Syracuse Sun

In June 2024, two creative advertising students from Syracuse University's Newhouse School achieved a remarkable feat by winning the Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in France. Molly Egan and Marlana Bianchi received this prestigious award for their innovative Spotify AI project titled "Break the Sound Barrier," which aims to make music streaming more inclusive for the deaf community.

The Cannes Lions Awards are highly regarded within the advertising industry, often compared to the Oscars. This year marked a significant milestone as Syracuse became the first U.S. undergraduate university to win a Cannes Future Lions Grand Prix. The competition saw participation from 245 schools across 59 countries, highlighting its global reach and competitiveness.

The brief for this year's competition was centered around Spotify, prompting Egan and Bianchi to develop "Break the Sound Barrier." Their idea integrates deaf sign language performances into Spotify's platform using deepfake technology, allowing music streaming to be accessible to all users regardless of hearing ability. By partnering with deaf performers like Justina Miles, they aim to offer performances in over 300 sign languages.

Avi Steinbach, a Newhouse alumnus and creative director/writer at Ogilvy, praised their work: “‘Break the Sound Barrier’ is phenomenal, bravo. My favorite ideas make me deeply jealous that I didn’t think of them."

Egan and Bianchi were inspired by several factors, including a memorable Super Bowl halftime show performance by Rihanna and Justina Miles in 2023. Miles' dynamic interpretation left a lasting impression on both students as they watched from different parts of the world.

Their concept also drew inspiration from MasterCard’s “True Name” campaign shared during their Portfolio III course taught by Mel White. The campaign emphasizes inclusivity by allowing transgender and nonbinary individuals to display their chosen names on banking cards.

“‘Break the Sound Barrier’ is just so simple. Real problem. Real solution,” said Steinbach about their idea's potential impact on music accessibility through technology.

For further details on this story, visit newhouse.syracuse.edu.