Audit of the main advertising awards found that company simulated nonexistent events with artificial intelligence in the campaign “Efficient Way to Pay” for Consul
The Creativity Festival canceled the Grand Prix granted to the Brazilian agency for irregular use of artificial intelligence in the campaign “Efficient Way to Pay”, developed for the appliance store.
The decision was announced last Friday (27.jun.2025), after an independent audit of the awards found that the agency used I was to simulate events that did not happen.
After the annulment, DM9 pushed away Icaro Doria, then co-president, CCO (Chief Creative Officer) and professional responsible for the campaigns. The company also announced the creation of an ethics committee. Read the company’s notes at the end of this report.
What the video says
The company had won the top prize in the Creative Data category, which presupposes the use of data for the preparation of the final product.
According to the video, 65% of Brazilians use appliances over 25 for financial reasons. These appliances would increase energy bills by up to 165%.
The original campaign states that Consul had developed a new way to access appliances: customers could pay for new products using the positive balance of their energy bills. The purchase could be made without initial payments. There was no interest, and the discharge could continue until the customer finished paying.
Also according to the video, 1280 low -income families in São Paulo were being served.
Watch the video (2min26s):
Manipulated information
The campaign shows alleged excerpts from the American senator Deandrea Salvador (Democratic Party) talking about the energy price for low -income families in Sao Paulo. The original lecture is from 2018, and does not mention any Brazilian city – it says about energy costs in the US.
Then the DM9 video features excerpts that would be a report from CNN. The news is narrated by journalist Gloria Vanique, who left the station’s anchor position at the end of 2022.
The report is about the search for more economical appliances, published in 2021. However, in the video produced by the advertising agency, the headline is as follows: “Economy in the electricity bill becomes form of payment of appliances.” CNN has never published the article present in the campaign.
According to the CNN He notified the DM9 and requested the exclusion of the material from all channels.
Finally, the video shows the title of a supposed article published by the portal Infomoney. The headline in English would be: “Consul’s new program is energy efficient and economically efficient”. There is no article published by the portal with this title –NEM in English or Portuguese. THE Poder360 contacted the Infomoneybut has no answer so far.
Internal investigation
The festival organization identified that the use of AI in the award -winning campaign in the Creative Data category presented inaccurate information to the jurors. According to an official statement by Cannes Lions, this practice “Violates the rules of registration on factual representation and compromises the confidence placed at work for our juries and the general community”. Read the full position at the end of this report.
The conclusion came after a process of “Minas Gerais Investigation and Review” which included independent auditors and consultations to the parties involved. The festival, considered one of the most important in the world advertising sector, held its 2025 edition this month. The irregularity was later discovered.
Repercussions
DM9 has removed registration from 2 other campaigns: “Plastic Blood”, created for Oka (Biotech), and “Gold = Death”, developed for Urihi Yanomami. The agency said that “All parties recognize that the level of legitimacy does not meet the necessary standard. All awards will be removed as a result.”.
In response to the incident, DM9 immediately dismissed Icaro Doria, who occupied the positions of co -president and CCO. In a statement published in LinkedIn, the company identified Doria as “directly responsible for failures“.
According to, Whirlpool, a multinational consul, sent the brand “dismiss” the advertising agency.
Cannes Lions has announced that it will implement new control measures “To ensure that the awards remain robust in the age of synthetic content, manipulated media and the general AI”. Actions include the obligation to declare the use of AI in the process of registration and use of tools to detect manipulated materials.
DM9 has announced the creation of an IA ethics committee to establish guidelines on the use of these tools in the creative process. The agency has also pledged to implement processes that guarantee high ethical patterns in future projects.
“DM9 apologizes, without reservation, to the Cannes Lions Creativity Festival to the jurors who have devoted their time and care to evaluate their work, and to the industry as a whole. The DM9 executive leadership team remains committed to acting with integrity and maintaining the highest standards for its customers, people and businesses. Ethical standards. Soon, the members of the Committee will be announced, as well as model of practices implemented to ensure the integrity of all agency actions and campaign ”the company said in an official statement.
Prior to the final decision of the festival, Pipo Calazans, DM9 co -president, stated that the agency prioritized “The transparent dialogue” with employees and customers, highlighting “In particular to Consul, who had nothing to do with the flaws”.
What the Cannes Lions Festival says
This is the full translation of published on 27.Jun:
Cannes Lions confirmed that, after consultation with the participating company, DM9, winner of the Grand Prix of Creative Data Lions, [a ação] “Efficient Way to Pay” for Consul, has been removed. This occurred after the discovery that AI -generated and manipulated content was used in the case movie to simulate real events and campaign results, resulting in the presentation of inaccurate information to the jury during their deliberations.
