Classic Track Jury Member Ricardo Wolff: “It’s Cool to See Your Heroes Naked”

With only a few days before Cannes Lions 2025, Classic Track jury member Ricardo Wolff is excited to explore the festival again. But this is not his first rodeo. 

As a creative with decades of experience, Ricardo is a stalwart of the creative industry. He is also the executive creative director at INNOCEAN Berlin and he knows the significance of the Classic Track as a collection of the most historic categories (Audio & Radio, Film, Outdoor and Print & Publishing) and “feels privileged to be part of the tradition.” 

Classic Track

“This is the birth category of Cannes,” Ricardo Wolff says about Classic Track. Nine other globally recognised creative leaders at Cannes Lions will judge the work in this track alongside him.

The Classic Track focuses on the big creative ideas, emphasising image, sound, and storytelling. The category is special since it contains Film, the one that “birthed” the festival in 1954, he says. He calls it “bulletproof” because it remained unchanged throughout the years. “Film has always prevailed,” and purely focuses on the craft of storytelling. “Some case films are just make up. But film is film. So it has to work from A to Z.” 

The purpose of the whole category is to award something as “timeless,” he says. “When we managed to strike a universal, strong insight into a cultural context, or a behaviour, or against a taboo. Those things make this whole industry worth it. It's art with a purpose.” 

Ricardo also looks forward to discussing all the films with the rest of the jury. “I consider myself an ad nerd. So for me, it is the ultimate training, and these opportunities don’t come often.” 

The ECD also thinks there is a sense of “responsibility to carry” as one of the judges. He takes his time, watching the work with proper attention and a good technical setup. “People trust you with work that was so hard to pull off and produce. They’re like ‘Look, man, this is my baby. Don't watch it with poor sound. Don't watch it on your phone. Don't skip it.’ So I'm paying them respect.” 

Going into Cannes, judges should go into the panels consciously. “What work did you have a special connection with? This can help as a mantra from home judging, into the festival.” 

Judging Fairly

While being respectful, it is still part of the job to be fair and sometimes even harsh. The goal is to distinguish the cream of the crop and also give appropriate feedback. 

When you see outstanding work, you just know, Ricardo says. Knowing what is good work is almost like a “separate organ inside your body” if you have been in the industry for a long time. “It's a fresh perspective on something that maybe you knew, but no one told you that in that way. It gives you truth and insight into our collective experience, making you rethink.”

Cannes for Beginners

Over the years, Ricardo has perfected the art of going to Cannes and managing his energy. “Cannes has many streams, and you must choose which ones you want to swim in.” 

Attending Cannes for the first time when he was 27, representing the Brazilian Young Lions competition in Print was challenging. “It was almost like the Olympics, representing my team, and I took it with great pride and responsibility. I felt constant overwhelm.” 

Now, he focuses on what is a priority and attends events every day to soak up the creative input. “My main reason to go to Cannes is to be bombarded with local insight. Nowhere in the world can you see so much variety and the amount of it, like and scale of ideas, as you do in the shortlist rounds.”

The Titanium Lions

Being part of discussions and seeing creative work is “the sweet spot of Cannes,” he explains. But his favourite part of it all, “the cherry on top” as he calls it, is attending the Titanium live judging. This year, the Titanium live discussions are taking place on June 17th and 18th as an all-day event.

As INNOCEAN Berlin is shortlisted with its ‘Camdom’ project for condom company Billy Boy, the discussion is even more crucial for Ricardo now, as the executive creative director. 

The Titanium live discussions are “what makes the whole trip, the whole burden of going there with the plane a lot and taking time off from family”, worth it. “For me, it is the irreplaceable aspect of Cannes,” Ricardo says, “because it is the most coveted award, not just handed out. You put the big global CMOs on stage and see them shake. You see them being roasted by people equally as great as they are. And it's cool to see your heroes naked.” In Ricardo's opinion, seeing the most prominent creative leaders in the industry being questioned like that is the best live seminar and learning opportunity. 

If you want to read more about Cannes, before it kicks off next week, you are at the right place. Here is the full list of our Cannes Contenders series and here you can read more about Jury Presidents and their insights. 

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