I’ve been following Cannes for years, but I really had no idea how rigorous the judging was. Our category had over 2,500 entries, and we each reviewed around 500 in small groups to choose shortlists. That’s 500 case study videos in three days. If I hear, “And the results surpassed everyone’s expectations,” one more time, I may need detox.

Reviewing the shortlist was also a very long, very tough day. There were 250 cases to be reviewed and ranked. That’s a lot to digest in one day, but everything got a fair hearing.

The final judging day was when the medals were awarded out of the shortlist. I was afraid this would be another tedious day, but it was totally exhilarating. Each and every shortlisted entry was reviewed again and voted on, and when we awarded the first Gold Lion there was spontaneous applause. This was a passionate group, and it was amazing to see the room all getting behind the best work. Just fantastic.

A final word about the jury. It was large –  25 people with diverse specialties and disciplines from all over the world – and I couldn’t have asked for a better, more talented group to spend five days (and often, nights) with. And Nick Worthington was a great leader for our jury – he kept us from getting bogged down and kept us focused on what we were there to do – award only the best.

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