Can Cannes Can with Mike Ruby of Park & Battery

Key Links:

Park & Battery: https://parkandbattery.com

Park & Battery LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/parkandbattery

BBN | Agency X: www.bbn-international.com/agencyx

This episode Ed Davis rewinds the reel on Cannes Lions to ask whether the festival is finally judging B2B work on its own creative terms. His guide is Michael Ruby, fresh from the Croisette after Park & Battery’s Roto-Rooter campaign became one of only a handful of pure-play B2B entries to make the Creative B2B shortlist.

The vibe in Cannes
Ruby describes a “whirlwind” first visit: endless content, dizzying networking and—crucially—a palpable momentum for business-to-business brands. With B2B entries up to 415 this year, he believes the new compliance checks have helped weed out thinly veiled B2C work and sharpen the category’s focus on genuine business impact.

Evolving judging criteria
Both host and guest agree the jury is learning to look beyond clever execution to lasting impact. Ruby notes that the best-in-class entries marry creativity with commercial proof: not just impressions and clicks, but measurable shifts in buying intent or brand preference. Yet very few campaigns—his own included—are “culturally sticky” enough to be remembered in five years, a challenge he throws down to the industry.

Behind the Roto-Rooter short-lister
Turning America’s best-known plumber into an emotional storyteller started with one insight: nearly half of small businesses never reopen after a major flood. From there Park & Battery pushed a long-trusted client to embrace talking toilets, wry humour and a budget-friendly regional media plan. Stakeholders bought in instantly—as long as every line stayed technically accurate for professional plumbers.

 Data, emotion and AI
The pair dissect the uneasy dance between performance metrics and brand building. Gartner still says 60 % of martech sits idle; Cannes jurors can hardly be expected to decode MQLs and SQLs, so agencies must translate data into clearly meaningful outcomes. On AI, Ruby sees a gulf between public bravado and private anxiety: smart teams are automating the menial to free humans for concept craft, while audiences begin to recoil at low-grade “AI slop”.

Campaigns that raised the bar
Beyond his own work, Ruby highlights AXA’s “Three Words” domestic-abuse clause, Spotify/FCB’s “Song for Every CMO” (with just 14 hyper-targeted impressions) and Vaseline’s TikTok verification series as benchmarks that blend purpose, precision and share-worthy storytelling.

Advice for would-be Lion-tamers
“Stop sitting on the side-lines.” B2B specialists have the craft, but must invest time and a modest budget in world-class case films. If Park & Battery can do it four years in, anyone can. The only real barrier is deciding to enter.