Damian Hanley Joins Cannes Lions Jury 2021

Damian Hanley, board creative director, In the Company of Huskies, Dublin, has been announced as a member of the Film Lions shortlist jury to become the fourth creative professional from Ireland who will judge the work for Cannes Lions 2020/21.

Damian Hanley commented: “It’s an honour to be given a ringside seat to see the world’s best creativity. It also great to see the growing number of Irish judges and the increasing profile of Irish creativity on the world stage, helped in no small part by the brilliant job IAPI do in this regard.”

This appointment follows the announcement of three Awarding Jury members from Ireland who have joined the line-up of global experts selected to award the world’s very best creative work and benchmark excellence this June. They are:

• Carol Lambert, board creative director, Publicis Dublin, who joins the Industry Craft Lions awarding jury
• Emma Sharkey, chief strategy officer, Rothco part of Accenture Interactive, who joins the Radio & Audio Lions awarding jury
• Rory Hamilton, founder and chief creative officer, Boys + Girls, who joins the Film Craft Lions awarding jury

The Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) is the official Irish representative for Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and through this relationship were able to nominate Irish industry figures for inclusion in the juries this year. 

Charley Stoney, CEO, IAPI, commented: “We are delighted that four of the jurors IAPI proposed from Ireland have been selected for Cannes Juries. These announcements strengthen IAPI’s ambitious strategy to promote Ireland as a Centre of Excellence for the Commercial Creativity sector at home and abroad.  The recent launch of IAPI’s unique platform, Ireland: Where Creative is Native (www.creativeisnative.com) last November showcases the power and capability of Irish creativity to the wider world.”

The Lion-winning work will be announced and awarded during Cannes Lions Live, a fully digital experience, running from 21-25 June 2021.

The Lions shortlist jury is made up of global creative professionals from around the world who judge the work online and in their own time to create the shortlist from the campaigns entered into this category.  

Ten of those jurors, the Awarding jury, then comes together as a group to discuss and deliberate the shortlisted work to award Bronze, Silver and Gold Lions and then the Grand Prix.

Jury members hail from across the world and represent the global industry’s leading talent from the broadest spectrum of disciplines. The juries also comprise 51% of female jurors, up from 48% in 2019. 

Simon Cook, managing director, LIONS, commented: “It’s hugely exciting to welcome this formidable line-up of experts, who will unite across time zones and backgrounds, representing the full scale of our industry. Each year, our juries grow more diverse, which is part of our commitment to appoint outstanding talent from right across the breadth of our global community.”

Philip Thomas, chairman, LIONS, comments: “After pausing the awards last year, our juries will be awarding Lions across two years’ worth of work, which is an unprecedented opportunity to set the global creative benchmark for two years of outstanding creativity.”