David Jones, Iain Tait and Mainardo De Nardis, to head juries at Cannes Lions 2012

Cannes Lions organisers announced the appointment of jury presidents for 3 of the most important categories of the festival: Cyber, Media and the newly launched Creative Effectiveness.

David Jones , Global CEO of Havas, Global CEO of Euro RSCG Worldwide and Co-Founder of One Young World, will lead the judging of the Creative Effectiveness Lions category, which launched last year. At the forefront of the next generation in advertising, David Jones is the youngest global CEO in the history of advertising. In his role at Havas, he is responsible for all creative, marketing, media and design companies throughout the network of more than 16,000 people.

David was the driving force behind the hugely successful “Tck Tck Tck” campaign for Kofi Annan for the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit, with 18 million people signing up as climate allies, and is the co-founder of One Young World, the premier forum for young leaders across the globe. He worked closely with David Cameron and the UK Conservative Party from 2007 up to and including Cameron’s election as prime minister in 2010.

Over the past decade creativity has emerged as one of the most significant competitive advantages in business (…) Today you can no longer buy attention, you have to earn it. And in a world of more and more messages, shorter and shorter attention spans, and smaller and smaller screens, powerful creative ideas that cut through have never been more important. I’m delighted to chair the effectiveness jury that will reward the truly brilliant creative thinking that has driven proven profitable growth.

David Jones

The Media Lions category will this year be chaired by Mainardo de Nardis , CEO of OMD Worldwide since 2009 and an internationally recognised leader in media innovation and trends.

During Mainardo’s tenure, OMD has twice been named Global Media Agency of the Year by Adweek, and US Agency of the Year by Advertising Age, while also earning top local honours in many of its 140 offices across 80 countries. In 2011, OMD was named the world’s top ranked media agency for the third consecutive time by RECMA. OMD has also been recognised as the world’s most creative media agency for an unprecedented five consecutive years by The Gunn Report for Media.

Prior to joining the Omnicom group of companies, Mainardo de Nardis was the global CEO of Aegis Media and before that he ran Mediaedge:cia worldwide. In 1993 he published “The European Media Map”, one of the first books on the development of the European and global media scene.

Beyond the aspirational and inspirational value, awards are also a critical key performance indicator for agencies, measuring our ability to deliver creativity and innovation that drives brand demand and transactions.

Mainardo de Nardis

Iain Tait , Global Interactive Executive Creative Director of Wieden+Kennedy, will be jury president of the Cyber Lions jury. Iain’s most recognised piece of work is the Old Spice “Responses” campaign where “The Man Your Man Could Smell Like” created real-time video responses to fans. The campaign has been recognised around the world not only for its innovation but also for its effectiveness.

His role at Wieden+Kennedy is to oversee and guide the work coming out of all of the network’s offices, pushing to develop the work into ever more interactive and challenging areas. He works across the spectrum of the agency’s clients including: Nike, Coca-Cola, Target, P&G, and many more. In recognition of his contribution to the agency he was made a partner at the end of 2011.

Iain’s work has been awarded at Cannes Lions, The One Show, the Clio Awards, Art Directors Club, D&AD, Creative Circle and the Andy Awards. Media Age magazine named him the most influential person in new media in the UK in 2009. He’s also included in the 2010 and 2011 Creativity 50, Ad Age’s 25 Media Mavens and is one of Fortune Magazine’s 2010 ’40 Under 40’. In 2011 AdWeek named him one of the ten most creative minds in digital. And Iain was recently inducted into the AAF Hall of Achievement. He’s also a member of the World Economic Forum Council on the Future of Entertainment.

I’m excited to guide a Cyber Jury that brings together the best talent from around the globe to recognise the greatest work in the world. There’s so much change taking place so rapidly in our space that it’s going to be tough to make sense of it all. But I’m confident we’ll prove this category is where creativity is vibrant, thriving, and shaping the industry

Iain Tait

Entries for Creative Effectiveness Lions can be submitted until 17 February. Entries are open for all other categories.

59th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity takes place between June 17th-23rd 2012, in Cannes. The International Festival of Creativity, also known as Cannes Lions, is the world’s leading celebration of creativity in communications. Founded in 1954, the Festival takes place every June in Cannes, France.

As the most prestigious international annual advertising and communications awards, over 28,800 entries from all over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival. Winning companies receive the highly coveted Lion trophy honouring the most creative Film, Print, Outdoor, Interactive, Radio, Design, Promo & Activation, Film Craft, Mobile, Branded Content & Entertainment and Integrated advertising, as well as the best Media, Direct, PR, Titanium and Creative Effectiveness ideas.