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Ireland Showcases Creative Prowess at Cannes Lions Festival with Inaugural 'Irish Lunch’

Enterprise Ireland and The Institute of Advertising Practitioners Ireland (IAPI) welcomed over 100 Irish and international brand and advertising leaders to the inaugural ‘Irish Lunch’ at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity

The Cannes Lions Festival offers an unparalleled international stage for the inaugural Irish Lunch, which will showcase Ireland’s creative talent and connect our leading agencies with global brand leaders

This week, from June 17th to 21st, over 140 Irish delegates will attend the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity at the Palais in Cannes. As the world's largest gathering for the advertising and creative communications industry, the festival provides a significant platform to showcase Ireland’s vibrant commercial creative sector.

The Institute of Advertising Practitioners in Ireland (IAPI) and Enterprise Ireland will host the inaugural ‘Irish Lunch,’ a landmark event aimed at highlighting Ireland's creative prowess to a global audience. More than 100 guests, including senior marketers from international brands such as Coca-Cola, Diageo, Paddy Power, Allianz, and Kellanova will attend. They will be joined by leading figures from Ireland’s advertising, social, and creative agencies, including representatives from THINKHOUSE, Publicis Dublin, Droga5 Dublin, Goosebump, The Tenth Man, Bonfire, Forsman & Bodenfors Dublin, and Bloom. The event will also be attended by publishers including the Business Post.

Lorcán Hanlon, Chief Commercial and Revenue Officer – Business Post Group, Charley Stoney, CEO – IAPI and Conor O’Donovan, Head of Global Communications – Enterprise Ireland
Abi Moran, CEO – Folk VML, Jen Spiers, Chief Creative Officer – Droga5 Dublin
Richard Carr, Managing Director – Accenture Song UK, Ireland, & Africa, Charley Stoney, CEO – IAPI and Lorcan Hanlon, Chief Commercial and Revenue Officer – Business Post Group

Speaking at the festival, Charley Stoney, chief executive of IAPI said: “Ireland’s commercial creative sector has been packing a punch, crafting campaigns for some of the most iconic global brands. The Cannes Lions Festival offers an unparalleled international stage for the inaugural Irish Lunch, which will showcase Ireland’s creative talent and connect our leading agencies with global brand leaders.”

In April of this year the Department of Tourism, Culture, Arts, Gaeltacht, Sport, and Media (DTCAGSM) and the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment (DETE) launched a joint initiative in the Roadmap for Digital Creative Industries. The roadmap focuses on three distinct sectors: Commercial Design Sector, Digital Gaming; and Content Creation.“We are actively supporting the industry under the Irish Government’s Roadmap for the Digital Creative Industries to internationalise and grow creative services companies,” said Conor O’Donovan, head of communications at Enterprise Ireland.“ The Cannes Lions Festival is an important platform to engage global decision-makers, partners, and customers in support of our ambition. We are proud to collaborate with our partners IAPI and Team Ireland to showcase the best of Ireland’s trailblazing companies in the commercial creative sector.”

A strong Irish presence will be evident throughout the festival, with notable speakers including writer, producer and actor Sharon Horgan, disability activist Sinéad Burke, Diageo’s Global Director for Beer, Baileys, and Smirnoff Grainne Wafer and Jen Speirs, chief creative officer at Droga5 Dublin.