HERITAGE AND HOPE AT THE LIONS’ HEART

Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS

IT’S incredible to think that since 1954 the festival has been helping to shape careers, foster connections and platform the power of creativity on a global scale. This year, we’re delighted to host the global community at the 70th edition of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. To mark this milestone, we want to spotlight everyone ‘in the making’. We know that getting to world-class creative work is hard and takes so much to deliver. The Festival has always celebrated the makers and the creatives who walk through walls to realise their vision. But we also want to recognise that people learn the industry landscape and emerging trends. The strong engagement across a breadth of Lions — including emerging areas like B2B, Gaming, Commerce and Business Transformation — shows us that there is a growing confidence and investment in non-traditional channels. Over the next week, our juries will set the global benchmark that will propel us into the year ahead, supporting those using creativity to drive progress.”

As part of its commitment to staying ahead of the industry curve, this year saw festival organisers introduce the Entertainment Lions for Gaming. An instant hit, the inaugural awards received 609 submissions, demonstrating increased collaboration between brands and the powerful gaming industry.

Lions chairman Philip Thomas said: “The number of submissions received in its first year shows a really strong engagement with the Gaming Lions and is testament to the relevance and opportunity that gaming now holds within the creative marketing community. We’re excited to see the body of work that emerges from these

SIMON COOK

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Lions, and I’d like to thank the jury in advance for setting the very first benchmark in creativity in gaming and showing what is possible.”

The first ever Jury President of the Entertainment Lions for Gaming is Francine Li, global head of marketing at Riot Games. Commenting on the new category, she said: “These new Lions are being introduced at a time when the gaming industry is truly reaching new heights. I believe gaming is the future of entertainment, bringing together passionate global communities in shared immersive and interactive experiences.”

The Entertainment Lions for Gaming, originally a part of the Entertainment Lions, have been introduced as part of a long-term plan that started when Cannes Lions separated out the Entertainment Lions for Music in 2016 and then later the Entertainment Lions for Sport in 2019. Offering some insights into what Li’s jury might be looking out for, she said: “The creative work in gaming is community-driven, deeply rooted in insight and adds value to the player experience, a true definition of modern marketing.”

Several fast-growing categories in 2023 reinforce the fact that creativity is regarded as a key commercial differentiator. The Creative Strategy Lions, for example, increased by 35%, underlining the application of creative solutions that allow brands to unlock sustainable growth and measure impact effectively. Now in their third year, the Creative Business Transformation Lions recorded a 59% increase, demonstrating how creativity is a driving force behind successful businesses going through change.

The Creative Commerce Lions, meanwhile, increased 25% year-on-year, demonstrating an area of high innovation in creative customer journeys and paths to purchase.

There was also growth in the Brand Experience & Activation Lions, which have seen an increase of 16%, compared to 2022, reflecting brands’ renewed focus on enhancing customer experience and brand-building. Outdoor Lions have seen an increase of 7% in submissions, partly driven by the FMCG sector where entries grew by 30% year-on-year and also from the travel sector which saw an 84% increase. The Entertainment Lions — which sit at the intersection of branded content and culture — have increased 18% year-on-year and saw a 78% jump in submissions from the consumer services sector.

The positive stories didn’t end there. There were 30% increases for Glass: The Lion for Change and the Innovation Lions. Both were shortlisted early, with remaining shortlists released across the week.

In addition to the new Gaming category, there have been several refreshes to existing popular categories.

The Media Lions, with 1,853 entries, now includes a section exclusively for media agencies, to celebrate the craftsmanship of harnessing media to deliver a brand message, change behaviour or engage consumers at scale. The Mobile Lions, with 348 entries, has also seen its remit broadened. With mobile evolving, the category now includes all applications of portable devices and mobile tech and celebrates work that focuses on how the device was central to the user experience.

The health sector is a key component of the awards programme and has also seen important changes this year. The Pharma Lions has been refreshed to clearly distinguish the difference between Pharma work, which is subject to heavy regulation, and Health & Wellness work, which does not have the same stringent restrictions. The changes coincide with an increase in entries to both of these prestigious categories. Another key component of the festival is the Sustainable Development Goals Lions, which ask entrants to demonstrate how they have contributed to or advanced the United Nations’ 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development across people, planet, prosperity, peace and partnerships. This year’s entries were up an impressive 11% to 691. This is great news for SDG agenda, because all entry proceeds generated by the Award will be donated to SDG projects in consultation with the UN. Beyond the SDGs, the Cannes Lions event organisers are also seeking to establish robust benchmarks for all entries regarding sustainability and DEI. On the first point, all entrants have been encouraged to provide information that outlines their CO2 emissions as part of the production process, using AdNet Zero’s fivepoint Action Plan as a guide. As for DEI, entrants were encouraged to provide information about the composition of the teams involved ‘behind the camera’ and any relevant information about their DEI agenda. While this information doesn’t contribute towards judging, the findings will be collated into an annual report. While most changes to the Lions are forward-facing, some speak to the roots of the event and its powerful connection with the creative industry. An example is the renaming of the prestigious Titanium Lions to The Dan Wieden Titanium Lions, as a tribute to the advertising industry icon who sadly passed in October 2022.

