There Is No Lionel Messi of Cannes Lions — Man Champion Monday
These men are playing like there could be. Happy New Month.
Right now, Lionel Messi's face is on one in four World Cup ads. Not one in ten. Not one in twenty.
According to audience measurement platform System1, Messi appears in 18 of the 80 major World Cup campaigns currently being tested across the U.S., U.K., and Argentina — nearly a quarter of all the biggest campaigns running.
Adidas was first out of the tunnel with a cinematic build-up film featuring him. Budweiser, Coca-Cola, Powerade, and Pepsi have since joined the race for soccer attention. Lay's built an entire WhatsApp group chat around him — alongside David Beckham, Alexia Putellas, and Thierry Henry — that now has over 10 million followers. Lowe's is erecting 10-foot-tall inflatable Messi statues across four U.S. host cities.
The man isn't just the GOAT of soccer. He's becoming the GOAT of soccer sponsorships, too.
But while Leo's left foot prepares to lead Argentina into the upcoming FIFA World Cup and his face dominates every billboard between here and the French Riviera, another kind of championship is being played out on the Croisette.
No cleats required. No agents. No 10-foot inflatables.
Just creativity, courage, and the audacity to show up.
🌍 What's Moving the Needle This Week
Before we get to the men — here's what's trending in the rooms where decisions get made.Colin Fleming makes the leap to OpenAI
OpenAI has hired ServiceNow's chief marketing officer Colin Fleming as CMO for its business unit — a move that signals the AI company is deepening its enterprise marketing as it looks to expand beyond its core AI products. Fleming spent about two years at ServiceNow following a 13-year run at Salesforce, where he was executive vice president of global marketing. At OpenAI he will report to chief revenue officer Denise Dresser and succeeds Kate Rouch, who stepped down earlier this year to focus on her health.
His LinkedIn post didn't bury the lead:
"Some companies build great products. A few change what people believe is possible. OpenAI is one of those companies. Hard to overstate how surreal that sentence feels."
The hire comes as OpenAI scales its enterprise effort — particularly around Codex, which has passed 4 million weekly active users — and as it builds out advertising products ahead of a potential IPO. This is a man who helped a company quadruple its unaided brand awareness in a single year. The AI wars just got a new general.
Cannes Lions 2026 is leaning all the way into creators
LIONS Creators, in partnership with Adobe, returns for its third year — with speakers including Mel Robbins, Dhar Mann, Shopify's Jessica Williams and Gap's Fabiola Torres exploring how creators build movements and billion-view content ecosystems. The Canva Creative Cabana has tripled its footprint from last year, which tells you something about where the energy in the creative industry is right now.
One of the most significant trends heading into Cannes is the rise of the Creator CEO — the push for business leaders to become creators themselves, driven by a need for trust-building, especially in B2B environments. The Financial Times reports a 35% increase in C-suite professionals active on LinkedIn in the U.S. over five years. Personal branding for executives is no longer a nice-to-have. It's a competitive advantage.
Netflix dominates — but YouTube is closing the gap
A new SSRS study asked American media consumers what streaming app they reach for when they want something fun. Netflix leads with roughly 30% across all age groups. But among viewers aged 12–24, YouTube has nearly pulled even. TikTok trails — though its users increasingly go there not for viral dances, but for news.
The future of attention is being negotiated in real time. The men below understand that better than most.
🏆 This Week's Man Champions
Six men. All of them at Cannes. All of them building something that outlasts the festival.
NORMAN BUSIGU
Filmmaker · Journalist · Model · Founder, Postcards From The Diaspora"The African voice Cannes didn't know it needed — until now."
Norman Busigu is British-Ugandan, born and raised in North-West London. He is a critically acclaimed independent filmmaker, journalist, media broadcaster, and published fashion model. Forbes Africa recognised him as "A Voice In Global Media." GQ South Africa featured him — not once, but in both 2023 and 2025. Rolling Stone Africa. Soho House. Yahoo Finance. University of the Arts London.
He is a member of ForbesBLK and the founder of Postcards From The Diaspora, a youth-led media platform built to amplify voices the industry spent too long ignoring.
