International: Cannes Lions has today announced its jury line-up of global experts selected to award the world’s very best creative work and benchmark excellence this June.
The Lion-winning work will be announced and awarded during Cannes Lions Live, a fully digital experience, running from 21-25 June 2021, that’s included for free as part of the new LIONS Membership, launching in May.
Jury members hail from across the world and represent the global industry’s leading talent from the broadest spectrum of disciplines. The juries also comprise 51% of female jurors, up from 48% in 2019.
This year’s Lions juries see the highest ever representation from global brands including: Nike Inc, Levi Strauss & Co, Diageo, IKEA, Mars Incorporated, Mondelez, Beats by Dr Dre, Uber, KFC, Oatly, Squarespace, ByteDance K.K., Nestlé, and Aesop.
Platforms and entertainment companies represented are: Twitter, Facebook, Netflix, YouTube, Disney+, Spotify, Google, Twitch, alongside NBCUniversal, Vivendi, Universal Music Group, Columbia Records, and Warner Music Central.
Among the many global networks represented are jurors from McCann, Ogilvy, Publicis, BBDO, VMLY&R and Dentsu who are joined by specialist and independent agencies such as Quiet Storm, Above & Beyond, Stink Studios, Futerra and Tech and Soul.
Simon Cook, Managing Director, LIONS, says: “It’s hugely exciting to welcome this formidable line-up of diverse experts, to unite across time zones and backgrounds, representing the full scale of our industry. Each year, our juries grow more diverse, which is part of our commitment to appoint outstanding talent from right across the breadth of our global community.”
Philip Thomas, Chairman, LIONS, comments: “After pausing the awards last year, our juries will be awarding Lions across two years worth of work, which is an unprecedented opportunity to set the global creative benchmark for two years of outstanding creativity.”
Thomas adds: “The awards will be the heartbeat of Cannes Lions Live with announcements, analysis, insights and interviews taking place throughout the week. We can’t wait to celebrate and immerse ourselves in Lion-winning creativity alongside our community in June.”
Lions juries will take part in remote judging from their home locations worldwide. Speaking about the process, Susie Walker, Head of Awards, LIONS, explains: “Judging is a very human experience. It must also be a rigorous and robust process. Our unique judging platform, successfully trialled at other Lions awards this year, has been built to ensure the value and integrity of the Lion is upheld. We’re committed to delivering a judging experience that allows jurors to do their job without hindrance, and crucially, we want every piece of creative work to be given the time and discussion it deserves.”
285 awarding jurors are now named and a further 189 shortlist jurors will be announced shortly.