Wieden’s input led to the creation of the Titanium Lion, and its purpose 20 years on remains the same: to celebrate provocative, boundary-busting, envy-inspiring work. Simon Cook said: “We continue to brief our Titanium Juries using (Dan’s) original, timeless 20-year-old

Heritage and hope at the Lions’ heart, cont. from the hurdles, the struggles, the blunders and the breakthroughs — creativity comes through challenge, and overcoming adversity — that’s where greatness resides. As we celebrate the festival’s 70-year heritage, we want to look ahead to the next 70 years, and nurture the next generation of talent, by providing industry access, and opportunities to experience worldclass creativity. And we know that as a global platform, it’s our responsibility to level the playing field. We’ve invited over 200 individuals and underrepresented members of our community to the Festival to experience all it has to offer this year. We’ve also launched the LIONS Scholarship, offering a group of young people from around the world a fully-funded place on the Cannes Lions Brand Marketers and Creative Academies. And in the Cannes Lions School, rising talent across all career levels will be gaining the knowledge, skills and confidence to make a step-change in their careers. The Young Lions competitions are the heartbeat of the Cannes Lions School, embodying a true celebration of creativity across the world where young professionals can showcase their talent. Good luck to all of you. We look forward to bringing everyone together to honour what has come before, tackle some of our most pressing issues, and learn from a content agenda focused on the conditions needed for creative success. And of course exploring the winning work and celebrating everyone in the making. TURN TO PAGE 4 definition. It’s because of Dan that we ask the Jury to award work that ‘causes the industry to stop in its tracks and reconsider the way forward’ year-on-year.

The Dan Wieden Titanium Lions will forever honour his legacy.”

Karl Lieberman, global chief creative officer, Wieden+Kennedy, added, “Dan believed creativity thrived in chaos. One of the ways he consistently fed that chaos was by always questioning the way things had been and pushing us to search for new and different and better ways forward. That meant pushing the limits of the work, our clients, the industry’s stance on diversity and what a creative workplace should look like. When Dan created the Titanium Lion, it was about recognising that it wasn’t about doing the same things over and over and just getting iteratively better in the process, it was about shaking the whole thing up and doing something so completely unprecedented and unexpected that it would startle people and help this business to rethink everything.”

In terms of geographic trends, there were entries from 86 countries, with the US, UK, Brazil, Canada, France and Germany contributing the most by volume. Canadian entries showed significant growth — with a 50% increase to 1,264. Australia, Chile, Colombia, Hong Kong, Ireland, Mexico, Peru, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Spain and South Korea all showed notable leaps in the number of entries.

Recognising the broad ge- ographic spread of entries, the Cannes Lions Regional Network of the Year award programme has expanded from four regions to seven. In 2023, EMEA will now be awarded across three regions (Europe, Sub-Saharan Africa and MENA) and APAC will be awarded with both Asia and Pacific as distinct regions. North America and Latin America remain as in previous years. All of the above categories are scrutinised by carefully curated juries from around the world — led by presidents with outstanding career track records. Cook said the presidents “play an essential role in upholding the integrity of the Lions as well as setting the creative benchmark for the industry. They represent the rich spread of talent from across the full spectrum of the creative industry.

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Jury President Ali Rez, chief creative officer, Impact BBDO, MENAP, will serve as Cannes Lions’ first Jury President from the MENA region. He said: “The UAE is a place where creativity thrives, and where we believe nothing is impossible. It is a special honour to represent that very spirit of this inspiring country, and the rich heritage of the Middle East, as Jury President. I hope this announcement will pave the way for more people from the region to lead juries.”

Alongside the work categories, Cannes Lions is notable for some of its prestigious people-based awards. One of the most high-profile is the Lion of St. Mark, awarded for a lifetime of service to creativity. This year’s worthy recipient is Susan Hoffman, chief creative officer, Wieden+Kennedy — who has spent the last 40 years defining W+K’s culture and setting the bar for creative excellence and groundbreaking work. Hoffman has held creative leadership and management roles in every corner of the independent network, and she’s injected her unique perspective into some of the

1997 and still say it today.” most memorable ads W+K has produced, including Levi’s ‘Go Forth’, Chrysler’s ‘Born of Fire’, Old Spice’s ‘The Man Your Man Could Smell Like’, Nike’s ‘Revolution’, and more.

Hoffman said: “It’s hard to believe I was the first female creative at Wieden+Kennedy. People ask me why I’m still here. My answer—Dan (Wieden) and David (Kennedy). They cared about the people and the power of creativity, and not themselves. Giving people a voice was their mantra. These diverse voices are our secret sauce and what makes great work.” This year also sees Cannes Lions unveil the first ever honorary Creative Maker of the Year award. The inaugural award will be presented at the Festival to legendary filmmaker, screenwriter, actor and producer, Spike Lee. Lee said: “I’m honoured to accept the inaugural Cannes Lions Creative Maker of the Year award for my contributions to the advertising industry, but a reminder: ‘We keep having these obstacles, these hurdles, we have to face and we have to keep knocking them down’. I said this in

Peter Ukhurebor, founder of Black At Cannes, added: “Spike Lee is a creative role model who has paved the way for so many black creatives. The Creative Maker of the Year award inspires us to continue spearheading the creation of pathways for diverse voices and promoting inclusion and equity across the global creative industry.” Lee’s film credits are well known — but he has also received acclaim in the advertising industry for his legendary Jordan Brand TV commercials and marketing campaigns with Michael Jordan. Shannon Watkins, chief marketing officer at Jordan Brand, said: “Spike’s focus on telling stories, combined with his ability to capture the pulse of black culture sets him apart from others in the industry. Spike created iconic memories, and helped to build the soul of what Jordan Brand represents.”

Another high-profile award sees comic entertainer and entrepreneur Kevin Hart, founder of Hartbeat, named as 2023 Entertainment Person of the Year. Presented in recognition of the vital role that entertainment plays in the marketing and communications landscape, the award celebrates the creativity that inspires others to produce truly compelling, meaningful and entertaining content.

Hart said: “I am so honoured to receive this award and be recognised for my work in the entertainment and advertising space. It’s been incredible to work with Hartbeat’s branded entertainment studio and marketing consultancy, along with my brand partners, to take comedy in advertising to the next level. My team and I are just getting started and we will continue to make an impact in advertising.”