Jean-Marie Dru (TBWA Worldwide), president of inaugural Creative Effectiveness Lions Jury

Jean-Marie Dru, Chairman of TBWA Worldwide, will be the president of the inaugural Creative Effectiveness Lions Jury at Cannes Lions Festival 2011.

Author of four books on advertising and marketing, “How Disruption Brought Order”, “Beyond Disruption”, “Disruption” and “Le Saut Créatif” (The creative leap), Jean-Marie has twice chaired at Cannes Lions, first in 1982 (Film jury) and again in 1998 (Film and Press & Outdoor juries).

He is a member of the European Advertising Association and a professor at the Paris Institute of Political Studies. In 2008, Jean-Marie received French Légion d’Honneur for his long-lasting contribution to the advertising industry and to the business world.

“A brand-changing idea is only as big as the success it creates. Historically the biggest creative ideas have also been the hardest working and by nature effective. I am pleased to preside over the inaugural Creative Effectiveness Lions Jury at Cannes. We’ve always known the connection between effectiveness and creativity and we now have the opportunity to show the world the work we create has tangible impact on our clients business.”, he said, commenting on his appointment.

With a career in advertising spanning 40 years, Jean-Marie Dru started out in 1971 with Dupuy Compton (now Saatchi & Saatchi) as an account executive on Procter & Gamble and quickly rose to the position of Executive Creative Director the following year. In 1977, he joined Young & Rubicam in Paris as Managing Director, before becoming the agency’s Chief Executive Officer in 1979. In 1984, he co-founded the BDDP Group, and occupied the position of Chairman. Within seven years, BDDP established its international presence in 26 countries and was ranked 15th amongst global agencies. After the merger of BDDP with TBWA in 1998, Jean-Marie became President International of TBWA Worldwide. In early 2001, he was appointed President and CEO Worldwide, a position that he held until January 2008, when he moved to the role of Chairman.

58th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will take place on June 19th-25th 2011, in Cannes, France.