The organisers of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity have announced the Lion of St. Mark award. French advertising veteran Jacques Séguéla is this year’s recipient of the lifetime achievement award. 

Séguéla, who turned 90 earlier this year, has had a career spanning more than 60 years in advertising. He started his career as a doctor. Realising that this was a false path, he changed his route and completed the first round-the-world trip in a French car and wrote his first book The Earth in the Round, which sold 1,50,000 copies. 

Later, after a brief career as a journalist, he joined forces with Bernard Roux and the agency Roux Séguéla was born. The agency's first piece of work saw French President Pompidou steering a Mercury engine in the bay of St Tropez to the headline ‘Grab the Express and take off’. Soon, Alain Cayzac and then Jean-Michel Goudard joined the agency and RSCG was born, eventually becoming Euro RSCG, and now Havas. 

During his career, he worked on brands like Carrefour, Citroën, along with several campaigns for the French government. 

Philip Thomas, chairperson, Lions, said, “Jacques Séguéla turned 90 years of age this year, and still comes into the office every single day to work on campaigns for his clients. The word is overused, but Jacques is an icon. He is bold, passionate and creative – and all with a tremendous sense of warmth and humour. He’s been to Cannes Lions more than 50 times, his first visit being to the Venice edition in 1975, where he was a member of the jury and won his first Lion for Aéroports de Paris. His stories and experiences are captivating. As an industry we are delighted that he made the career change from pharmacy to advertising because we have all benefited from his creativity as a result. In the meantime, he is the most charming, delightful presence and we cannot wait to honour him on the Cannes Lions stage in June.”

Séguéla said, “After 60 years of festivals, I have seen this industry evolve with every decade, but one thing has never changed: advertising is, has been, and always will be about having an idea. I have had the great honour of working my whole life not to sell products, but to make brands eternal and I love it. I am incredibly moved to be recognised with this iconic award and I share it with all my fellow creatives who stand behind their ideas, choose optimism and give brands the only thing that will keep them alive – a soul.”

He will also speak on stage on 21 June in the Lion of St Mark seminar, where he will recite tales and lessons learnt over his career.