After years of almost completely ignoring what goes on at Cannes, Procter & Gamble showed up in 2003 en masse to find out just how creative others can be. Leading the trip was global marketing officer Jim Stengel, who was hoping fairy dust would rain on the contingent of about 30 (including several VPs) and lead to better and more creative campaigns for the giant.

"We have good advertising not great advertising," says P&G spokesperson Gretchen Muchnick. "We've been too functionally based, now we are concentrating on making an emotional connection." Muchnick says the shift at P&G has been taking place over the last four years. "Pampers is a good example - in the past it was about dryness; today it's about the baby." What they saw at Cannes reinforced that shift.

On top of getting inspired, P&G hopes to show the industry that it's now fully committed to great creative that also speaks to consumers. Moreover, Muchnick says the company has "developed better relations with agency partners and thought about how our ads compare to the rest of the world's".

The quest for comparison also included an outside review of P&G's reel, a move that for many signals a coming change of agency - something P&G denies. "There will be changes to the way we think about working with agencies but not for specific assignments. Relations with our partners are strong and long term," says Muchnick.

In the meantime, while the rest of us are waiting to find out if this is in fact true, Muchnick notes that there was much learned at the critique. Probably most significant was P&G's addictive use of focus groups - a technique many believe stifles creativity. "It has become clear that we need to use research differently - it shouldn't be a gatekeeper. Focus groups should be a tool providing insight rather than a basis for yes or no decisions."

Welcome to the 21st century, guys.