There has been much talk in recent times about how the advertising industry could (and should) use its considerable wealth of creativity to help change people’s behavior for the benefit of the world. That message was amplified when the former President addressed the delegates of Cannes. Clinton was invited by Pereira & O'Dell's parent company Grupo ABC. Nizan Guanaes, Chairman of Grupo ABC, has been heavily involved with the Clinton Foundation and serves as a Goodwill Ambassador to Brazil. Clinton called on the assembled to channel their creative energy toward coming up with world-changing ideas.

While Clinton’s message was simple--that those with the power to persuade could have great impact when those energies are focused on the greater good--his insight and global context made the point impressively. While President Clinton spent much of his time discussing the need to communicate for-positive changes around topics such as climate change, which is a prime focus of his Clinton Global initiative, he charismatically wooed the audience when he declared his love of DirecTV’s recent advertising, recounting the premise of “Don’t Have a Grandson with a Dog Collar” nearly word for word, prompting PJ to declare DirecTV the winner of the first Presidential Lion.

Read the coverage in Fast Company online here.