After a flurry during which the “maths men” seemed to be usurping the “mad men”, every ad-tech exec these days takes pains to promise that programmatic can propel creative marketer messages.

But one ad woman says that isn’t happening – now, according to the Maxus Global agency’s CEO Lindsay Pattison, it is time to finally unite the two hemispheres.

“Programmatic should be seen as an opportunity for creativity,” she tells Beet.TV in this video interview. “Data and creativity coming together has been talked about for a number of years, I don’t think we’ve really seen it.

“When we look at the winners at Cannes (Lions), we sometimes see examples of data being used to prove that creative work was effective, I don’t think we’ve seen brilliant work that has data at the heart of it. I hope we see more of it this year.”

What could data plus creativity equal? Take Pattison. She says programmatic algorithms should already be showing her ads for pink and red businesswear ahead of her company’s upcoming sojourn at Cannes. With the June festival just around the corner, many suitcases are about to be packed.

This interview is part of our series “The Road to Cannes”, presented by FreeWheel. Please visit this page for additional segments.