David Jones, global CEO of Havas, global CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide and co-founder of One Young World will lead the judging of the Creative Effectiveness Lions category, which launched last year.
At the forefront of the next generation in advertising, Jones is reputed to be the youngest global CEO in the history of advertising. In his role at Havas, he is responsible for all creative, marketing, media and design companies throughout the network of more than 16 000 people.
"Over the past decade creativity has emerged as one of the most significant competitive advantages in business," he says. "Today you can no longer buy attention, you have to earn it. And in a world of more and more messages, shorter and shorter attention spans, and smaller and smaller screens, powerful creative ideas that cut through have never been more important. I'm delighted to chair the effectiveness jury that will reward the truly brilliant creative thinking that has driven proven profitable growth."
The Media Lions category will this year be chaired by Mainardo de Nardis, CEO of OMD Worldwide. An internationally recognised thought leader in media innovation and trends, De Nardis has led OMD since 2009.
During his tenure, OMD has twice been named Global Media Agency of the Year by Adweek, and US Agency of the Year by Advertising Age, while also earning top local honours in many of its 140 offices across 80 countries. In 2011, OMD was named the world's top ranked media agency for the third consecutive time by RECMA. OMD has also been recognised as the world's most creative media agency for an unprecedented five consecutive years by The Gunn Report for Media.
Commenting on the value of awards in today's challenging business environment, De Nardis says, "Beyond the aspirational and inspirational value, awards are also a critical key performance indicator for agencies, measuring our ability to deliver creativity and innovation that drives brand demand and transactions."
Iain Tait, global interactive executive creative director of Wieden+Kennedy, will be jury president of the Cyber Lions jury.
His most recognised piece of work is the Old Spice 'Responses' campaign where 'The Man Your Man Could Smell Like' created real-time video responses to fans. The campaign has been recognised around the world not only for its innovation but also for its effectiveness.
His role at Wieden+Kennedy is to oversee and guide the work coming out of all of the network's offices, pushing to develop the work into ever more interactive and challenging areas. He works across the spectrum of the agency's clients including: Nike, Coca-Cola, Target, P&G, and many more. In recognition of his contribution to the agency he was made a partner at the end of 2011.
"There's so much change taking place so rapidly in our space that it's going to be tough to make sense of it all. But I'm confident we'll prove this category is where creativity is vibrant, thriving, and shaping the industry," he comments.
More about the jury Presidents.
Entries for Creative Effectiveness Lions can be submitted until 17 February. Entries are open for all other categories.
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Delegate registrations: Open
Entries: Open
Creative Effectiveness Lions deadline: 17 February 2012
Entries deadline: 9 March 2012
Festival dates: 17-23 June 2012
For more information on Cannes Lions 2012 or to register to attend, go to www.canneslions.com.
