Outdoor Lions jury president appointed

Jean Remy von Matt, 2007 Cannes Lions Outdoor Jury president

“Having such high standards and a strong quest for creative excellence, Jean-Remy is a great creative whose ideas are truly respected. We very much welcome him chairing the Outdoor Jury,” comments Terry Savage, executive chairman of the festival.

Merciless perfectionist

Von Matt (54), reputed to be Germany’s most prominent creative, describes himself as someone with the attention span of a little child. He leaves the cinema and theatre if the first minutes don’t catch his attention, reads very few books to the end and zaps restlessly through TV channels. Anything that doesn’t immediately get to the point bores him – a good prerequisite to chair an outdoor-jury. He is marvelled at for his ideas and dreaded for his merciless demand for perfection.

Jean-Remy von Matt said on his appointment, “I’m proud to chair the jury of outdoor advertising, the toughest challenge for every creative because no other medium meets such distracted consumers.”

Jung von Matt, founded by Von Matt and his partner Holger Jung in Hamburg in 1991, is Germany’s largest independent creative agency and was recently voted the number one creative agency by the leading German business magazine Handelsblatt. Numerous awards include 19 Cannes Lions.

Von Matt’s philosophy is that a great idea should be like the Trojan Horse: fascinating in appearance, so that the consumer lets it enter his heart, but of conquering content. Regardless of the changing media landscape, he considers outdoor advertising to be the only classic medium that can keep its importance – “as long as one needs fresh air to live.”

Entry closing dates

Entrant companies can now submit work for the 54th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival in all categories - Film, Press, Outdoor, Direct, Media, Cyber, Radio, Promo, Titanium and Integrated Lions.

Entry forms may be completed online at www.canneslions.com, and have been open since Thursday, 1 February 2007. Dates:

Press Lions: 9 March 2007

Outdoor Lions: 9 March 2007
Film Lions: 9 March 2007
Radio Lions: 16 March 2007
Direct Lions: 16 March 2007
Promo Lions: 16 March 2007
Media Lions: 16 March 2007
Cyber Lions: 23 March 2007

Titanium and Integrated Lions: 23 March 2007

All shortlisted and winning entries from companies wholly or majority owned by a network will be taken into account for the new Network of the Year award.