The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity (formerly the International Advertising Festival)[1][2] is a global event for those working in creative communications, advertising, and related fields. It is considered the largest gathering of the advertising and creative communications industry.[3][4]
The five-day festival, incorporating the awarding of the Lions awards, is held yearly at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France.[5] During the last week of June, around 15,000 registered delegates from 90 countries visited the Festival. They celebrated the best of creativity in brand communication, discussed industry issues, and networked with one another.[6][7] The week's activities include multiple award ceremonies, as well as an opening and closing gala.[8][9]
History
Inspired by the Cannes Film Festival, staged in Cannes since the late 1940s, a group of cinema screen advertising contractors belonging to the Screen Advertising World Association (SAWA) felt the makers of advertising films should be similarly recognised. They established the International Advertising Film Festival, the first of which took place in Venice, Italy, in September 1954, with 187 film entries from 14 countries. The lion of the Piazza San Marco in Venice was the inspiration for the Lion trophy.[10][11]
The second festival was held in Monte Carlo, and the third in Cannes. After that, the event alternated between Venice and Cannes before settling in the latter in 1984.[12] New categories have been awarded in recent years: the Press & Outdoor Lions competition in 1992; the Cyber Lions in 1998 (retired after 2017); Media Lions in 1999; Direct Lions in 2002; Radio, and Titanium Lions in 2005; Promo & Activation Lions in 2006 (retired after 2017); Design Lions in 2008; PR Lions in 2009; Film Craft in 2010; Creative Effectiveness in 2011;[12] Branded Content & Entertainment and Mobile Lions in 2012; Innovation in 2013; and Creative eCommerce and Social & Influencer in 2018. In 2018, the festival introduced several changes to better reflect the state of the modern communications world: including new categories, revising costs, and reducing the event from seven to five days.[13]
In 2004, British publisher and conference organiser EMAP plc (now called Ascential) purchased the festival from French businessman Roger Hatchuel – who had started managing it in 1987 – for a reported £52 million.[15] In June 2014, the Wall Street Journal[16] as well as Campaign Magazine[17] reported on Nimrod Kamer's protestations at Cannes Lions.
Philip Thomas is the Chairman and Simon Cook the Managing Director. Thomas is also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Ascential Futures, under which Cannes Lions operates.[18]
Festival organiser Ascential was acquired by Informa in 2024, including Cannes Lions. The Festival will join the newly-formed Informa Festivals division.[19][20]
The Awards
Cannes Lions juries are drawn from experts in each field from around the world. Each jury is headed by a jury president. They judge submissions in Film, Film Craft, Industry Craft, Digital Craft, Media, Print & Publishing, Outdoor, Direct, Pharma, Health & Wellness, Design, Radio & Audio, Mobile, Branded Content & Entertainment, Brand Experience & Activation, Creative eCommerce, Entertainment, Entertainment Lions for Music, PR, Creative Effectiveness, Social & Influencer, Creative Data, Innovation, and Titanium, as well as Glass: The Lion for Change and Sustainable Development Goals. In 2013, the Festival launched a new category called the Innovation Lions, which are supposed to "honour the technology and innovation which facilitates creativity",[21] Including recognition of the 'Top 10 Startups to Watch'.[22] Additionally, global start-ups can apply for the Start-up Academy to receive festival passes and access mentorship sessions.[23]
Other awards include Holding Company of the Year, Network of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, Agency of the Year, Independent Agency of the Year, Media Person of the Year, New Directors' Showcase,[24] Advertiser of the Year, and the Palme d'Or to the best production company.[25]
Recent Palme D'Or Winners
Year
Company
2010
MJZ
2011
SMUGGLER
2012
MJZ
2013
MJZ
2014
MJZ
2015
SMUGGLER
2016
Tool
2017
MJZ
2018
Park Pictures
2019
Park Pictures
2020
MJZ
2021
Chelsea Pictures
Advertisements are generally entered by the agencies that created them, although technically anyone can enter any advertising creation, providing it ran within a specified time frame. The jurors are instructed to reward advertising that is deemed most creative both in idea and execution.
In an article in The Guardian in 2009, WPP boss Sir Martin Sorrell said the Cannes Lions awards were too costly to enter.[26] However, a year later, he also admitted that he had made sure that WPP was "very, very focused on Cannes" and wanted to be "the leader in terms of awards at Cannes".[27] In 2011, WPP won the first Holding Company of the Year prize at the Festival.[28] Commenting on this industry recognition, WPP Worldwide Creative Director, John O'Keeffe, said:
"Cannes is the only global, cross discipline show, covering advertising, design, digital, media, promo, effectiveness, and everything else besides. It doesn't aggregate the scores of other shows, so you can't inflate your ranking on the back of just one or two pieces of work. If you are number one at Cannes, you've done it the hard way, the proper way, the only way".[29]
In 2013, the "Dumb Ways to Die" a campaign by McCann Australia for Australian company Metro Trains made history by winning a total of five Grands Prix awards, the most ever awarded to a single piece of work.[30]
The Lion of St. Mark is an honour given each year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to "someone who has made outstanding contributions to the creative community".
Young Lions Competitions
The Young Lions Competitions (previously known as the Young Creatives competition, which started in 1995) is open to advertising professionals up to 30 years old working in teams of two. The competition takes place during the festival week in Cannes in seven divisions: print, digital, film, design, young marketers, media, and PR. Regional competitions are held in most countries[31] to select teams in the lead-up to the Festival, with winners of these going into the final round of the competitions at Cannes Lions.[32] A design competition was launched in 2012.[33]
Lions Health
In June 2012, Cannes Lions announced that it plans to launch a new two-day event for creative communications in healthcare, wellness, and sustainability. The event took place at the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, just before Cannes Lions kicked off on June 15, 2014. Over two days, it explored and debated essential and unique issues in healthcare communications. The move was welcomed by some sections of the industry, with Jeremy Perrott, global creative director of McCann Health, commenting: "Lions Health gives the industry the highest stage to showcase its brilliance".[34] In 2017 Lions Health was moved to take place at the same time as the main festival, but remains a stand-alone event in another part of the Palais.[35]
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