Fatboy Slim and comedian Rob Mayhew to donate 1% of Lions earnings to #CannesForAll

DJ and producer Fatboy Slim and comedian and TikTok influencer Rob Mayhew have pledged to donate 1% of their earnings from their appearances at Cannes Lions to #CannesForAll, Brixton Finishing School, Digiearning and Lollipop Mentoring's programme to make the adland festival more inclusive.

Norman Cook, aka Fatboy Slim, has worked with Digilearning and its founders Lisa Goodchild and Sarah Wilson since 2022. He said: "We need to see more young talent from all walks of life. Digilearning and projects like the #CannesForAll are a must. It's great to see Digilearning spreading the love and teaming up with other non-profits and charities to create these types of career opportunities for everyone – it is the only way forward."

#CannesForAll was launched in January this year. BFS tied up with DigiLearning Foundation, which teaches 16- to 30-year-olds digital skills, and Lollipop Mentoring, a mentorship programme for black women in mid-level advertising roles.

Designed to bring talent to Cannes from under-represented backgrounds, the initiative is calling on senior ad executives to pledge 1% of their Cannes Lions budgets to support diverse talent.

BFS, DigiLearning Foundation and Lollipop Mentoring will each bring four of their programme participants or alumni to this year's Cannes, while Digilearning's students will also be joined by an apprentice from the Marketing Academy Foundation charity, which has a placement at Amazon. The attendees will gain full access to the festival as well as "speaking opportunities, traditional and reverse mentoring, learning and exclusive content creation for brands".

Cook said that businesses "are losing out on some of the best talent to walk the Earth, so get involved".

He continued: "As I have said before, money is replaceable, but culture and people's lives aren't, which is why I am proud to support Digilearning and #CannesForAll."

Mayhew added: "Every year it gets harder for young people to break into the advertising industry. Creativity comes from all walks of life. If everyone in your agency looks and speaks like you, then your work will suffer. I am incredibly lucky that this will be my second year going to Cannes. I fully support Digilearning and projects like #CannesForAll that will bring young people to Cannes Lions this year to help inspire them and find their creative superpower."

Ally Owen, founder of BFS, described Cannes as an "exclusive club for future leaders".

She said it was "not enough for us to build an equitable highway into the industry – we need to create equitable opportunities to rise when you arrive".

She added: "I'd like to thank those who have donated where it counts to #CannesForAll – Accenture Song, AmazingIf, Channel Factory, Clear Channel, Creature London, Google, Kantar, Mail Metro Media, Major Players, Merlin Entertainments, Freewheel, The Social Element, TikTok, Teads, The Trade Desk, Trainline, Twitch, Video Week, Wavemaker, WPP, VaynerMedia, and of course, Cannes Lions themselves for our passes."