The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will honor groundbreaking agency creative Marcello Serpa with the Lion of St. Mark at this year’s Festival.
“The Lion of St. Mark recognizes individuals who have made significant and outstanding contributions to creativity across our industry,” said Philip Thomas, CEO, Cannes Lions. “Marcello’s achievements are known the world over, but perhaps most notably he was responsible for taking home Latin America’s first Grand Prix in 1993. He’s since served on juries four times, twice as president, and during his tenure, AlmapBBDO won Agency of the Year three times.”
After successes at GGK, DPZ and DM9, Serpa moved to AlmapBBDO in 1993, where together with José Luiz Madeira, they brought the agency out of deep decline and built it into one of the most successful agencies in São Paulo. Over two decades later, Serpa is recognized as the most awarded art director in Brazil, having won more than 160 Lions. His Grand Prix-winning work has included the 1993 print campaign for Guarana and the 2010 print campaign for Billboard–”Britney,” “Eminem,” “Marilyn,” “Bono” and “Amy.”
Thomas recalled, “My strongest memory of Marcello is when he was president of the Press Jury in 2013–as the Jury introduced themselves one by one, they were clearly more honored to have him as their leader than they were even to have been chosen for the Jury in the first place. He truly epitomizes what this award stands for.”
Speaking about the award, Serpa said, “My life and career would be completely different, and probably a bit boring, if Cannes Lions did not exist. Those small stairs to the stage are connected to me and I have always watched with envy and admiration some creative legends stand at the top of them. I feel honored, dizzy and extremely happy to be recognized as a stand-out within the industry. This award is like giving a shot of adrenaline directly into the ego of anyone in the business.”
Serpa will be presented with the Lion of St. Mark during the awards ceremony on Saturday, June 25. The Cannes fest will take place from June 18-25 in Cannes, France.
