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Motel Yahoo

    Yahoo! + Amplify check in with Motel Yahoo at Cannes Lions 2025.

    Challenge

    Advertisers and marketers come to Cannes to find out where they should be investing in the year ahead. Yahoo was a pioneer of the early internet in the ‘90s and early ‘00s, but while the web platform has continued to evolve, public perception was stuck in the past. Our challenge was to get over-scheduled (and over-heating) attendees feeling good about Yahoo again.

    Insight + Strategy

    As culture speeds toward an uncertain future, nostalgia has become a collective source of comfort. We dream about going back to the days of the early internet, when Yahoo was every millennial-plus executive’s portal to the world.

    Solution

    With Yahoo’s brand refresh, Cannes presented the perfect opportunity to reintroduce the brand to the advertising world in a bold, ownable way. Inspired by the “Motel” archetype—a space for discovery, connection, and nostalgia—we built Motel Yahoo, a fully immersive destination that invited delegates to “check-in, log on.”

    Drawing from the mid-90s—the era when Yahoo helped define the early internet—we created a setting where vintage internet vibes met modern marketing innovation.

    Motel Yahoo wasn’t just a space. It was a statement. A vibrant, all-day experience for delegates—mixing business, culture, and play—all through a distinctly Yahoo lens.

    • Yahoo Sports served up morning paddleboard sessions and afternoon happy hours on the water.

    • Yahoo Finance dropped custom tokens redeemable at a branded ice cream cart and beachfront bar.

    • The Yahoo Newsstand stocked the must-read Yahoo’s Guide to Cannes.

    • Yahoo Mail let guests send branded postcards home.

    • A Yahoo Search-inspired bar offered a “search result-style” cocktail menu with clever, curated twists.

    Solution

    Midweek, Motel Yahoo turned up the volume—hosting a Wednesday night party headlined by Diplo. Guests let loose under the stars, making it one of the week’s most talked-about moments and a celebration that truly captured Yahoo’s energy and evolution.

    At Martinez Beach off the Croisette, the brand’s revitalized identity came to life—from Pier meeting rooms to content sessions spotlighting Yahoo’s media and tech capabilities.

    Amplify was tasked with putting Yahoo “back on the map.” From strategy and storytelling to visual identity and on-site programming, we developed the full creative concept for Motel Yahoo—an experience designed to reignite Yahoo’s connection with marketers and remind the industry why Yahoo was, and still is, the OG New Kid on the Block.

      • 475+

        Strategic meetings & engagements

      • 800+

        Clients & partners check-ins for programming and events

      • 1100+

        Party attendees

      • 700+

        Delegate check-ins

    Brand Experience Agency of the Decade