The organisers of the 59th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity are pleased to announce that the 2012 the prestigious Advertiser of the Year Award will be awarded to Mars, Incorporated manufacturer of chocolate, gum and confections, pet food, drinks and other food products.

This important accolade is presented to advertisers who have distinguished themselves for inspiring innovative marketing of their products and who embrace the creative work produced by their agencies.

Read the press release.

Entries for the 2012 Cannes Lions Festival are due tomorrow, April 20. However, if you think you'll have trouble meeting this deadline and would like to investigate a possible extension, contact Alice Stalte at entries@canneslions.com or at +44 (0) 20 7728 4040.

If you'd like to learn more about who will be judging this year's submissions, click here.

The full registration package is the ultimate way to experience Cannes Lions, giving delegates unrestricted access to every seminar, all the awards and galas and every valuable networking opportunity.

Get more details...

The new seminar programme for Cannes Lions is now available online. Use it to explore the learning opportunities and discover more about the key topics being explored at this year’s Festival.

Get the program...

The deadline for entries for Cannes Lions 2012 has now been extended to April 20. Please note this extension does not apply to the Creative Effectiveness Lions entries, which were due February 17.

Learn more about the categories and how to enter your work.

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The organisers of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity are pleased to announce the appointment of the presidents for the following juries: Direct - Gideon Amichay, PR -Gail Heimann and Promo & Activation - Nick Worthington.

Learn more about these and the other jury presidents

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Cannes Lions has teamed up with the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to create a competition to solve a communications challenge that the world is facing. If you find a solution to the global problem and it is selected, you could get US$1,000,000 to make it a reality.

Find out more about this awe-inspiring challenge for global change.

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Cannes Lions is dedicated to nurturing young talent in our industry. And this year there are more ways for the next generation to showcase and hone their skills.

Find out more about these great learning experiences for creatives and marketers under 30.

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A selection of award-winning creatives, architects, musicians, animators and filmmakers join this year’s Festival speaker line-up.

To learn more about these speakers click here.

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Cannes Lions is pleased to announce the presidents for the Design - Bruce Duckworth, Film Craft - Ivan Zacharias and Radio - Rob McLennan juries for this year’s International Festival of Creativity. The jury presidents will come to Cannes to preside over their juries for the 2012 Festival, taking place from 17-23 June.

To learn more about these and the other jury presidents click here.

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This week, Cannes announced their newest Lions competition - Branded Content & Entertainment. This category is about delivering marketing messages by engaging consumers via content platforms rather than traditional methods. The new category at Cannes Lions specifically rewards the creativity of brands, agencies and production companies that have developed and created this content for their audience.

Learn more about Branded Content & Entertainment it's categories and why you should enter.

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In 2012, Cannes Lions is specifically honouring work that lives on or is activated by a mobile device, app or the mobile web for the first time. The new Mobile Lions recognise and celebrate the increasing importance of mobile in the media mix for many campaigns.

The new Mobile Lions reflect the broad scope and application of mobile, with a broad array of categories that are worth checking out.

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The organizers of the Cannes Lions Festival are pleased to announce the appointment of three more jury presidents for the 2012 Festival.

Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, says about the appointments, "The recognition of fresh ideas and the successful use of creativity advance the industry paving the way forward for the future. We are honoured to welcome such eminent authorities as David Jones - Creative Effectiveness jury; Mainardo De Nardis - Media Lions jury; and Iain Tait - Cyber Lions jury; to steer their juries to debate and award the most ground-breaking work in their respective categories."

To learn more about these and the other jury presidents click here.

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The communications industries never stay still, and neither does Cannes Lions, which is why the Festival in 2012 is going to feature a host of exciting innovations for delegates. From a new dedicated learning stream to even more chances to network with colleagues, Cannes Lions 2012 is packed with fresh opportunities.

Before you register, check out these 2012's innovative workshops and seminars.

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Entry registration for the Cannes Lions Festival begins today - January 26. Cannes has everything you need to ensure entering is easy/peasy - from a 'How-to Enter Guide' and an endless list of categories to videos that offer tips from jury members and presidents past and present.

Before putting your entry together, you'll want to check out these helpful resources.

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It’s Cannes time again. Same place, same week every year, same view, same people, same insane prices, same people. It kind of reminds me of that movie Groundhog Day.

