Putting social responsibility centre stage at Cannes

In addition, Draftfcb, along with its Dow Chemical Company client, will lead a seminar on “The Chemistry of Socially Responsible Marketing,” addressing how the thinking behind the “Human Element” campaign can be applied in other companies and categories. Draftfcb will also underwrite the coffee bar at Ad Forum's ACT Responsible exhibit, itself a showcase of some of the best social and environmental advertising created around the world, of which Draftfcb is also a sponsor.

Five Draftfcb leaders from Austria, Chile, South Africa, India and the USA are amongst this year's jurors in the direct, promotion, media and radio competitions (in the Direct category, Glynn Venter of Draftfcb South Africa and Janet Barker-Evans of Draftfcb Chicago; in the Promo category, Joachim Glawion of Draftfcb Austria; in the Media category, Shashi Sinha, CEO at Lodestar Media, Draftfcb's media partner in India; and for Radio, Rodrigo Gomez of Draftfcb Chile).

The agency will also host three invitation-only, pre-award show cocktail parties in the Palais itself that will guarantee guests VIP access to the award shows on Monday night (Direct & Promo), Wednesday night (Press, Design & Cyber), and Saturday night (Film, Titanium & Integrated Lions).

The Gallery of Good

The Gallery of Good will give festival attendees a look at the best recently created cause-related advertising from around the world. The display spans the foyer areas of the Grand Auditorium and the Debussy Theatre within the Palais des Festivals.

“We as an industry are some of the most persuasive people on the planet. The Gallery of Good is an opportunity to remind ourselves of the tremendous power and responsibility we collectively have to help others whose voices are not as strong as ours," said Draftfcb chief creative officer Jonathan Harries.

On Monday, 16 June 2008, at 1pm, Draftfcb will present “The Chemistry of Socially Responsible Marketing”, a seminar introduced by Draftfcb chief creative officer Jonathan Harries and led by The Dow Chemical Co.'s VP global communications and reputation Patti Temple-Rocks and Draftfcb's SVP, group creative director John Claxton. It will focus on the importance of social responsibility in business and on The Dow Chemical Co.'s “Human Element” campaign.

ACT Responsible Coffee Bar

Already a corporate sponsor of ACT Responsible, Draftfcb will also sponsor a specially created coffee bar at the 2008 ACT exhibition, which for the seventh straight year will be showcased at Cannes, 15 - 20 June. All proceeds will be donated to UNICEF's Unite for Children, Unite against AIDS programme.

On Thursday 19 June at 5.30pm, Draftfcb's Scott Johnson, EVP, global executive creative director, interactive, will be participating in “E-Responsibility, The Creative Debate,” with Microsoft and DDB, JWT and McCann Worldgroup, focusing on cyber responsibility and the role advertising plays. Following the debate, Jonathan Harries will present an award at the Dove Tribute Ceremony Celebrating Responsible Advertising, beginning at 6.30pm.

Launched in 2006, the Draftfcb network spans 98 countries, with more than 9500 employees worldwide, and is part of the Interpublic Group of Companies. The agency's global corporate leadership team includes Howard Draft, chairman and CEO; Laurence Boschetto, president and COO; Jonathan Harries, worldwide chief creative officer; and Neil Miller, CFO.