Philip Thomas, CEO de Ascetial Events
For Philip Thomas, CEO at Ascetial Events, the organizing company of the Cannes Lions festival, the record of 20 Lions received by the Hispanic market -exceeding their performance in the 2015 and 2016 editions- is an indicator of creativity. “There are marvelous agencies producing fantastic work and what I can see is that this will increase in the future.”Latin America’s participation has also been outstanding. “Latin American countries are continuously showing that they are progressing in showing great creativity and it is a very exciting market.”The festival will continue selecting judges based on the success of the awards giving focused on people capable of creating marvelous work. “So we expect to have more jurors from the Hispanic market. And we also see that when countries start winning Lions, they get better at it. They also inspire others in their community to be better.”He comments that it takes an average of 3.5 years for an agency to win its first Lion, according to the data we have seen. “To be a finalist is a huge accomplishment. To be on a shortlist is difficult to reach and it must be celebrated. It is an important step towards that day when you win your first Lion.” We built this festival, he says, because we believe in creativity and everything we do is about creativity and we are going to talk with the industry and take their advice to find the best way to mark the lines to move forward, as well as listen to the criticism and improve whatever needs improvement.
