Rodney Fitch to Chair Inaugural Design Lions Jury

Now in its 55 year, the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival is one of the world's truly global meeting places for those interested in creativity in communications.

New for 2008, Cannes Lions is launching the Design Lions.

Design Lions will honour the creative and innovative use of design for brand and product communication and development.

Adding Design will enhance and complement the celebration of creativity.

Categories will broadly include Packaging Design, Brand Identity and Environmental Design.

The competition does not include entries for product design, web design or architectural design, except within the confines of the category descriptions.

Rodney Fitch CBE, Chairman & CEO of Fitch Worldwide, will chair the inaugural Design Lions Jury.

Rodney founded the Fitch agency in 1972 and now has 19 studios in 12 countries around the globe.

Fitch's clients include Amazon, Bentley Motors, BP, Dunlop, DHL, Hewlett-Packard, IKEA, L'Oreal, Lego, Marks & Spencer, Nokia, Microsoft, P&G, Starbucks, Toys 'R' Us and Unilever.

Rodney has a distinguished career in design that has spanned nearly 40 years.

Commenting on his role, Rodney said, "I had often wondered why Cannes never honoured design; for isn't design the very platform on which so much creative endeavour is based?

Now that the world has come to its senses, I'm greatly honoured, and not a little humbled to be the Design Jury s inaugural President and am confident the work we shall see will be inspirational help make these lions roar even louder."