CCO of Wieden+Kennedy will take the honor given to professionals who have ‘extensive and significant’ trajectory in the creative industry
This year Cannes Lions will honor Susan Hoffman, CCO of Wieden+Kennedy with the Lion of San Marcos award. The honor is given to professionals who play a leading role in the creative industry. In Susan’s case, Cannes stated that she will receive the award “for her lifetime of service to creativity”.
Last year, the award was given to Colleen DeCourcy. Names such as John Hegarty, one of the founders of the BBH network, Mary Wells Lawrence, founder of the Wells Rich Greene agency in 1966, Dan Wieden, among others, have also been honored.
Susan Hoffman has been instrumental in driving industry and creativity forward for the past forty years, with an impressive body of work that reflects her unique perspective and ability to challenge the status quo in order to harness creativity as a force for advancement for people, business and society,” said Philip Thomas, chairman of Cannes Lions.
Wieden+Kennedy was launched in 1982 and had Nike as its first customer. Susan Hoffman was the eighth employee to be hired by the agency. She has held creative leadership and management roles, having worked on works such as Go Forth for Levi’s, Born of Fire for Chrysler, The Man Your Man Could Smell Like for Spice, Revolution for Nike and among others.
“It’s hard to believe I was the first female creative at W+K. People ask me why I’m still here and my answer is: Dan and David. They cared about people and the power of creativity, not themselves. Giving a voice People was their mantra. Dan and David passed the baton to us to inspire more people”, said Susan about the honor. David Kennedy and Dan Wieden were the founders of the agency and passed away in 2021 and 2022, respectively.
*Credit: Reproduction/Wieden+Kennedy
