What 11 Cannes Lions Jury Presidents Want in 2020

Before we know it, the industry will be descending upon the South of France and the annual pilgrimage of creativity once again. Last year’s Grand Prix winners included some classic branding, but the majority of the awarded work attached to causes and purpose. The judging process in the rooms at the Cannes Lions is compelling. While there is generally a convivial atmosphere, each jury president sets the tone and allows for constructive dialogue. Like most awards programs, expectations of the work are exceptionally high—but there tends to be more gravity when a Lion is on the line. We asked the Cannes Jury—which reached gender parity for the first time in its history—what they expect to see, and what will make a winner come June. Wyclef Jean, president and CSO, Carnival World Music Group Category: Entertainment Lions for Music Adweek: What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? Having served on the entertainment jury a couple of years ago, I look forward to once again seeing true creativity at its best. We work to decide whether advertisers have made a real connection with consumers. In past years, I have seen some fantastic work in my category, like the Absolute One Source campaign and Childish Gambino’s “This is America.” [kickout id="1"] What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? Brands and musicians alike have come to understand how to address today’s fast-paced, tech-savvy consumer. I hope to see genuine care for connecting the message to the consumer in the most authentic way. Conversely, what I hope I don’t see is a disregard for what actually connects and makes people react. See last year's Entertainment Lions winners. Karen Blackett, WPP UK country manager & chairwoman MediaCom UK & Ireland Category: Glass What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? The Glass Lions category is work that essentially looks to change inequality in society. I genuinely believe that you can change the world by focusing on changing the immediate world around you. The Glass Lions highlights those brands that are doing just that—changing culture and changing society for the better. Previous winners have pushed taboos, normalized their discussion, are game-changing [and] brilliant. [kickout id="2"] What do you expect to see in Cannes-worthy work this year in your category? I would hope to see work that continues to focus on creating culture change, create a worldwide phenomenon, and shine the light on true injustice and inequality. What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? I hope to see work that reflects real consumer and cultural insight, work that demonstrates diversity, inclusion, and belonging authentically and naturally, not as a casting afterthought. Work that makes you think and work that is creative, and that can grow and transform brands. I hope to see data used responsibly and effectively, rather than data showboating. I hope to see integrated work that is the very best from our industry and pushes our it forward. See last year's Glass Lion winners. Susan Credle, global CCO, FCB Category: Titanium What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? My first time serving on the Titanium jury, Dan Wieden was the chair. He was also the visionary behind the Titanium Lion. He believed we needed to celebrate work that carves a new path and shows the industry the way forward. The impetus for this thinking was Fallon’s extraordinary BMW films campaign, which was never awarded at Cannes because it fit none of the existing categories—a travesty Dan wanted to ensure would never be repeated. I sat on the jury again last year, and we focused on the second part of Dan’s mission: show the industry the way forward. That’s what makes sitting on the Titanium jury remarkable. The type of work being awarded should evolve year after year. [kickout id="3"] What do you expect to see in Cannes-worthy work this year in your category? Creativity that acts as an economic multiplier for the business it serves and that simultaneously builds brand affinity. What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? I hope I see more work solving real business problems. On the flip side, I hope we see no scam work–either entered or awarded. The Lions have increasingly shifted the emphasis of the awards away from unfettered creativity and toward work that drives business. It’s critical to ensuring the long-term health of our industry. See last year's Titanium Lion winners. Ronald Ng, global CCO, Isobar Category: Creative Business Transformation What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? It’s the inaugural year for the Creative Business Transformation Lions–so there is no precedent, and that’s what’s most exciting. Everyone’s talking about transformation, and once again, the Cannes Lions is showing the way forward in recognizing that the industry needs to celebrate this specific discipline for its creative excellence. Not just what brands say, but what they genuinely believe in and what they do: from their operations, policies, culture, purpose, products, services and experiences they offer their customers, driving transformative exponential change. [kickout id="4"] What do you expect to see in Cannes-worthy work this year in your category? In this category, we will want to shine a light on how the most creative approaches to transforming businesses have resulted in unprecedented success. What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? I’d love to see more creativity that builds brands and makes people’s lives better. I believe we’re past the days of “made for awards” industry-indulging work, and I hope that will be reflected in all the winning work across categories. I’d like to see creativity coming from or a combination of diverse skillset experts across design, strategy, tech, data and commerce. The exclusive Mad Men creative department club is dead. Today, breakthrough creativity can come from anywhere. The democratization of creativity and the equal opportunity to solve the most significant challenges will fuel our industry with fresh and diverse ideas powerful enough to transform brands and change the world. Kerstin Emhoff, co-founder, president, Prettybird Category: Film Craft What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? The best in craft has to start with a great idea or a great story. What's the most exciting to see is how the work has been taken to another level with execution. Craft can be difficult to judge because you have to look at the work with the specific category in mind to accurately judge it. But that is also what makes it so exciting. Having craft categories is so crucial for all the phenomenal creatives that work to bring these great ideas and stories to life. As trends come and go with the stories we tell, craft is a constant, and when it's good, it always brings the work to a higher level. [kickout id="5"] What do you expect to see in Cannes-worthy work this year in your category? I was a judge in Film Craft in 2016. As we watched all of the work, I was constantly reminded of how much thought we put into entering our own work in Cannes. I felt a greater responsibility to respect the thinking behind submitting work for consideration because this was their best. What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? What I hope and look forward to is the diversity of work in Cannes. Every year, even when I'm not judging, I leave Cannes seeing work from Thailand, India, Japan, Brazil and other countries that I had never seen before. I spend the next year talking