The organisers of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity have announced that David Lubars, former worldwide chief creative officer, BBDO, will be recognised with the Lion of St Mark in 2025.

The Lion of St Mark is the festival's lifetime achievement award.

In a career spanning more than four decades, Lubars has been credited with winning more than 600 Lions. Under his leadership, BBDO has bagged the 'Network of the Year' at Cannes seven times, and won the 'Network of the Decade' in 2020.

Lubars started his career in 1982 as a copywriter at Leonard Monahan Saabye before moving to Chiat\Day LA as a writer for Apple. He returned to Leonard Monahan, as partner to build Leonard Monahan Lubars, before moving on to lead BBDO West as CEO and chief creative officer. In 1998, he moved to Fallon before returning to BBDO in 2004, where he remained at the helm for 20 years until announcing his retirement last year.

He said, “Great brands and companies are brilliant, high-quality, and deliver on their promises. They possess a certain kind of magic, but one not always expressed. The goal for me was to surface that magic, mine it, turn it into something tangible a client could grab onto and run with around the world. You do that by injecting effervescent creative air into the culture rather than mediocre media pollution. You surprise people, you delight people; they fall in love. It’s that simple and that challenging. It’s the thing the fantastic clients and agency partners I worked with for 43 years were always chasing. And it’s why Cannes is Cannes.”

Simon Cook, CEO, Lions, said, “Throughout his career, David has been a true force for creativity. We have welcomed him onto our Juries seven times – five of those as Jury President – and his ground-breaking piece of work for BMW served as a catalyst for the creation of the Titanium Lions. ‘The Hire’ went on to win our inaugural Titanium Lion, a piece of work so iconic that it is part of MoMA's permanent collection in New York City. As a creative leader, he has shaped the industry landscape, and his visionary creativity has resulted in some of the world’s most impactful and compelling work. We’re delighted to be recognising David’s expansive body of work and significant contribution to the industry at Cannes Lions this year.”

Lubars will be honoured with the Lion of St Mark at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. He will also speak onstage in the Lion of St Mark seminar, taking place on 20 June. Cannes Lions runs from 16 to 20 June.