He didn't chase the spotlight. The spotlight ran out of excuses to ignore him.
This year he arrives on the Croisette as press, as creator, and as proof that the diaspora belongs at every table — including the ones with rosé and a sea view. Not a first-timer at Cannes with a veteran's eye.
This space is about to get very interesting. Watch it.
GREG FORBES
Senior Director, Global Agency Partnerships · Yahoo"He turned DSPs into multi-million dollar handshakes. Now imagine what he does at Cannes."
Greg Forbes is an international media and ad tech partnerships leader with over 15 years of experience driving innovation and growth at two of the world's most recognisable digital giants — Microsoft and Yahoo. His expertise lives at the exact intersection where Sales, Business Development, and Product collide, and he has spent his career not just working that intersection but owning it.
As Senior Director of Global Agency Partnerships, Greg leads strategic initiatives with the top holding companies in the world — Omnicom, Dentsu, Stagwell, Horizon, GroupM, Publicis — with a specialist focus on DSPs, SSPs, audience targeting, and identity solutions. Multi-million dollar revenue streams, built one relationship at a time.
Outside of the office, he channels that same drive into mastering the art of optimisation — from a perfect espresso to the latest in home automation. The same instinct that perfects the process powers the partnership.
At Cannes, where the real deals get done between panels and poolside, Greg is the rare operator who speaks fluent Sales, Product, and Business Development in the same breath.
The most powerful integrations aren't software. They're relationships. And he's been building those since before "identity solutions" was a buzzword.
BRANDON SMITHWRICK
Award-Winning Content Marketer · Creator · Founder, Content to Commas · Forbes 30 Under 30"Content to Commas. Then content to a cradle. The man's portfolio just keeps expanding."
In three months, Brandon Smithwrick will be a first-time dad. He'll be stepping away from LinkedIn for a bit. But before he does — let the record show what he built.
Named to Forbes 30 Under 30 for Marketing and Advertising. Founder of Content to Commas, an award-winning weekly newsletter distributing content playbooks to the people who actually need them. Previously led content strategy at Kickstarter, Songfinch, and Squarespace. Built social strategy at Ralph Lauren. His bylines have appeared in AdWeek, Fast Company, AdAge, Complex, Highsnobiety, and Entrepreneur. His voice has filled stages at Spotlight 2025, AdWorld Conference, LaterCon, Rutgers, NYU, and Ohio State.
He shaped how some of the most recognised brands in the world tell their stories. He filled the biggest publications in marketing. He earned the biggest stages.
The Croisette has brilliant people. Few of them are also three months from becoming a father.
Respect the arc, Brandon.
MIGUELANGEL (MIGUEL) OLAVE
478M+ Organic Views · Founder, Studio ConRazón · 7 Webbys · 1 Clio · Father of 4"He prayed for Cannes. He manifested the Carlton. He earned both."
Let's start at the beginning.
Miguel Olave started working in hospitality at 14 years old. Got his first $100 tip at 14. Studied photojournalism with National Geographic in the Galápagos. Storyboarded and edited documentaries with the LIVESTRONG Foundation. Was nominated as CNN's Breaking News Citizen Journalist of the Year for his coverage of the Joplin, Missouri tornado. Became one of 100 creators invited to the White House for the inaugural Creator Economy Conference. One of 100 selected for LinkedIn's inaugural Creator Accelerator in 2021.
He co-founded a LinkedIn ghostwriting agency and scaled it to $1.6 million ARR before exiting. He then launched Studio ConRazón — a new-age talent agency built on heart and purpose, providing white-glove management to a select group of creators including jingle hitmaker Romeo Bingham, gen-alpha broadcaster Max Mendoza, Spanish-first NYC tour guide Wilson Silver, and former MTV Teen Mom Kail Lowry.
478 million organic views. 7 Webbys. 1 Clio. No college degree. First in his family to work a white-collar job. Husband of 12 years. Father of 4 sons. Those last two remain, by his own words, his primary motivators in life.Before leaving his first Cannes Lions in 2024, he prayed. He prayed about what he wanted to manifest when he came back: a creator client. The Carlton. A schedule that meant something.
