For 2017’s Cannes Lions Festival visiting France in June, smaller juries will feature to improve the quality of discussion inside the jury room.
Cannes Lions has moved to initiate changes to its juries for the upcoming International Festival of Creativity. The size of the jury panels to present in the coming year will be reduced by 92 members across the board, ensuring the highest standard of meaningful debate takes place.
The first phase of the voting process for the Promo & Activation, Media, and Direct Lions will now be completed in the weeks before the Festival by a shortlist jury. Judges will be selected using the same process and criteria as the awarding juries and held to the same rigorous standards of neutrality and fairness.
“Protecting the integrity of the Lions is down to getting the right people in the judging room. Some juries have been much larger than others in the past as a result of the number of entries they have to judge—but it is the Titanium jury of ten extremely qualified people that is the gold-standard,” said Jose Papa (pictured), MD of Cannes Lions.
“After extensive consultation with previous jurors and the wider industry, we have concluded that we can reduce the number of jury members while still allowing them plenty of time to judge the work.”
Jury panel sizes will also be reduced across the Film, Radio, Print & Publishing, Outdoor, Digital Craft, Creative Effectiveness, and Mobile categories. The new installation of the prestigious industry-based awards will be held from 17-24 June 2017 in Cannes, France.
“I would rather be judged by fewer jurors who are more focused, more responsible, and better qualified. Collective responsibility and the quality of discussion are lost if you have too many judges. Size is no guarantee of strength,” said 2016’s Titanium Jury President, John Hegarty, Founder of Bartle Bogle Hegarty.
