Internet of Things. The ultimate solution for human desire?

By Hari Krishnan and Dilshara Jayamanna reporting from the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

Day 2 started off with Korea Telecom and Cheil throwing light into the wide world of Internet of Things (IoT). While IoT has been the buzzword for a while now, the way it was broken down to simple facts opened our eyes to the new world that will emerge ahead of us. Let me explain.

There will be 3.3 trillion IoT devices by 2020. So what is IoT? IoT is an ecosystem where devices can talk to each other and to human beings based on personalised pre-programmed, need based modulation. 

For example, there is a very large percentage of elderly people who are living alone in Korea while live far away in big cities chasing their dreams. One of the behavioural insights tapped into by Korea Telecom was that most of the elderly people switched on the TV first thing in the morning. Korea Telecom installed a special set-top box which could communicate to a mobile whenever the TV was switched on.

Tony Dongsu Ye, Executive Vice President, Korea Telecom, on stage showed us the text message he got that morning from his TV which said that his mother was doing fine and has switched on the TV. All of us felt a sense of what is really in store for the future with just that.

There was also another brilliant example of a water bottle for children, which encouraged kids to drink the necessary amount of water. How they did this was by incorporating a pet embedded into the bottle. The pet would grow up based on the water consumer. The pet’s mood would be happy if the right amount of water was consumer. This motivated the otherwise reluctant kids to drink the regular intake of water every day and this data was sent as a text message to the parents. 

So the Internet of Things is actually the Internet of Thinking. This is surely going to change how human beings live and the way brands communicate. Because with technology, every brand can deliver a personalised branded experience to each and every one of their customers, one at a time. Is the IoT going to be the ultimate solution for human desire?

Next up, Cindy Gallop who famously created the ‘Make Love Not Porn’ movement told us passionately that brands should talk openly about sex instead of objectifying women. This was a hilarious session with Cindy exposing how the teens perception of sex has been influenced by meaningless porn they watch because nobody else was willing to talk about sex.

The next dose of inspiration came from Jamie Fuller and a small sports brand called Skins from Australia which through integrity, honesty and sheer purpose brought down international sports bodies to their knees. Skins is a sportswear brand which enhances performances and aid faster recovery through their patented technology. 

When the doping controversy hit the cycling world and Lance Armstrong, the hero of millions, was found positive, it also became clear that International Cycling Union (UCI) played an active role in doping. Pat Mcquade, the President, was ousted was ousted through a movement spearheaded by Skins called ‘Change Cycling Now’.

Skins also played a huge role in making Sepp Blatter and Platini of FIFA step down. They launched a campaign titled ‘Official Non-Sponsor of FiFA’ which exposed the corrupt practices and policies of FIFA. By engaging in a series of advocacy sessions with FIFA sponsors, they started building pressure on FIFA until the FBI closed in on Sep Blatter and Michel Platini. 

To champion the cause of clean sport, they brought on stage none other than Ben Johnson who was banned from athletics after the infamous Seoul Olympics in 1988. Who could forget 9.79 seconds? What they revealed on stage was that six out of the eight athletes who participated in that race that day had tested positive, including Carl Lewis!

Skins has now launched a new campaign to eradicate performance enhancing drugs from sport by using Ben Johnson as a brand ambassador. The confession by a misled athlete and his subsequent re-birth brought everyone to their feet in applause.

I don’t think I’ve ever come across a brand that has displayed such bravery and purpose. Here’s a brand that has truly carved a space for itself by standing up for what it believes in passionately and becoming a crusader for clean sport. And of course, ending up earning millions of earned media in the process.

The festival scene is really heating up now with the shortlists for Innovations, Print and Outdoor having been announced. Also, in store tomorrow are sessions from Sir John Hegarty and Brian Chesky of AirBNB among others.

(Hari Krishnan is Chief Executive Officer, MullenLowe Sri Lanka and Dilshara Jayamanna is Senior Vice President/Executive Creative Director, MullenLowe Sri Lanka.)