The Cannes Lions Festival initially showed ads that were shown only in cinemas, between film screenings. However, since the mid-50s, the festival has become a popular large-scale event and now covers almost all types of advertising.
The idea for the festival originated in a group of European advertisers who were impressed by the popularity of the Cannes Film Festival. They decided that the ads between the films were also noteworthy. Since then, Cannes Lions have been held in this French city every year, in the last week of June.
Advertising business representatives from any country can submit their works to the competition. They must be created according to the actual order of the client and published within a year before the festival. Submission of an application is paid.
With the development of the festival and the advertising business in general, the number of nominations for the competition increased. By 2012, there are 12 of them in the main competition: Direct Lions, Promo Lions, PR Lions, Media Lions, Radio Lions, Press Lions, Cyber Lions, Film Lions, Design Lions, Titanium & Integrated Lions, Outdoor Lions, Film Craft Lions.
In addition, within the framework of the Cannes Lions, there is a separate competition for beginners - the Young Lions Competition. During the day during the festival, teams of young enthusiasts perform a specific task, and among them the strongest are identified.
The works of the contestants are evaluated by a jury of 20 people. These are representatives of different countries who can act as judges at the "Cannes Lions" only once. In order to select a suitable specialist for the jury, invitations are sent to the specialized companies of the country. Those of the candidates who consider themselves competent and speak spoken English send their CVs to the organizers. The selected members of the jury review all the entries during the week. If there are too many videos, they are divided into parts and given to different groups of judges. Then the experts' assessments are summarized.
Not only jury members can see the best advertising works. Each registered participant can view the schedule of screenings in advance and select those that are of interest to him.
The awarding of the winners also takes place over several days. There are so many contestants and nominations that statuettes are awarded in 4 "approaches".
In addition to the direct competition at the Cannes Lions, a variety of actions are held - an exhibition of developments, master classes, lectures. Parties have also become traditional, and one of the brightest is Russian. It takes place traditionally on the beach in Cannes or at the Ritz Hotel. The Cannes Lions advertising festival ends with a gala reception on Carlton Beach and fireworks over the sea.
