Eight Canadians among Lions jurors

by Chris Powell

Eight Canadians are among the 290 jurors from around the world for this year’s Cannes Lions. The world’s biggest advertising competition announced the 29 juries on Thursday.

The Canadian jurors are:

  • Creative Data Lions: Josh Budd, chief creative officer, North America, Citizen Relations;
  • Creative Strategy Lions: Sean McDonald, managing partner, chief strategy officer, Rethink;
  • Design Lions: Claire Dawson, co-founder/creative director, Underline Studio;
  • Film Lions: Nancy Crimi-Lamanna, chief creative officer, FCB Canada;
  • Health & Wellness Lions: Max Geraldo, chief creative officer, BBDO Canada;
  • PR Lions, President: Judy John, partner, chief creative officer, Edelman;
  • Radio & Audio Lions: Ian MacKellar, executive creative director, Innocean Worldwide Canada;
  • Social & Influencer Lions: Ian Mackenzie, chief creative officer, Performance Arts;

It will be the first time serving on a Cannes jury for five jurors: Budd; Dawson; Geraldo; MacKellar; and MacDonald. “It’s been incredible to see Canadian agencies continue to surge the global stage, and now it’s exciting to be a Canadian judging on that level,” said McDonald. “I can’t wait to see all that I’m going to learn and be inspired by in the process.”

Another Canadian, Helen Pak, the former president and chief creative officer with Grey Group Canada who is now senior vice-president of creative — marketing, design and content with The Walt Disney Company in Los Angeles, is also serving on the Entertainment Lions jury.

“We are delighted to welcome such an immensely talented set of jurors to benchmark creative excellence at Cannes Lions this year,” said Cannes CEO Simon Cook. “Our juries play a pivotal role in recognizing the world’s best creative marketing, and championing the work that will pave the way forward for the global industry.

“We’re extremely proud to be able to bring together a diverse group of individuals to reflect the evolving industry landscape and we thank them for their time and dedication.”

After the pandemic led to the cancellation of the 2020 Lions, and forced the event to go digital-only last year, this year’s event will take place in Cannes for the first time since 2019.

“We are excited that awarding judging will be returning to a live format this year and proud to have this incredible group of industry leaders represent Canada in the jury room, said Andrew Saunders, chief revenue officer at The Globe and Mail and chair of the Canadian Cannes Lions Advisory Board.

Chris Powell