Retail Media Therapy
Retail Media Therapy
Grace & Co | Retail Media Experts
EP47 – Cannes Review: Walmart, Instacart, Albertsons, French Philosophy and squirrels
24 minutes Posted Jul 7, 2026 at 4:02 am.
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Retail Media Therapy — EP 47: Cannes Special


Fresh from the Cannes Lions Festival, Viv and Colin unpack the retail media trends that actually matter – no, not the rosé and boat parties, Colin!


First up: the return of the soap opera. Albertsons Media Collective and P&G launched 'Rico's Tacos,' a 24-episode, 15-second soap opera inspired by shopping data, complete with QR codes linking back to products. It's the TikTokification of retail media taken to its logical conclusion, and proof that in-store screens are ready for real storytelling.


We discuss Instacart's new immersive, shoppable video feed. Billed as inspiring content mid-shop, Viv thinks it's a risky distraction for shoppers.


OpenAI made a quiet Cannes debut, projecting $100 billion in ad revenue by 2030. Viv bets a billion dollars of his own money that it won't happen.


The standout deal: Walmart Connect's acquisition of French startup Vibe.co, the self-serve 'Google Ads of TV' that lets SMBs create and target connected TV ads in minutes. Colin sees this as true democratisation of television advertising.


Besides the messing around, reference to French philosophy, Brad Pitt and squirrels, Viv & Colin agree there's a thread tying all these stories together: Retail Media's creative era has arrived. After a year of data, pipes and AI, it's time for every network to ask: how do we build a creative studio?

Grace & Co | Retail Media Experts


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