Accommodations: booked. Brand partners: flowing in. Carlton: confirmed.
Good and nice indeed, Miguel.
ZACK HONARVAR
Founder, The Good Internet · Creator Economy Builder · vidIQ Acquisition"He used to think conferences weren't worth it. Then Cannes changed his career. Three years later, he's bringing his wife and baby."
Zack Honarvar helps creators build businesses that outlast the algorithm. Over the past decade, he has helped some of the biggest names on YouTube and TikTok turn virality into sustainable companies they actually own and operate — from brand deals and merchandise to SaaS, CPG, and education products.
He co-founded Creator Now, which was acquired by vidIQ. Today he runs The Good Internet: a portfolio of creator-first companies and content properties — including a newsletter, podcast, and consulting practice — all built around one idea: the internet is better when creators own more of it.
He used to think conferences weren't worth the time. Then Cannes Lions 2024 happened — and it changed his trajectory. Relationships forged on the Croisette led directly to new partnerships, new content, and a clearer thesis for his work.
This year, he's coming back. And he's bringing his wife and baby.
When your career and your family can share the same week in the south of France, you've probably built something right.
🎖️ Bonus Mentions
People Like Us x Financial Times — Creative Showcase
People Like Us x Financial Times is back at Cannes Lions for the second year — and this year's Creative Showcase is bigger and bolder: six speakers, three minutes each, one campaign worth sharing. Creative leaders and rising talent from across the world. The kind of room where what you're building matters more than who you know.If you're heading to Cannes this June, you already know where to be.
📍 Tuesday 23 June, 4–7pm · Nikkei FT Teahouse
Miss this one and you'll hear about it on the walk back to your hotel.
Julien R — ORIANE
If Cannes Lions had an official translator for the future of media, AI, and advertising, Julien might already have the job.
As CEO and Co-Founder of Oriane, he's building something few people fully appreciate yet: making the video-first internet searchable. Every day, billions of videos are uploaded across YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, podcasts, webinars, conferences, and brand channels. Most of that knowledge is trapped inside content that algorithms can recommend but humans can't easily search. Julien is helping change that.
Operating at the intersection of Media × AI × Brands, he's become one of those rare voices who can take a billion-dollar industry shift and explain it in plain English.
When Publicis announced its $2.2 billion acquisition of LiveRamp and WPP signed a reported $400 million Google partnership, many marketers saw headlines. Julien saw the future.
Because the smartest people in media don't just report what's happening. They explain why it matters.
🔦 One More Thing
This year, we are keeping a sustained and unblinking spotlight on the first-timers — the scholars, the dreamers, the creatives from underrepresented backgrounds who earned their place on the Croisette through programmes like the LIONS Scholarship, the Cannes Can Diversity Collective, the LIONS ERA Programme, and SDG Lions, where creativity meets the UN's Sustainable Development Goals.
How do they network? Where do they stay? Who do they meet? Do they get hired? Do they land brand partnerships? What does a full day in their lives actually look like on the Croisette — and what would they tell next year's applicants?
That story is coming. Stay close.
The Final Whistle
Messi is everywhere ahead of the World Cup. One in four ads. Ten-foot inflatables. Billions of impressions.
But on the French Riviera, these men are doing something harder.
They're building something of their own — with no stadium, no agent, no guaranteed audience.
Just the work. Just the showing up.🦁 Tag a man who plays at this level.
Drop a 🦁 in the comments if you're headed to Cannes.
And if you made it through all the profiles — you already know why Man Champion Monday hits different.
#ManChampionMonday #CannesLions2026 #CreatorEconomy #LIONSCreators #MarketingLeadership #ContentMarketing #PersonalBranding #Creativity #LinkedInCreators
Disclaimer: The photos and videos referenced in this article are not owned by the author. They have been sourced from publicly available platforms across the internet for illustrative and editorial purposes only. All rights and credits belong to the original creators or copyright holders.
CI
Chaste Inegbedion
Editor-in-Chief at Upside Journal. Founder of The Pitch Journey. Building at the intersection of African tech, storytelling, and global capital.
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