Gail Heimann, Gideon Amichay and Nich Worthington will preside PR, Direct and Promo&Activation juries at Cannes Lions 2012

Cannes Lions announced the president for PR, Direct and Promo & Activation juries for 2012 edition of the festival.

Gail Heimann, Global Vice Chair of Weber Shandwick, will lead the judging of the PR Lions category. At Weber Shandwick, Gail is responsible for key client engagements working with some of the world’s leading global brands as well as company strategy; in addition she has management oversight for Weber Shandwick’s digital and analytics operations. Gail’s focus is consumer engagement across multiple channels, platforms and geographies. Her work with teams in the personal care, food and beverage, appliance and QSR categories has won numerous industry awards for creativity and innovation. She has been named an Advertising Age Woman to Watch.

Public relations has been around for a while, but this is, unquestionably, its finest century (…) Our work today transcends boundaries as we develop campaigns that touch, engage, incite and, ultimately, make a difference for our clients. I look forward to seeing – and being inspired by – the best of the best at the PR Lions this year.

Gail Heimann

Gideon Amichay, former Chief Creative Officer and Joint Managing Partner of Shalmor Avnon Amichay / Y&R Interactive Tel Aviv, Israel from 1994-2011, will chair the Direct Lions Jury. Gideon’s time at the agency led them to win 17 Lions and saw them ranked second in the 2009 Cannes Lions Media Agency of the Year. Working on brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Orange, American Express, Heinz and Stella Artois, Gideon led the agency to be Israel’s market leader in creativity and innovation and ultimately one of Israel’s biggest and most successful agencies. Additionally, for over ten years he was a member of the Worldwide Creative Board of Young & Rubicam. He has served as a jury member on many international festivals including Eurobest and the Clio Awards.

In the beginning there was direct. Today, everyone understands that touching people and building true relationships are at the heart of every message and every medium. Direct was, is and always will be the true essence of marketing. The art of relationship building, direct to the heart, and delivered by every technology, is the challenge of the communication world. I’m looking forward to meeting the Cannes Direct jury and to hunting together for every proven innovation in that art.

It’s a great honor for me to be the first Israeli Cannes jury president, coming from Israel’s start-up culture of which I’m so proud

Gideon Amichay

Nick Worthington, Creative Chairman of Colenso BBDO New Zealand, has been appointed this year’s Promo & Activation Lions Jury President. Nick joined BBH in London in 1986 where he won his first Lion and created the award-winning campaigns for Levis, ‘Creek’ and ‘Drugstore’. After ten years he moved to AMV BBDO London where he created more multiple Lion winning work for Road Safety and Wrangler. Moving to New Zealand in 2003 and working firstly at Publicis Mojo before moving to Colenso BBDO, Nick’s work has continued evolve and win awards.

I’m honoured to be chosen as the president of the Promotion & Activation jury. I think it’s one of the most exciting categories with some of the best work in the world happening in non-traditional media.

Nick Worthington

With some exceptional work being entered into Cannes Lions, it’s important that the people judging this work are at the forefront of their industry driving creativity. We’re pleased to welcome Gail, Gideon and Nick, who as natural leaders and innovators, will ensure that the truly great work within their categories is recognised and awarded.

Philip Thomas

Chief Executive Officer of Cannes Lions

59th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, 17-23 June 2012, Cannes, France:

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.

The Festival is also the only truly global meeting place for advertisers, advertising and communication professionals. Close to 9,500 delegates from 95 countries attend seven days of exhibitions, screenings, as well as 57 high-profile seminars, 20 workshops and master classes presented by renowned worldwide industry leaders. As the networking and learning opportunity of the year, Cannes Lions is the must-attend event for anyone involved in brand communication.