Lions Health announces jury presidents

Lions Health has named McCann's June Laffey and Serviceplan Health & Life's Mike Rogers as presidents of this year's awards juries.

Laffey, who is currently executive creative director for McCann Health, Australia and South East Asia, will lead the Pharma Lions jury, while Rogers, who serves as Serviceplan's creative partner, is set to oversee judging for the Health & Wellness award.

The Lions Health awards recognise life-changing creativity in pharmaceutical and healthcare communications, and last year recorded a total of 582 pharma and 2023 health and wellness entries.

Ogilvy & Mather's Breathless Choir took home the coveted Grand Prix in Pharma prize at the Cannes awards ceremony in June, and was praised by 2016 jury president Alexandra von Plato as a “stunning example of cinematic storytelling”.

Meanwhile in the Health & Wellness category, FCB London's Project Literacy work for Pearson won the Grand Prix with 2016 jury president Joshua Prince commending the “sheer, devastating power of the creativity”.

Louise Benson, Lions Health executive festival director, said: “The rigid boundaries in the healthcare communications industry act as a catalyst for creative solutions that genuinely make a difference and Lions Health is a platform for these ideas to be celebrated, discussed and built upon.

“June and Mike bring vast expertise and experience and we're delighted to have them as jury presidents, championing the very best of creativity in this highly regulated field and pushing for greater innovation and fresher ideas going forward.”

This year's Health & Wellness award sees the addition of a new Health and Wellness Tech product category, reflecting the rapid growth in apps, wearable technologies and digital products aimed at improving and promoting a healthy lifestyle.

Rogers said: “I was honoured to be a part of the inaugural Health Lions jury, and now, three years later, I am incredibly excited to see what this strong 'wind of change' has brought in to the increasingly fascinating world of healthcare creativity.”

This year's event is due to take place from 17-18 June as part of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.