minds guiding them. Neurodivergent talent often brings unconventional thinking, pattern recognition, and depth of focus—exactly the traits AI lacks.
Havas’ campaign doesn’t treat neurodiversity as a compliance checkbox. Instead, it frames neurodivergent minds as strategic assets—creative visionaries whose strengths align perfectly with the new demands of hybrid human-machine creative workflows.
And in a festival often filled with talk of boldness, Beyond the Brief walks the walk. It doesn’t just call for inclusion. It declares that the industry needs to catch up to the brilliance it has too often marginalized.
“We’re challenging the systems in place,” said Murphy. “This is about shaping a future of creativity that’s more dynamic, authentic, and powerful than anything we’ve seen before.”
The Bigger Picture: Creativity Without Convention
As generative AI shifts the creative process from craftsmanship to curation, Beyond the Brief stakes out a provocative idea: the future of creativity belongs to those who’ve always colored outside the lines.
This isn’t a trend or a one-off campaign. It’s Havas making a foundational bet—on people who don’t just think differently, but are wired to invent what’s next.
