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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 to celebrate the best of creativity in brand communication, discuss industry issues, and network with one another. [6] [7] The week's activities include multiple award ceremonies as well as an opening and closing gala. [8] [9]
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 awards 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. However, in recent years, there have been calls from within the industry for the festival to simplify the entry categories to better reflect the current state of the modern communications world. [13] The festival responded by introducing changes in 2018, including new categories, revising costs and reducing the event from seven days to five.
In the 1990s, the Festival also added a programme of learning in the form of seminars and workshops. [12] Over the years, this side of the Festival has grown considerably, and in 2013 it featured around 130 sessions over 7 days. [14] These included talks from Christopher Bailey, Jack Black, Jenson Button, Nick Cannon, Shepard Fairey, Arianna Huffington, David Karp, and Annie Leibovitz.
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]
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", [19] including recognition of the 'Top 10 Startups to Watch'. [20] Additionally, global start-ups can apply for the Start-up Academy to receive festival passes and access mentorship sessions. [21]
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, [22] Advertiser of the Year, and the Palme d'Or to the best production company. [23]
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. [24] 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". [25] In 2011, WPP won the first Holding Company of the Year prize at the Festival. [26] 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". [27]
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. [28]
The Lion of St. Mark is an honor given each year at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to "someone who has made outstanding contributions to the creative community".
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 [29] 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. [30] A design competition was launched in 2012. [31]
In June 2012, Cannes Lions announced that it plans to launch a new two-day event for creative communications in healthcare, wellness, and sustainability. Taking place in the Palais des Festivals in Cannes, France, just before Cannes Lions kicks off on 15 June 2014, the event will offer two days of content that will explore and debate the essential and unique issues relating to the world of 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". [32] In 2017 Lions Health was moved to take place at the same time as the main festival, but remains a standalone event in another part of the Palais. [33]
WPP plc is a British multinational communications, advertising, public relations, technology, and commerce holding company headquartered in London, England. It was the world's largest advertising company, as of 2019. WPP plc owns many companies, which include advertising, public relations, media, and market research networks such as AKQA, BCW, CMI Media Group, Essence Global, Finsbury, Grey, Hill+Knowlton Strategies, Mindshare, Ogilvy, Wavemaker, Wunderman Thompson, and VMLY&R. It is one of the "Big Four" agency companies, alongside Publicis, The Interpublic Group of Companies, and Omnicom Group. WPP has a primary listing on the London Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 Index.
Neil French is a British advertising executive widely credited with bringing the creative revolution to Asia when he was associated with The Ball Partnership in Singapore. His work for Chivas Regal, Kaminomoto, and in particular the 'XO Beer' campaign for The Straits Times, is used as case studies in advertising schools around the world. French, the recipient of numerous advertising awards, has also been criticized for the creation of "scam ads."
Sir Martin Stuart Sorrell is a British businessman and the founder of WPP plc, the world's largest advertising and PR group, both by revenue and the number of staff. Upon being ousted in April 2018, Sorrell was the longest-serving chief executive of a FTSE 100 company.
J. Walter Thompson (JWT) was an advertisement holding company incorporated in 1896 by American advertising pioneer James Walter Thompson. The company was acquired in 1987 by multinational holding company WPP plc, and in November 2018, WPP merged J. Walter Thompson with fellow agency Wunderman to form Wunderman Thompson. In October 2023, WPP announced yet another merger in which Wunderman Thompson, along with another group agency VMLY&R, would cease to exist and create a new combined entity named VML. This is to be effective January 1, 2024.
Grey Group is a global advertising and marketing agency with headquarters in New York City, and 432 offices in 96 countries, operating in 154 cities. It is organized into four geographical units: North America; Europe, Middle East and Africa, Asia-Pacific, and Latin America.
Foote, Cone & Belding (FCB), is one of the largest global advertising agency networks. It is owned by Interpublic Group and was merged in 2006 with Draft Worldwide, adopting the name Draftfcb. In 2014 the company rebranded itself as FCB.
Laurence Paul Shanet is an American commercial director and film director, also known under his working moniker Kranky. He has also directed music videos, internet content and stage plays, and worked at various times as a writer and producer, in both the advertising and entertainment industries. His work has won the 2004 Young Director Award at the Cannes Lions International Festival, and is part of the permanent collection of the Museum of Modern Art.
Wunderman Thompson is a New York–based global marketing communications agency with 200 offices in 90 markets. It is part of international advertising group WPP Group. Wunderman Thompson was formed in 2018, when parent WPP merged agencies J. Walter Thompson and Wunderman. On October 17, 2023, WPP announced that Wunderman Thompson is being merged into VMLY&R.
Bob Isherwood is an Australian businessman, global advertising creative leader, and the co-founder of ONE School.
Droga5 is a global advertising agency headquartered in New York City with offices in London and Tokyo.
James Hilton is an English designer based in London.
Jason Zada is an American film director, music video director, screenwriter and digital marketeer, best known for Elf Yourself, an interactive viral holiday season campaign for OfficeMax, and for Take This Lollipop, an interactive horror short film created to raise awareness of the danger of placing too much personal information online.
The X Factor Digital Experience is a live digital pre-show produced by SYCOtv, FOX, Sony and FremantleMedia North America that aired in 2011 ahead of The X Factor. In addition to watching the program live on television, the audience was able to participate on multiple platforms in real-time.
VMLY&R is an American marketing and communications company specializing in advertising, digital and social media, sales promotion, direct marketing and brand identity consulting, formed from the merger of VML, founded in 1992, and Y&R , founded in 1923. It is a subsidiary of WPP plc multinational advertising and public relations holding company.
Cheil Worldwide Inc. (Korean: 제일기획) is a marketing company under the Samsung Group that offers advertising, public relations, shopper marketing, sports marketing, digital marketing, etc. It was established in 1973 with headquarters in Seoul, South Korea.
Media.Monks is a digital-first marketing, advertising, and technology services company that connects content, data and digital media and technology services and produces websites, games, films, social media content, digital advertising campaigns, data and measurement solutions, and more. The company's head office is based in Hilversum, the Netherlands. MediaMonks, without the period, was founded in 2001 by Wesley ter Haar, Gin Roberscheuten and Terrence Koeman and was managed by Victor Knaap, who joined the company in 2003. Media.Monks joined the Society of Digital Agencies (SoDA) in 2012, with Ter Haar serving as chairman of that collective today. MediaMonks won 23 Lions at Cannes, including one for the Universal Typeface Experiment, in 2014.
Alexandre Gama is a Brazilian entrepreneur with creative background operating in diverse fields such as Communication, Marketing, Media, Content, Design, Innovation, Startups, Music and Automobile Industry. He is the Founder and CEO of INOVNATION, a hub of companies from different areas, all having innovation as their core value. He was the founder, CEO, and CCO of NEOGAMA, one of the most iconic communication agencies.
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Wunderman was a New York City-based global digital agency. It was part of Young & Rubicam Brands and a member of international advertising group WPP Group.