Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder says the best marketers will know when not to use AI

Every year at Cannes Lions, the advertising world takes stock of itself—what’s working, what’s not, and what it’s pretending not to notice. Autodesk CMO Dara Treseder breaks down the industry’s complicated relationship with AI; weighs in on the hottest and most overrated campaigns of the year, including sharp takes on Nike, Adidas, and Starbucks; and explains why the path from CMO to CEO is suddenly the most interesting career move in business. This is an abridged transcript of an interview from Rapid Response, hosted by former Fast Company editor-in-chief Robert Safian. From the team behind the Masters of Scale podcast, Rapid Response features candid conversations with today’s top business leaders navigating real-time challenges. Subscribe to Rapid Response wherever you get your podcasts to ensure you never miss an episode. So what’s the vibe [at Cannes] this year? What are you feeling? Are people excited? Are people anxious? I think people are really excited, but there’s also a lot of anxiety about what’s going on. Some people are feeling clear. Some people feel like there’s a lot of chaos. So it’s a tale of two cities. Is the chaotic feeling about the world? Is it about AI and the business? Where’s the chaos landing? I would say the chaos is a little bit about the world, but a lot about AI. I feel like the chaos around AI is more rampant than it was last year. You were mentioning that you went to the World Cup with your son. And since we’re here, I wanted to ask you about the World Cup ads. Is that part of the conversation you’re hearing? It’s part of the conversation. And I have to tell you, I’ve been hanging out with some CMOs—some are Team Nike, some are Team Adidas. Yes. I want to give both brands a lot of credit because how do you enter a conversation in a very culturally relevant way? I think Adidas approached it from a nostalgia perspective, and they really nailed it, and they created so much meaning. They focused on the semantics.