The folks at Cannes Lions can’t seem to stop coming up with new honors to hand out at this year’s festival. The latest one might take the cake, that being the Lion of St. Mark, which is being awarded to BBH co-namesake/worldwide creative director Sir John Hegarty. The 45-year advertising veteran is now being honored by the Cannes Committee for his “long and outstanding contribution to creativity in communications.”
As for the Lion of St. Mark, apparently another Cannes version of a lifetime achievement award, it’s actually a tribute to the original Lions award, which was modeled after the lion statue housed in St. Mark’s Square in Venice, the host city for the first Lions in 1954. If you really need a bio of Hegarty, may we suggest you start with this profile of the “master of creative rebellion.”