Wieden+Kennedy (W+K) has pegged Iain Tait to be its global interactive executive creative director, effective April 1. Accomplished in the digital advertising space, he will join executive creative directors Dan Wieden and John Jay, and COO Dave Luhr on the global management team that oversees all seven W+K network offices. Tait is the first addition to the global team since its formation in 2006.
Tait spent the past eight years as creative director and head of strategy for independent agency Poke in London, where he was a founding partner and driving force behind lauded work for clients such as American Express, Orange, Topshop, Yahoo! and Zopa.
Among the awards his endeavors have won over the years are Webbys, One Show Pencils, ADC Cubes and Cannes Lion recognition. He is the author of a well read industry blog, crackunit.com, and has been named jury chairman for this year’s One Show Interactive Awards.
“Iain is one of the industry’s most influential and respected digital leaders,” said Wieden, co-founder/exec creative director of W+K. “He understands the remarkable relationship between people, culture and business, and his background as a strategic, creative business leader complements our global management team’s abilities.”
Prior to his work at Poke, Tait was a part of the management team for Oven Digital, a global digital agency in London, and director of product development for First Tuesday in London, where he worked in the startup space responsible for developing and delivering new online business models.
Tait will relocate to W+K’s Portland office.
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