Dive Brief:

• Cannes awarded 11 Golden Lions for the branded content and entertainment category this year, but none took home a Grand Prix award. 
• It was the first time since 1995 that a category -- in this case the three-year-old branded content -- failed to pull a Grand Prix from any of its nominees. 
• The category struggle with a too-broad definition, some entrants who didn't meet the criteria, and work that was dubbed not worthy of a Grand Prix. 

Dive Insight:

The industry as a whole is struggling with defining what branded content entails so it's no surprise that Cannes is struggling as well. The awards jurors could help set an example for the industry by delivering a more specific definition. It could also be that branded content will always be too broad to warrant its own category and that the awards will be the ones that need to change -- not the definition.