about those pieces and how they inspired me. What I don't hope for is seeing work submitted in every craft category just to see what sticks. We really take the categories entered very seriously. See last year's Film Craft Lion winners. Luiz Sanches, chairman, CCO and partner, AlmapBBDO Category: Outdoor What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? Outdoor is the perfect blend of all other categories at the festival. Outdoor is the perfect space to create content to be shared on multiple platforms. You can also see how craft plays an essential role in boosting ideas to become more impactful, meaningful and shareable. [kickout id="6"] What do you expect to see in Cannes-worthy work this year in your category? In today’s world, to be extraordinary is not enough anymore. Ideas have to be shareable. We have to find ideas that generate conversation. That is how our work becomes relevant again. What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? We are living in an age where data has become a significant differentiator. Cannes Lions is also data for our industry. So you can see why one agency may have more value to add to a brand than others. See last year's Outdoor Lion winners. Ted Lim, CCO, Dentsu Asia-Pacific Category: Radio and Audio What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? Radio may sound last century, but voice is the new frontier. HBO’s "The Maze" got our attention in 2019, ALS "Project Revoice" in 2018, and Burger King "Google Home Of The Whopper" the year before that. It's not all about technology. It's about creativity, humanity and joy. [kickout id="7"] What do you expect to see in Cannes-worthy work this year in your category? The stuff that people will remember and talk about long after Cannes Lions 2020 is over—that will inspire the next generation to outdo the last. I'm looking forward to hearing about the next big thing. What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? [I’d like to hear] work that makes us want to get up in the morning, go to work and keep working until we have produced something bigger and better—that's different, makes a difference, moves people and business. [It’s the] hard work that looks easy. Jax Ostle-Evans, managing director, Stink Studios Category: Digital Craft What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? Digital craft is one of the most fluid categories, with new tech stretching the spectrum of what is possible. VR and AR are particularly exciting fields. As they become more collaborative and social, they’re opening new worlds for larger audiences, and crucially, they’re being deployed where it makes sense and for good. [kickout id="8"] What do you expect to see in Cannes-worthy work this year in your category? I expect to see work focussed on usability. We’re done with just playing and experimenting for the sake of it. Digital craft must go beyond mere artistic expression—it needs to add value. Keeping an eye on the future and the type of work that’s going to take us there is key. What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? Tech for tech sake has had its day. In the 20’s I want to see the Venn diagrams of practical and magical overlap. I hope to see less short-term purpose with no vision of application or long-term benefit. And I want to be surprised—that moment that comes out of nowhere. If you don’t see it coming it will ultimately push the category, I’m looking forward to seeing what work does that in 2020. Ben Hartman, chief client officer, Octagon Category: Entertainment Lions for Sport What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? We are seeing brands continue to gravitate towards sport as a platform, rather than just using it as part of a campaign. It is sitting at the heart of it. The audiences are predominantly fans that care deeply about the work. With audiences mostly being fans first, and consumers second, it means that the best work we see will need to add value to fans and what they care about, stand out for its boldness and bravery, and have a relevant role within or around the sport for the brand. [kickout id="11"] What do you expect to see in Cannes-worthy work this year in your category? I expect that we will see that the best work from around the world this year will be even further nuanced in the fandom of sport. There will be a high level of understanding of the fans, and therefore the role that a brand can play in adding to their passion. Beyond this, I think we are seeing brands focus their efforts in sport around social purpose. What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? I hope we see a more considerable body of work from beyond the traditional realms of football and the major US sports. For example, the quality of the brand integration in the world of esports is improving dramatically, and I’d like to think that this will be something we will see with greater consistency in 2020. Jae Goodman, CEO, Observatory Category: Entertainment What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? While the category has been around for a few years now, it feels like it's just getting warmed up. The past Grand Prix winners have been breakout examples of marketing that attract, engage and entertain audiences while also driving brand and business results. However, in most cases, the entries awarded—and most of the work entered overall—were big one-off brand moments. Brands, for the most part, have been experimenting with entertainment. [kickout id="9"] What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? Real entertainment formats, not extended cuts of ads passed off as “short films.” My sincere desire is that in 2020 we’ll start to see brands using entertainment as the new upper funnel, expressing brand purpose and driving awareness and consideration through work that transcends interruptive advertising. Pum Lefebure, co-founder, CCO, Design Army Category: Design What excites you most about the past and present work in your category? The process—and the impact. As designers, we often get to work in the early stages of product/brand development. That involves crafting the visual and verbal narrative that will creatively embody a business and resonate with its audience. So when I see a perfectly executed design solution that can transform a basic business to a global leader with impact, that excites me. [kickout id="10"] What do you expect to see in Cannes-worthy work this year in your category? Gen Z has arrived, and they expect intelligent brand experiences that speak to them. I’m hoping to see design that’s brave, thoughtful, and so beautiful that it can shake me to the core. I also anticipate seeing forward-thinking design solutions that embrace current issues like climate change, inequality, poverty, and government accountability. What do you hope you'll see in the overall work at Cannes in 2020? Conversely, what do you hope you won't see in this year's entries? As we enter a new decade, design must take the leading role to stay ahead of our time—so I hope to see work that is more 2030 than 2020. Design Lions entries should be purposeful, not fleeting. Regenerative, not just sustainable. Proactive, not reactive. Brave, not trendy. Honest, not soulless. Oh, and one parting word of advice. If you want to win Design Lions, make sure your case film is made for the Design Jury. One size doesn’t fit all categories.

Cannes Lions

What 11 Cannes Lions Jury Presidents Want in 2020

For the first awards in the new decade, it's about inclusion, craft and building business

Doug Zanger

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Doug Zanger