As I was sitting in my office some months ago I was thinking of all of this and said to myself, “Not again. Not this year; it’s just the same old boring Cannes.” But as the festival got closer and became more present in my mind, I started this conversation in my mind...

Read the rest of Alan Gee's blog about why you too, should say 'Oui' to the Cannes Lions Festival.

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Setting the benchmark for creative excellence in communications, the International Festival of Creativity – Cannes Lions – will reward creativity in branded content & entertainment, defined as the creation of, or natural integration into, original content by a brand. The purpose of this new Cannes Lions category is to deliver marketing messages by engaging consumers via relevant content platforms rather than traditional advertising methods.

Avi Savar, Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Big Fuel, a full-service global social media marketing and communications company based in New York that takes brands from content to commerce, will chair the inaugural Branded Content & Entertainment Lions jury.

Click here to read more about this exciting new competition category.

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Registration for the 2012 Canada Young Lions and Young Marketers competitions is now open. The winning Young Lions and Young Marketers teams will win a trip to the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity to represent Canada in the official Cannes Young Lions and Young Marketers competitions, June 17 to 23, 2012.

Click here to register.

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With registration for the 59th Cannes Lions Festival opening on Monday, January 12, Cannes has prepared an online step-by-step checklist to help delegates register their campaigns and get ready to compete in the 2012 Festival, June 17 - 23.

Simply click here to review how easy it is to enter.

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The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity announce on January 9 that Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy & Mather, will head up both the Film and Press Juries at the 59th Festival, taking place 17-23 June 2012.

Khai has chaired many jury panels including serving as a Cannes Lions juror on the Press and Outdoor Lions in 2003, the Press Lions in 2007, the Titanium & Integrated Lions in 2010, and as President of the Film, Print, Outdoor, Radio and Integrated juries for the Dubai International Advertising Festival in 2009.

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The Cannes Creative Leaders Programme is an intensive two-week program for executives who are currently in or designated for leadership positions in the creative industries. Taught by leading academic experts together with industry practitioners, the Program helps participants develop valuable tools, insights and actionable strategies for leading their creative agencies, clients and companies more effectively.

Click here to get more info about the Program.

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The Cannes Lions' prices have just been announced. Click here to find out how much it costs to attend and enter Cannes Lions 2012.

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On November 17, the International Festival of Creativity – Cannes Lions announced that Mobile will be added as a new awards section, launching at the 2012 Festival. Tom Eslinger, Digital Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi Worldwide, will preside over the Mobile Lions jury in its inaugural year.

Mobile Lions will reward the best work which lives on or is activated by a mobile device, app or mobile web. The judging criteria will be based on creativity and the idea, execution (usability, user experience, craft and design), relevance to the mobile platform and results (level of user engagement and any quantifiable outcomes). The categories for the new Mobile Lions will include Creative Use of Technology, Mobile Websites and Web Apps, Mobile Apps, Tablet Apps, Games, Rich Media Mobile Advertising and Integrated Campaigns led by Mobile.
Read more...

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The International Festival of Creativity announced November 11 the first of 15 jury presidents that will lead the judging process at the 2012 Cannes Lions Festival. Lo Sheung Yan, known as Mayan among his peers, JWT’s Executive Creative Director, North East Asia and Chairman, China, will lead the Outdoor jury in 2012.

Click here to view Festival Chairman, Terry Savage, explain why it's so significant that Lo Sheung Yan has been named as the 2012 Outdoor Lions Jury President. Then, Lo Sheung Yan himself talks about what it means to be the first ever Chinese jury president at the Festival for both him and the industry in China.

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Creative Effectiveness Lions honour creativity that has shown a measurable and proven impact on a client’s business - creativity that affects consumer behaviour, brand equity, sales, and where identifiable, profit.

The entry fee is €1,195 per entry, and the deadline for accepting entries is February 17, 2012. Please visit the Cannes Lions website to learn more about entering.

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Earlier this year Cannes announced it would be moving the dates of the 2012 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity two weeks earlier than usual in order for improvements to be made to the Palais des Festivals.

However, the city of Cannes, for various reasons, has postposed the scheduled improvements to the Palais des Festivals. Therefore, to avoid a crossover with the end of the Cannes Film Festival, Cannes Lions is reverting back to the usual dates in the third week of June 17-23, 2012.

Please contact the Cannes Lions delegates department if you have any questions, or need help with venue rebooking.