Written by Tom Deehan on Jun 23, 2017. Posted in Awards and Festivals / General Interest

Cannes Lions 2017: Transparency in advertising dominates debate at the 12th annual World Producers Summit

Hosted by AICP, APA and CFP-E, the World Producers Summit marked its 12^th year of operation on Wednesday, taking over the Vegaluna Beach at the Cannes Lions Festival to discuss recent issues affecting the advertising industry.

With over 110 producers in attendance from 34 different countries, the most pressing topic of the event was the recent controversy regarding potential bid-rigging and the unfair advantage posed by advertising agencies that utilise an in-house production team.

In recent months, agencies with in-house teams have been hit with the accusation that they are altering the bidding process in their favour to avoid outsourcing work to dedicated production companies.

The controversy has led to an ongoing investigation by the US Department of Justice. Comments from organisations such as the IPA that agencies should be free to cater to their in-house production teams, have only prolonged the controversy.

The growing concern over unfair bidding practices was apparent at the summit, with multiple statements being issued from production companies worldwide.

Attendees were also keen to address the need for transparency across all sectors when discussing budgets. Many clients operate on a closed budget policy, an issue that was raised in AdGreen’s production forum as a roadblock that prevents environmentally conscious companies from highlighting the positive effects of their methods.