This violates Cannes Lions’ registration rules on factual representation and undermines the confidence placed at work by our jurors and the general community. Cannes Lions exists to celebrate real, representative and responsible creativity.
After a complete investigation and review, conducted in consultation with the relevant parts and independent auditors of Cannes Lions, we concluded that the only appropriate action would be to remove the registration of the festival and therefore to withdraw the Grand Prix and the Associated Awards.
As an additional measure, and after a complete internal analysis, DM9 decided to remove “plastic blood” inscriptions for Oka Biotech and “gold = death” for Urihi Yanomami. All parties recognize that the level of legitimacy does not meet the necessary standard. Consequently, all prizes will be removed.
Looking to the future, Cannes Lions will implement a series of enhanced measures to ensure that prizes remain robust in the age of synthetic content, media, and general AI. Among them are:
Commitment
An enhanced code of conduct that must be signed by all participating organizations.
Transparency
Mandatory dissemination of AI as part of the registration process, and non -disclosure is a reason for disqualification or withdrawal.
Detection
Content detection tools can be used to help identify manipulated movies and materials.
Adjudication
A dedicated review committee composed of AI experts, ethics and content integrity.
These measures will be supported by formal execution procedures, including possible disqualification, public disclosure or prize withdrawal, when necessary.
These new and enhanced measures reinforce the festival’s commitment to honor works that maintain the highest standards of truth, justice, transparency and creative excellence.
What DM9 says
This is the full published by DM9 on 28.Jun:
DM9 Announces case removal and measures after internal investigation.
After an investigation conducted by the agency’s board, it was found that three of the cases entered by the DM9 at this year’s Cannes Lions Creativity Festival had serious inconsistencies related to the veracity or legitimacy of the work presented.
The facts culminated in the immediate removal of Icaro Doria, former co-president and CCO and the production leader of these cases, responsible for the failures.
DM9 confirms the withdrawal of these three registrations of 2025:
- “Efficient Way to Pay” for Consul was removed after the discovery that artificial intelligence was used to create two scenes that did not faithfully reflect the real execution of the project.
- “Gold = Death”, The Yanomami Uri
- Plastic Blood, for Oka Biotech, were also removed due to the dissatisfaction with the legitimacy level of each of the work.
The awards eventually won by these works will be returned to the festival.
DM9 apologizes, without reservation, to the Cannes Lions Creativity Festival, to the jurors who have devoted their time and care to evaluate their work, and to the industry as a whole.
The DM9 executive leadership team remains committed to acting with integrity and maintaining the highest standards for their customers, people and businesses.
In a spirit of transparency and responsibility, DM9 is committed to a process that will ensure that all projects meet the highest ethical standards. In addition, the agency will implement an artificial intelligence ethics committee to establish clear guidelines and best practices for the responsible use of AI and technology in its creative processes. Soon, members of the Committee will be announced, as well as model of practices implemented to ensure the integrity of all actions and campaign of the agency.
This is the full Published by DM9 on 25.Jun:
Last week, in the face of questions in the midst of Cannes Lions 2025, we immediately triggered our creative team and mobilized to determine the facts with transparency and responsibility. We found that there were a number of failures in production and sending the video clow that accompanies one of our award -winning cases at the festival. By this situation, we want to leave our apology.
As soon as we conclude the investigation, we prioritize the transparent dialogue with our employees and customers, especially consul, a brand for which we have deep respect, and that had no relation to the failures, besides the others involved. Icaro Doria, as a co -president and CCO, assumes full responsibility for the fact.
We are taking the necessary and proportional measures, including the improvement of our routines, the reinforcement of security in agency processes and the strengthening of the guidelines of our Code of Conduct, a document that guides behaviors on various fronts and expresses our commitment to the highest ethical standards.
In addition, we will institute an artificial intelligence ethics committee, with the participation of external and independent members of different segments, to establish guidelines, promote debates and foster the responsible use of this technology. We want to further expand discussions with all agents in the sector, contributing to the use of AI always aligned with the principles of truth, respect and image rights.
For us, this episode reinforces not only the importance of deepening the discussion about the application of new technologies, such as the use of AI in the advertising industry, but, above all, reaffirms our conviction that success is not only the result of talent and creativity, but it is also a reflection of how we work and interact, with a solid commitment to ethics and integrity. Nickened values for me and hundreds of DM9 people.
Calazans Pipo
DM9 COPRES
