CANNES, FRANCE – At the Palais’ Lumière Theatre, the 2025 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity turned its spotlight on a message long overdue: the future of creativity lies not in convention, but in the beautifully divergent ways minds are wired. The session, “Neurodivergent Minds: They Don’t Need Advertising – Advertising Needs Them,” presented by Havas, made one thing clear: neurodiversity isn’t a challenge to manage – it’s the next great creative advantage.
Havas put on stage British recording artist Lola Young, who brought raw personal insight into what it means to live – and create – with ADHD.
In a statement, Ivor Novello award-winning singer Lola Young shared, “I’m not here to fit into anyone’s idea of what ‘creative’ should look like,” and added, “ADHD isn’t a barrier. It’s the engine.”
Together with Lola, panelists included Yannick Bolloré, Chairman and CEO of Havas; Renee Connolly, Merck KGaA’s Chief Belonging and Inclusion Officer; and Donna Murphy, Global CEO of Havas Creative and Health Networks; and moderated by The Daily’s Michael Barbaro.
This session unveiled a groundbreaking industry benchmark from Havas’ Neurodiversity Center of Excellence, offering tools to embed neurodivergent thinking into the core of brand strategy and innovation. To explore how differently wired minds – from autism to ADHD to dyslexia – are reshaping creativity in ways AI never could: by going beyond the brief. Fundamentally, a wake-up call for the future of creativity
The agency advocates that embracing neurodiversity isn’t just a mindset shift – it’s a strategic advantage. Their CEO Yannick Bollore revealed that 53% of Gen Z are identifying as neurodivergent, and that brands risk losing the most creative generation as both talent and consumers.
Neurodivergence as creative superpower
Timed with Neurodiversity Pride Day, the session marked the launch of “Beyond the Brief” — a new platform from Havas that builds on its Neuroverse initiative, aiming to integrate neurodivergent thinking into core brand and innovation strategies.
As brands chase efficiency and automation, Havas is urging the industry to look in a different direction: at the minds society has too often sidelined. The agency’s new benchmark — developed by its Neurodiversity Center of Excellence — offers practical guidance to help organizations turn inclusion into innovation.
Giving voice to the unfiltered mind
At just 23, Lola has emerged as one of the UK’s most compelling young voices — emotionally fearless, genre-fluid, and unapologetically herself. Her breakout hit “Messy” resonated globally not just for its haunting honesty, but for the way it celebrated imperfection as a creative force.
Growing up with ADHD, Lola was often misunderstood. She recalled being dismissed as disruptive — “a naughty kid” who couldn’t sit still, couldn’t follow rules, couldn’t keep her room clean. But what looked like chaos to others, she now understands as part of how her creative process works.
“People would think ADHD was just a naughty boy thing. I would be angry, I would run around, I wouldn’t clean my room, I found rules so difficult.”
“I’m still young, still trying to make sense of it. I think things will be harder if the creative thing didn’t come into my life.”
“Neodivergent people are sometimes seen as rude and inconsiderate just because they take up space. But it is never intentional.”
Her words weren’t rehearsed — they were real. Lola spoke not just as an artist, but as someone still navigating the emotional weight of being seen as “too much” or “not enough.”
“So next time someone can’t tie their shoelaces or doesn’t meet a work deadline you’ve been hammering them for, ask yourself – is perfect something that actually exists – or something to strive for?”
Renee emphasized that neurodiversity shouldn’t be relegated to checkbox inclusion — it should be a strategic lens for innovation.
Donna reinforced this with an example from the 2023 campaign “Me and My Autism” for Reckitt’s Vanish campaign which reveals that people with ADHD need familiarity in their clothing. Autism and ADHD are often underdiagnosed in women and girls.
Lola tells the audience, “Neurodivergent people are different — but maybe that’s something to be celebrated. Maybe we can learn something,” A reminder that creativity can come from honoring the minds that defy it.
