About the jury president
Here are a few interesting facts about me that turned me into the person that I am today. Fun fact : When I visited Barcelona I was put in jail for 3 days. Don’t worry, I didn’t do anything wrong, however, everyone who has been to jail says the same thing. But, I remained my innocence for the whole 72 hours and fought for the truth and this resulted in me being released from jail. This experience taught me the importance of persisting in the face of adversity.
‘El Blanco de Belgica’, was the nickname a drug lord gave me over there.
Interesting fact: In college, I was the only student who pursued applied Mathematics and Applied Arts (there were 3000 students in college). Today, I’m probably one of the few people who reads a whole Kantar study before going to Créa. Yes, I love numbers. Besides, I appreciate campaigns that are well-built and structured, where every detail is well-thought-of. The strategy, the art direction, the words, the insight,… everything.
Old fact : I won The Best Young European Talent Award when I was 20. ( See it as the old Young Lions Competition ) It was in London against 20 other international creative teams. I don’t remember anything from the night we won, but the day after, I landed my first contract at Saatchi & Saatchi. From that, I learned that you can be from Belgium and still do great things internationally. Family fact : I declined a job offer at 72 & Sunny Amsterdam after a round of 14 interviews. It was my dream to work for such an agency. But I chose to stay close to my family. Yes, my family is very important to me. Speaking of family, my sister just released her first single. It’s called ‘Aimée pour de vrai’; If you could stream it, buy it, or share it that would be nice of you. My parents were kind of proud of when I won a Gold Euro Effie, Gold Cannes Lions or Grand-Prix Creative Belgium. But imagine: a Disque D’or in the family that would be truly awesome.
Arnaud Bailly, Creative Director, Managing Partner and Much More at AIR will be the jury president for the categories: Brand Experience, Culture & Social Behaviour and Innovation.
VISION
Creativity, Craft, and Progress. The combination of these three pillars will be crucial in my jury. The idea comes first, as only a strong idea can inspire people to do things differently. Craft? Certainly, because a strong idea can only become great when executed perfectly, with a fresh look and a well-thought-out approach.
Finally, we need to see progress in every aspect of the campaign. Has it changed something in the cultural landscape? Has brand perception evolved in a more positive way? Was it produced more effectively? Did it embrace new production techniques? Yes, the devil is in the details to reach a Grand Prix. And I hope someone will tick all the boxes this year.
MEET THE JURY - EXPERIENCE
