If Cannes Lions 2024 was the AI warm-up, the 2025 edition is the main event – and Meta’s Nicola Mendelsohn, head of the global business group, is front and center of the action.
Speaking to The Drum just after unveiling 11 new Meta features for advertisers, Mendelsohn was bullish on what the company’s long-term investment in AI means for the industry: “The advancements we’re seeing with AI and generative AI are fantastic, especially when it comes to advertising. But this isn’t new for Meta. We’ve been using it since the earliest days of Feed.”
And it’s paying off. She pointed to Meta’s Advantage+ Sales Campaigns, now delivering a 20% boost in ROAS on average. “That’s significant. We’re becoming more efficient in how we deliver returns for advertisers and how we get messages in front of the right people.”
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But this year, it’s the creative side of the AI story she’s most excited about – from automated ad personas and multi-language copy generation to the launch of fully customizable CTA stickers. “Agencies have been asking us for that for a long time,” she said.
Still, she’s clear AI isn’t replacing creative work – just unlocking more of it. “This is about doing creative at scale. It’s not about changing what creativity is. The big ideas still matter. You still need people at the heart of that.”
When The Drum pushed her on media fatigue – or what we call the hairdresser test (“my stylist says there’s just too much in her feed”) – Mendelsohn said smarter planning is already baked into the platform. “That’s the heart of Advantage+ campaigns and also our GEM technology. We’re getting more precise – not just about the message, but about the right frequency too.”
Her own hairdresser test, she said, produced the opposite result: “What they talk to me about is how much more relevant the ads are. I’m seeing things that fit me as a mum, as a grandma now. It’s part of the delight where advertising and relevance come together.”
