Cannes Lions to have smaller juries to “improve quality of discussion inside the jury room”
Cannes Lions has announced changes to its juries. The size of the jury panels present in Cannes will be reduced by 92 members across the board, with the aim of ensuring the highest standard of meaningful debate can take 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. The jury members will be selected using the same process and criteria as the awarding juries and held to the same rigorous standards of neutrality and fairness. Jury panel sizes will also be reduced across the Film, Radio, Print & Publishing, Outdoor, Digital Craft, Creative Effectiveness and Mobile categories.
“Protecting the integrity of the Lions is down to getting the right people in the judging room,” said Jose Papa, Managing Director of Cannes Lions. “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 well-qualified people, that is the gold-standard. 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.”
Says 2016’s Titanium Jury President, John Hegarty, founder of Bartle Bogle Hegarty: “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”.
Adds Philip Thomas, Chief Executive of Cannes Lions: “The standard of judging and quality of our juries is one of the major factors that contributes to the long-standing value of Cannes Lions. Upholding the value of the Lion is paramount”.
Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2017
17-24 June 2017, Cannes, France.
5 Comments
Good move. The credibility of Cannes judging is the lowest out of all award shows. Now just get the best and most respected creatives on the jury instead of all these nobodies who are lucky to have their current jobs let alone be asked to judge.
Overheard at Cannes Luons planning meeting.
“Let’ have a meaningful discussion about how we reduce costs and increase profit”
“Why don’t we get rid of 92 judges. The money we’ll save on judges accommodation will be huge. 92 X 6 nights = 552 nights X $AUD 400 per night = $220,800!”
“I second that proposal”
“All in favor say aye”
“AYE!!!!!!!”
“Approved. Next item on the agenda is ….”
The people chosen to judge last year where mostly non-awarded CDs. Hegarty is right. Less judges but better quality. Of course, the quality won’t improve and politics will still be rife in the jury room.
But can’t be the same old judges for the shows either. Otherwise all you need is one show.
agreed @Don’t mistaken quantity to further screw up.
But my point is look at last year’s jury from Asia and your immediate reaction to half of them is how did he/she get chosen?