P&G Touts ‘People’ When It Comes to Brand Development

P&G Chief Brand Officer Marc Pritchard opened his keynote at Cannes Lions 2026 with the message: “the future of brand building will always begin with human insight.”

To bring that point to life during his keynote, Pritchard asked P&G’s internal AI engine, ChatPG, to describe consumer behavior.

According to the Happi Top 50 Company: “While AI quickly generated a strong starting point, it couldn’t uncover the nuanced cultural truths that come from observing people in their everyday lives. Those deeper insights — the ones rooted in human curiosity, empathy and real-world observation — are what transform information into ideas that build brands.”

Across Cannes, P&G leaders demonstrated how these principles are being applied across every part of the business.

For example, P&G Chief Analytics and Insights Officer Kirti Singh reinforced that “while AI is transforming how businesses analyze information and accelerate decisions, the fundamentals remain unchanged.” He emphasized that “technology is most powerful when paired with high-quality data, human insight and a relentless focus on keeping the consumer at the center of every business decision.”

Last summer, P&G cut 7,000 jobs to adapt to industry changes, as reported in Happi.

Read more on P&G’s blog here.