London International Awards judging week kicks off at the Encore Hotel in Las Vegas

The London International Awards judging sessions have kicked of in Las Vegas with the Music, Design and NEW categories all completed today. More than 50 judges from around the world have arrived at the Encore Hotel on the Las Vegas strip to judge LIA – one of the world’s most prestigious shows.

Representing the Asia Pacific region on the juries are Mike O’Sullivan (Droga5 New Zealand), Thirasak Tanapatanakul (Creative Juice Bangkok), Usagi Ishii (Hakuhodo Tokyo), Sonal Dabral (Bates141 India), Marcus Rebeschini (Y&R Asia), David Guerrero (BBDO Guerrero Manila) and Yang Yeo (JWT Shanghai).

The first jury to convene was the NEW, headed by MDC Chief Innovation Officer, Faris Yakob. Music, headed by Lyle Greenfield of Bang Music New York, and Design and Packaged Design, headed by Richard Bates of the Brand Union New York, followed suit on Saturday.

“This year, we have a stellar panel of judges on every jury. Everyone of the jury is very well respected in their field. So we expect a lot of intense discussion when they are reviewing the work. But I know it will definitely be the best work that will survive the cut to be awarded Statues,” commented Barbara Levy, President of LIA.

Overall, entries for this year’s LIA Show has risen 10% over last year.

Fariis Yakob. Chief Innovation officer of MDC Partners, New York said: “People always ask what’s the definition of NEW.  While I don’t believe there is a simple pat answer as things are constantly changing, it’s about creativity that is directional; that helps us thing differently about what we do.  I won’t compare this year’s work to last years.  Suffice to say, the benchmark set by the jury was quite high.  So every Statue that was awarded only after intense scrutiny and discussion by the jury was the most respected people in their fields,” revealed Faris.

Faris has been the NEW Jury President for the past three years.

The Music Jury, presided by Lyle Greenfield, President/Founder of Bang Music New York, comprised some of the best known names in the Music world in the US and Europe.

“Since we redefined the categories last year, it was a lot easier to see where things belong this year.  I think the bigger challenge for the jury was to judge music from both new media, which could run into a few minutes, on the one hand, and a 15 or 30-second spot on the other.  But whatever the media, it’s always about the art and craft of music to bring something to life,” commented Lyle.

He added, ” While admittedly, there were more surprises last year, we still had some excellent and interesting pieces that stood head and shoulders above the rest this year.”