"Five years ago, Procter & Gamble made a public commitment to embrace creativity to drive their marketing. This public commitment was a message to their agencies and to the people who work in their agencies and resulted in many thousands of column inches being written about this initiative in the world press. The vision materialised in 2007, when P&G won 14 Lions at Cannes, including the coveted Press Lions Grand Prix. There can be no greater commitment to the cause of creativity than that displayed by P&G and we are delighted to be awarding them this prestigious honour," said Terry Savage, festival chairman.
“We are humbled by this terrific honour,” said Jim Stengel, global marketing officer, Procter & Gamble, who will be jointly accepting the award in Cannes with AG Lafley, chairman and CEO.
He adds, “We are inspired every year by the great work and ideas we experience at the festival. To be named 2008 Advertiser of the Year is an accomplishment we're proud to share with all of our agencies who touch P&G brands. They have been key partners for us in our commitment to advance creativity and innovation on P&G brands around the world.”
Founded in 1837, headquartered in Cincinnati and currently operating in over 80 countries with more than 138 000 employees, Procter & Gamble spend around US$8 billion a year on advertising, the highest ad spend in the world. A leading global marketer, P&G manufacture a wide range of household, beauty and personal care products which include such worldwide renown brands as Always, Ariel, Braun, Duracell, Gillette, Pampers, Pantene, Pringles, Olay and Oral-B.
The Advertiser of the Year trophy will be presented to Lafley and Stengel in Cannes during the Film, Titanium and Integrated Lions Awards Ceremony on Saturday, 21 June 2008.
For more information, go to www.canneslions.com.
