Cannes Lions has announced that Madonna Badger, chief creative officer, Badger & Winters will take on the role of ambassador for the 2017 See It Be It program.
Launched in 2014, the See It Be It initiative aims to provide a unique opportunity to accelerate career progression and change the ratio of female leaders in the industry. Each year, an international group of high-potential women are brought to Cannes Lions as guests of the Festival and experience a tailored program designed to develop, expand networks and raise the profiles of all involved.
“An ever increasing focus on the disparity between women and men in senior creative roles across the industry demonstrates the need for programs like See It Be It. We’re delighted to welcome Madonna as this year’s See It Be It ambassador. Her continued challenging of the industry to change the norms of objectifying women in advertising and campaigning for equality make her a fantastic role model and natural fit for the program,” said Louise Benson, executive festival director, Lions Health, Lions Entertainment, eurobest and See It Be It program lead.
Through the #WomenNotObjects campaign Badger has become a spokesperson for responsible portrayal of women in advertising. In a standout speech at last year’s Cannes Lions she highlighted the importance of business empathy for brand reputation and purchasing intent, and revealed the damaging impact objectifying advertising has.
Badger will guide the See It Be It participants through a curated program of exclusive events, seminars and workshops along with a dedicated mentorship scheme. She commented, “I am so honored and excited to be named the See It Be It ambassador for Cannes Lions 2017 and look forward to meeting next year’s group of talented women. The mentorship program is an amazing game changer that provides the opportunity for women to collaborate, learn from each other, build confidence in their abilities, and develop actionable steps for how we can make a difference around gender equality and diversity in our industry.”
A select group of 15 women are chosen for The See It Be It program each year. The entry period for applications to the program opens on January 25 and will close on March 10. Further details, including eligibility and previous participants can be found here.
Carrie Coon Relishes Being Part Of An Ensemble–From “The Gilded Age” To “His Three Daughters”
It can be hard to catch Carrie Coon on her own.
She is far more likely to be found in the thick of an ensemble. That could be on TV, in "The Gilded Age," for which she was just Emmy nominated, or in the upcoming season of "The White Lotus," which she recently shot in Thailand. Or it could be in films, most relevantly, Azazel Jacobs' new drama, "His Three Daughters," in which Coon stars alongside Natasha Lyonne and Elizabeth Olsen as sisters caring for their dying father.
But on a recent, bright late-summer morning, Coon is sitting on a bench in the bucolic northeast Westchester town of Pound Ridge. A few years back, she and her husband, the playwright Tracy Letts, moved near here with their two young children, drawn by the long rows of stone walls and a particularly good BLT from a nearby cafe that Letts, after biting into, declared must be within 15 miles of where they lived.
In a few days, they would both fly to Los Angeles for the Emmys (Letts was nominated for his performance in "Winning Time" ). But Coon, 43, was then largely enmeshed in the day-to-day life of raising a family, along with their nightly movie viewings, which Letts pulls from his extensive DVD collection. The previous night's choice: "Once Around," with Holly Hunter and Richard Dreyfus.
Coon met Letts during her breakthrough performance in "Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe?" on Broadway in 2012. She played the heavy-drinking housewife Honey. It was the first role that Coon read and knew, viscerally, she had to play. Immediately after saying this, Coon sighs.
"It sounds like something some diva would say in a movie from the '50s," Coon says. "I just walked around in my apartment in my slip and I had pearls and a little brandy. I made a grocery list and I just did... Read More