21Grams' ECD brings us inside the Cannes pharma jury room

Episode Description

In about five weeks, adland will take over a small resort city in the south of France for a weeklong industry bonanza.

The 2026 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is on the horizon, slated for the last full week of June, and rest assured, the medical marketing community will be there in force.

Nearly one month ago, the juries for Health & Wellness Lions and the Pharma Lions were announced, featuring a few North American-based creatives, including Chris Charles, executive creative director of Real Chemistry subsidiary 21Grams.

You might remember Charles and his team for their Gold Pharma Lions-winning work on behalf of Biogen for Friedreich’s Back, a darkly humorous campaign focused on the often terminal, rare condition Friedreich’s ataxia.

For this week’s episode, Charles joins executive editor Jack O’Brien for a conversation about the early stages of the sizable task undertaken by the Cannes pharma jury and the trends he’s keeping an eye on as they analyze the nominated work.

He also reflects on the success of Friedereich’s Back and why Cannes is important to pharma marketers.

For our Trends segment, we’re talking about the frustrating, mixed public health messaging surrounding the hantavirus cruise ship outbreak.

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Music: Opal 99 - Can't Go Out and Triple Scoop Music.

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