DDB Latvia Creative Director to be Part of Cannes Lions “See It Be It” Programme
For the third year in a row, the prestigious Cannes Lions advertising festival is offering the “See It Be It” programme which focuses on the surplus of men and the lack of women in the creative industries. This year 15 women from all around the world will take part in the programme, selected most carefully from more than 500 applications. One of them this year will be DDB Latvia creative director Ulrika Plotniece.
“Since the origins of the advertising industry in Latvia, it has been possible to count the number of female creative directors in the industry on the fingers of one hand,” says Ulrika. “Indeed, I think that I’m the only one right now, and that is not a feeling of being at the top of the game; instead it is something like being all alone in the jungle. All of my mentors have been men, and so I hope that the ‘See It Be It’ programme will offer inspiration to me from creative, talented and influential women.”
“See It Be It” participants will be special guests at the Cannes Lions festival. They will watch the work of the jury, ask questions, take part in a selective programme of seminars, take part in master’s workshops led by prize-winning women from the creative industries, and have a chance to spend time with experienced mentors in the industry.
Sarah Watson, global strategy director for BBH, is the ambassadress for the “See It Be It” programme this year. She helped to select the participants and will be present at the festival. “The lack of women in leading positions in the creative industry is a widely understood problem, and so right now everything depends on plans of action and the speed of changes,” she says. “The 2016 ‘See It Be It” group is small in numbers, but the programme is as impressive as the Cannes Lions festival can ensure. I hope that the experience of the participants will have echoes all around the world.”
The “See It Be It” programme was established in 2014 with the aim of focusing attention on the fact that most people in the creative industry are men. Global statistics show that only 25% of senior positions in the advertising industry are held by women, and only 3% of women become creative directors. At the same time, 85% of decisions about shopping are made by women.
The international Cannes Lions festival is the world’s leading advertising festival. Established in 1954, each year it brings together 15,000 people from 95 countries in Cannes, France, allowing them to spend a week in learning about the world’s best ad projects, hearing from inspirational speakers from the sector and other creative industries, and shaping new contacts.
