Product Design Lions retired; Track Ambassadors to be appointed
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has officially launched the 2019 Festival, opening for delegate registration and announcing details around next year’s event.
Two new Lions will be added to the awards lineup in 2019. The Creative Strategy Lion will sit within the Reach Track and will celebrate the idea behind the idea, how strategic planning can redefine a brand, reinvent its business, and influence consumers or wider culture. Elsewhere, complementing the Entertainment Track, the Entertainment Lion for Sport will celebrate creativity that leverages the galvanizing power of sports and eSports for brands. Commenting on the launch of these two Lions, Simon Cook, VP Creative Excellence, said, “Both of these Lions represent a shifting industry landscape and now is the right time to recognize these disciplines through our awards. With an increasingly broader creative communications ecosystem, the Creative Strategy Lion will elevate and define the importance of strategy in creative vision, while the Entertainment Lion for Sport will give credence to the breadth of content and communications surrounding this unique global market.”
Also announced is the decision to retire the Product Design Lions. Categories from this Lion will be absorbed into the Design Lions and Innovation Lions.
For the first time, Cannes Lions will appoint Track Ambassadors ahead of the 2019 Festival. “The nine tracks–Craft, Communication, Experience, Reach, Impact, Good, Innovation, Health and Entertainment–are an organizing structure that reflect and represent the core disciplines that underpin and define the global branded communications industry. We are appointing track ambassadors to champion, offer advisory, and elevate their specific discipline,” said Philip Thomas, chairman, Cannes Lions. The track ambassadors will be chosen from the 2019 jury presidents.
Details of the content program have also been announced, with sessions operating within the framework of the nine tracks. The agenda is set to be more immersive and interactive than before, including more case studies, Q&A and debate. Some of the topics set to be covered include The Impact of Creativity, Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Industry Transformation, Digital Transformation, Creative Strategy, Multi-touchpoint Storytelling, Craft and Brand Experience, and Trust, Ethics and Transparency. The Call for Stage Content is open until December 14, 2018 and welcomes ideas and submissions from anyone and anywhere. There is no charge to speak on stage and successful submissions are chosen based on the strength of the idea and how original, unique and unexpected it is.
Cannes Lions will take place from June 17-21, 2019.
Changes Afoot For Cannes Lions 2025, Including Increasing Festival Access For Underserved Communities
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is putting plans in motion for its 72nd edition, set to take place from June 16-20, 2025 in Cannes, France. The Festival has announced that it will double funding to provide €2m (some $2,150,000) worth of complimentary passes to underrepresented talent and underserved communities through its Equity, Representation and Accessibility (ERA) Pass, returning for a second year.
Frank Starling, chief DEI officer, Lions, said the increased investment was “crucial to continue to drive progress for both Cannes Lions and the industry.” Starling added, “The ERA pass plays an important role in fostering a global representation of talent within the creative communications industry at Cannes Lions, and to date our funded opportunities have reached creatives in 46 countries globally. With the Festival being the destination for everyone in the business of creativity, we recognize the importance of creating equitable access to it, and this is why we’re prioritizing increased representation from the Global South to support a greater range of voices and perspectives from the region at the Festival.” Applications for the ERA pass are open now and close on December 5, 2025. More details can be found here.
With submissions into the Cannes Lions Awards opening on January 16, 2025, innovations to the Awards have also been announced today. Glass: The Lion for Change celebrates 10 years since its introduction. The Glass Lion was launched to champion work that used creativity to drive a shift towards more positive, progressive and gender-aware communication, and Marian Brannelly, global... Read More