As Cannes Lions determinedly plows on with its plans to hold its awards in Cannes in June, the International Festival of Creativity has named its final jury presidents.
The 2021 line-up will include Bozoma Saint John, global chief marketing officer at Netflix, who has been appointed president of the Glass: The Lion for Change Jury; Merlee Jayme, global president Dentsu Mcgarrybowen and chairmom Dentsu Jayme Syfu, who will chair the Radio and Audio Lions; and Geoff Northcott, global chief experience officer and managing partner, Europe, the Middle East and Africa for AKQA, who was today named as jury president of the Creative Business Transformation Lions.
Saint John and Jayme join a group of 16 female jury presidents, making the gender split 57% female, the highest representation of female leaders in the Festival’s history. Other female leaders in the lineup, who were previously announced for the 2020 Lions, include Susan Credle, global chief creative officer, FCB, who chairs the Titanium Lions jury; Liz Taylor, global chief creative officer Leo Burnett, heading the Print & Publishing jury; Kerstin Emhoff, president of Prettybird, heading the Film Craft Lions; Vicki Maguire, chief creative officer at Havas, who chairs the Brand Experience & Activation jury; and Tiffany Rolfe, global chief creative officer, R/GA, heading the Creative eCommerce jury.
Saint John commented in a statement: “I’ve seen it said that ‘the future is female’ but the reality is that women have made incredible contributions in the past, are making their impact known in the present, and will absolutely change the future. Therefore, we need to recognize the brands and advertisers who are driving positive progress and change in the world by reflecting an equal world. This is why the Glass Lions are so important—the awards will shine a light on work that has really impacted the issue of gender inequality. I can’t wait to see how brands are approaching this ongoing challenge in new and fresh ways this year.”
Other jury presidents include Richard Brim, chief creative officer, Adam&Eve/DDB, who chairs the Film Lions; Luiz Sanches, chairman, chief creative officer & Partner of AlmapBBDO, heading the Outdoor jury; Pum Lefebure, chief creative officer, Design Army, heading Design, and Andrew Keller, VP, global creative director, Facebook, chairing the Mobile jury.
Judging of the Lions will take place live during Cannes Lions in June, despite ongoing lockdowns and restrictions at the moment in Europe. France announced a 6 P.M. curfew last week, while in the U.K., full national lockdown is ongoing and the Glastonbury Festival, which usually takes place in the same week as Cannes, announced today that it was canceling until 2022.
In a statement Simon Cook, Managing Director of Cannes Lions, also hinted that there is a Plan B: “From our conversations with the jury presidents, we know that there is a shared hope that the judging will take place physically at the Festival in June. In the event that this becomes impossible, we have created a remote judging experience—successfully used at our regional awards—that’s as close to the physical judging as we can make it. It’s a crucial part of all of our Lions awards; a human experience but also a rigorous and robust process.”
