Advertising agencies' woke campaigns misfire

The advertising industry elite were forced to abandon their pilgrimage to the French Riviera in June. Lavish yacht parties along La Croisette were replaced with online seminars as Covid put a stop the excesses of Cannes Lions for the second year in a row. Yet the long arm of the pandemic did more than just upset celebrations at adland's annual jamboree. Of the agencies picking up gongs for their influential work, many focused on the challenges posed by an uncertain world. Ogilvy, the WPP-owned agency, was awarded for the Dove soap campaign - "Courage is Beautiful" - picturing the faces…