Adisa emerges first Nigerian Cannes Lions juror

The Managing Director and Chief Creative Officer of creative advertising agency, Noah’s Ark Communications Limited, Mr. Lanre Adisa, has emerged the first Nigerian to make the list of juries for the world’s biggest adverting festival, Cannes Lions Festival.

Adisa, who was recently announced a member of the Brand Experience and Activation shortlist jury for the 2018 edition of the prestigious Cannes Lions Festival, would be working with 413 other jury members from around the world to prepare the shortlist for the main festival scheduled to hold in Cannes, France, from June 18 through 22, 2018.

According to Jury Director, International Festival of Creativity, Lisa Berlin, mostly known as Cannes Lions, Mr. Lanre Adisa would be joining other jurors selected across the world to conduct the first round of the judging process in advance of the festival which would create the shortlist for the final judging process.

“We are delighted to confirm your appointment as a member of the Brand Experience & Activation jury at Cannes Lions 2018,” she said. “It goes without saying that all jurors will be of an equal, world-class standard regardless of their contribution to the judging process.”

This year’s juries are composed of individuals from 50 countries, including for the first time, representatives from Nigeria, Georgia, Kenya and Sri Lanka.

“Continuing the drive for a more diverse mix within the jury room, this year’s jury composition includes 46 per cent female jury members, as well as a wide mix of creative agencies, brands, media owners and production companies,” Berlin explained.

In his comments, Jose Papa, Managing Director of Cannes Lions said, “The job of the Cannes Lions jury is to act as the custodians of creativity and celebrate work that demonstrates the value of creativity in all its forms. We are committed to ensuring that our juries include a diverse range of people from across the branded communications ecosystem.”

Chairman, Cannes Lions, Terry Savage, explained that since last year’s edition of the festival, new Lions categories have been announced with the introduction of new awards architecture to better reflect and support the fast-moving creative industries. These Lions include Creative eCommerce Lions, Brand Experience and Activation Lions, Social and influencer Lions, Sustainable Development Goals Lions and the Industry Craft Lions.

Speaking on the development, the Managing Director & Chief Creative Officer, Noah’s Ark Communications Limited, Mr. Lanre Adisa described his appointment as the beginning of great things for the Nigerian Advertising Industry having taken this long for any creative not only from Nigeria, but also the West African sub-region, to be considered for such an exalted appointment.

“Coming shortly after the African Cristal African Agency of the Year feat, this is a watershed year for us as an agency. It means that in truth we are living out our vision of being in the league of the most successful brand builders out of Africa. We could not have asked for a better 10th anniversary gift. Now we have to push even harder. There’s a lot more ahead of us,” said Adisa.

Dedicating the achievement to the concerted efforts of the Noah’s Ark Team and her clients, Adisa stated “we owe it to ourselves and our future not to relent in pushing for new frontiers for every new opportunity we are given by our clients.”