Ad industry veterans may debate the value of awards shows, but there’s one benefit no one can deny: the value of bringing some of the world’s top creative talents together.
Thanks to the Cannes Lions and other festivals, creative leaders who’ve been well regarded in their home countries have a chance to get the international credit their work deserves. The following global honorees in this year’s Creative 100 have been frequent winners, speakers and jurors at Cannes, but there’s likely still much about them that you haven’t known—until now.
Jureeporn Thaidumrong
CCO, GreynJ United
Based in: Bangkok, Thailand
Hometown: Chachoengsao, Thailand
Recent work: “Friendshit” (about the struggle to make new friends) and “Face Off” (about adjusting to updates to your favorite apps) for KBank. “I am proud of my clients, my whole team and our way of creating and producing these campaigns. We were so synchronized, experimental and trusting.”
On the side: “I have been taking care of street animals for more than 20 years. It started with stray dogs. Now I have 70 cats in my place and 30 outside. I’m planting forest trees and doing organic agroforestry on a farm in Chiang Mai, in the northern part of Thailand, on 150 acres adjacent to the forest.”
Personal mantra: “This is what my mom told me and I always tell myself: ‘Everything will pass. Hold the flag, be in the present, and let go.’”
Steve Babaeko
CEO and CCO, X3M Ideas
Based in: Lagos, Nigeria
Hometown: Kabba, Kogi State, Nigeria
Recent work: World Cup campaign for Go. “Go is an African telecommunications brand. We told the story of African participation in the last World Cup using iconic African football players from the past.”
His agency’s philosophy: “Shapeshift or die.” Unveiling the mantra recently for the X3M Ideas’ sixth anniversary, “we imported a fabricated dinosaur fossil from China, we buried it somewhere and it was ‘discovered’ by some ‘archeologists.’ The discovery was seeded on social media before we later used the dinosaur as an example of an animal that refused to shapeshift and became extinct.”
Advice for aspiring creatives: “Check your ego at the door. If you don’t, it will be crushed sooner or later.”
Leadership philosophy: “Give the team what they need to create magic, and stay out of their way.”
Sergio Gordilho
co-president, CCO and art director, Agência Africa
Based in: São Paulo, Brazil
Hometown: Salvador da Bahia, Brazil
Recent work: Budweiser “Tagwords,” which used cryptic words in print ads to send fans Googling, resulting in pictures of celebrities drinking Bud. “It was a purely data insight that brought us those amazing images of rock stars having a great time, mostly holding a Bud. Rock stars and beer—what a combination! Then it was easy. We just had to do two things: Choose the right words, and call a good lawyer.”
Also, Telefonica’s “My Game My Name,” in which male gamers tried using female names, discovering the rampant harassment against women in gaming. “Sexual harassment is a big issue in the digital gaming world. I found out my two daughters were being harassed. So we created a movement against such terrible behavior.”
Personal mantra: “Never take anything for granted. Always try to look at something with fresh eyes.”
Faustin Claverie and Benjamin Marchal
ecds, TBWA\Paris
Based in: Paris
Hometowns: Avignon (Marchal); Paris (Claverie)
Recent work: “Rain” campaign for McDonald’s delivery. “It’s an outdoor campaign showing urban landscapes shot through dripping windows. It’s a very simple idea that doesn’t need a line. When it rains, you just don’t want to get out. We both have an art director background, so it was very rewarding to work on a piece of work where photography and craft matter so much,” Claverie says.
