Cannes: no ban for scam ad agencies – only individual scammers will pay the penalty

TheCannes Lions International Advertising Festival has released theiranti-scam policy, but unlike The One Show, individuals will pay thepenalty, not the agency. This is the statement from Cannes chairmanTerry Savage and CEO Philip Thomas:

Followingdetailed consultation and discussion with industry leaders, the CannesLions International Advertising Festival wishes to make clear itspolicy on entries into its Festivals which breach the rules.

There are many definitions of “scam”, and the issue is rarelyblack and white. As such, we want to develop a policy that is not onlyworkable but also enforceable.

The roleof Cannes Lions and its associated Festivals (Eurobest, Dubai Lynx andSpikes Asia) is to set the benchmark for creativity in communications,to celebrate creativity and to reward the industry for outstandingcreative work.

Our role is not to come betweenthe client and the agency; it is not to have a negative material effecton agency business; and it is not to penalise individuals from anagency who have not had any association with the work in question.

Ourkey rules in this regard are simple: “Entries cannot be made withoutthe prior permission of the advertiser/owner of the rights of theadvertisement. All entries must have been made within the context of anormal paying contract with a client. That client must have paid forall, or the majority of, the media costs.”

Itis our policy that when a piece of work comes into question, we requestclarification or further information according to the complaint raised.If it is not forthcoming or not adequate, we withdraw the award.

In future we will continue to withdraw awards that do not meet our entry criteria and announce that we have done so.

Our entry criteria include:

– Submitting full client details (including name, position and full contact details)

– A senior officer (CD, CEO or Chairman) from the entrant company must authorise the entry

Our checks include:

– That the client is legitimate and that the product corresponds with their portfolio

-Judges are offered the opportunity to raise queries with the organisersand information is gathered accordingly throughout the judging (mediaschedules, client authorisation, etc.)

Webelieve that banning agencies from entering on a wholesale basis isunfair on blameless individuals. There are many people who work inagencies who may not be involved with an erroneous entry and thereforeshould not be penalised. Our policy will be to ban the individualsnamed on the credit list if a scam is discovered.

Thelength and nature of the ban will be decided based on the seriousnessof the case involved. We take the view that not all issues are the sameand each case should be dealt with on its own merits.

In summary, the key issues which will guide us through this process are:

1) Was the work approved and paid for by the client and was it run using media space paid for by the client? 

2) If an entry fails to meet this or other entry criteria, we will withdraw the award and make an appropriate announcement. 

3)If we deem it is required, we will ban the individuals involved fromentering our awards for a specific period of time which will be decidedat that time.

Terry Savage 

Chairman

Philip Thomas

Chief Executive Officer