CANNES, FRANCE – Tor Myhren, Apple’s Vice President of Marketing Communications, stepped onto the Lumière stage to open the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity with a powerful question: Can the human touch save creativity in the age of algorithms? His talk goes behind the work that drove Apple to becoming the 2025 recipient of the Cannes Lions Creative Marketer of the Year Award, and shows how sometimes it’s as important to feel it as it is to get it.
Human creativity and the role of AI in advertising
In a week that celebrates ideas, imagination, and innovation, Tor’s message was clear: Creativity is still the soul of advertising, and it must remain unmistakably human. Tor emphasized the importance of human creativity in advertising, despite the rapid advancements in AI and machine learning.
“We’re at an inflection point,” Tor told the audience. “Machines are doing more of the work. Algorithms are making more of the decisions. But logic isn’t the path to human connection. The best marketing doesn’t just help you understand something — it makes you feel something. And humans are still so much better at that than machines.”
AirPods and Accessibility
Apple’s transformation of the AirPods Pro 2 into clinical-grade hearing aids wasn’t just a technical marvel — it was a heart-led innovation.
“My dad is 88,” Tor said, recounting a story that resonated deeply. “He forgot his hearing aids when visiting me, so we tried the new feature together. Eight minutes later, he came out of the closet — literally — wearing AirPods tuned exactly to his hearing. He wore them all week. Later, he told me, ‘They work about the same as my $5,000 hearing aids — but they just look so much cooler.’”
This deeply personal story became the emotional backbone of Heartstrings, Apple’s holiday campaign that reached 51 million viewers. It also spiked global searches for hearing aids.
“This kind of thing only happens when human creativity drives the process — from insight to execution,” Tor said. “It’s the brain and the heart working together.”
Campaign: Heartstrings | Apple Holiday | Hearing Aid feature on AirPods Pro 2
The moral compass of creativity: privacy as a human right
Apple’s value system — particularly its unwavering stance on privacy — was another example of heart-forward marketing.
“We don’t harvest your data because we don’t believe in exploiting you,” said Tor. “Privacy is a human right. It’s designed into every product we make. That’s not just good marketing — that’s Apple’s moral compass.”
Their cheeky Safari campaign, Flock, featured obsessive bird cams watching users’ every move — a visual metaphor brought to life with hand-built puppets.
“These weird, pissed-off birds weren’t created by AI,” Tor smiled. “They were imagined and crafted by real people — down to every angry blink and feather. Because craft matters. It’s a very human thing. You can’t replicate that subtlety with code.”
Campaign: Privacy on iPhone | Flock | Apple
Using industry-leading privacy protection technology, including Intelligent Tracking Prevention — Safari protects your privacy.
Immersion with Apple Vision Pro
With Apple Vision Pro, Apple took a leap into immersive storytelling. But even in this high-tech territory, the core idea remained: connection, intimacy, feeling.
“VR used to be a novelty. Now, thanks to the fidelity and fluidity of Vision Pro, we’re telling stories — real, emotional stories that people can step into,” Tor explained. “Inside all this tech is an incredibly human experience.”
The film Submerged wasn’t just a launch — it was a statement. “We made and marketed a movie, not just to show off the hardware, but to prove a point: storytelling still matters, and technology should serve emotion.”
Campaign: Submerged — Official Trailer | Apple Vision Pro
Live experience with Severance
The Apple TV+ campaign for Severance epitomized experiential creativity. Lumon Industries, the fictional company from the series, came to life in New York’s Grand Central Terminal, where actors performed behind glass in eerie office simulations.
“In a world that’s becoming more virtual, we crave physical, real experiences,” Tor said. “That cube, those actors — it was all tangible. You could smell the moment. And that can only come from a human mind.”
Campaign: Severance — Inside the Grand Central Terminal Pop-Up | Apple TV+
Shot on iPhone: A Decade of Democratizing Creativity
Marking 10 years of “Shot on iPhone,” Tor called it “a global celebration of everyday genius.”
“This campaign wasn’t born in a boardroom. It was born on the streets, in people’s hands. We gave them a tool and watched them create magic,” he said. “Whether it’s Danny Boyle shooting 28 Years Later on iPhones or a user in Lagos capturing life on their block — it all stems from the same idea: technology in service of human expression.”
The App Store and the Creative Community
Tor expressed gratitude to the teams at Apple, the agencies Media Arts Lab and OMD, . A 28-year partnership and the creative talent that drives the company’s success culminated ina song made entirely from App Store reviews, celebrating the contributions of app developers.
Campaign: 6 out of 5 ⭐️ | WWDC25 | Apple
This is a little song written entirely from real App Store reviews, dedicated to the people who develop the apps we love. “6 out of 5 stars” was performed by Allen Stone https://apple.co/Allen-Stone
“I also want to thank Pedro Pascal, of course, because he’s just so damn sexy. No, that’s not why I want to thank him. I want to thank him for bringing optimism to the world this year with that fantastic dance, with his fantastic dance moves.”
Campaign: Experience the magic of AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation in a new film by Spike Jonze, starring Pedro Pascal
Creativity vs the algorithm
As the session neared its end, Tor delivered his most stirring message of the morning — a call to preserve the emotional intelligence that no algorithm can replicate.
“Just imagine two chatbots sitting at a bar, cracking each other up. Or one comforting the other about the loss of a loved one. That’s not going to happen. Because a tear to an algorithm is just water and salt. But a tear to us? It’s heartbreak. It’s grief. It’s love. That’s our superpower.”
He paused, then added: “I’m a shameless optimist. And I believe in human creativity — not just because it’s what I do, but because it’s what makes everything meaningful.”
Looking Ahead: AI as partner, not replacement
Tor is under no illusions about the transformative power of AI. But he doesn’t see it as a threat.
“And I am a shameless optimist, and I believe in human creativity, and I don’t believe predictions that 95% of this industry will soon be done.”
“AI is the most exciting creative tool of our lifetimes. It will change everything. But it won’t replace us,” he said. “It’s not going to save advertising. We have to save advertising — by doing what we’ve always done: creating something that makes people feel.”
He concluded with a quote from Steve Jobs that’s become a north star at Apple: “Make something wonderful, and put it out there.”
And then, Tor added his own final call to the Cannes crowd: “Use your taste. Use your originality. Use your sense of humor. Use your brain. Use your heart. And go out there and make something that matters. Because if we let machines lead without our humanity, we lose the one thing that makes creativity so powerful: the human touch.”
