Cannes Jury Spotlights: VMLY&R's Walter Geer III

At Cannes Lions, the world’s premier festival celebrating creative excellence, thousands of entries pour in from countries worldwide. Behind the scenes, a carefully selected panel of judges review the work and determine which will ultimately take home a coveted Cannes Lion.

Little Black Book is spotlighting creatives across the VMLY&R network who are joining the ranks of the industry’s most recognized and respected creative professionals to judge top-tier work at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival. 

Walter Geer III is chief experience design officer of VMLY&R, an advertising veteran and one of the industry’s most impactful leaders. Known for his high-level creative work and his tenacious advocacy for the advancement of BIPOC advertising professionals, Walter is characterized by his commitment to creative and cultural development within and beyond adland.  

Walter has established himself as a prominent figure and highly respected leader in advertising. His award-winning work and tangible impact across the industry have earned him positions on the board of the 4A’s and on the executive board of the Advertising Club of New York. Through these roles, Walter openly challenges the status quo and advocates for a more diverse and equitable industry.  

This year, Walter will be representing the agency as an Innovation Lions juror. 

Q> How do you spot Cannes-winning work?

Walter> Spotting good Cannes-winning work is like tasting amazing food… when it hits, it just HITS. There are no questions asked about how and why — it just moves you and makes you feel a specific way. We are in a time where, on average, we see 4,000-10,000 ads a day. Incredible Cannes-winning work is work that is memorable, magical and meaningful. Work that makes you feel a genuine raw emotion, whether that’s excitement, sadness or anger. 

Q> What makes you passionate about the category you are judging?

Walter> I’ve worked within the advertising space for 24 years, with a 20-year focus on innovation. I’ve reimagined the space a multitude of times and left behind formats that are still used by the biggest brands in the world on a daily basis.

There’s nothing more exciting than being able to have a front seat view of world-changing solutions that have been developed by some of the smartest creatives in the world. 

Q> What do you hope to take away from judging at Cannes 2023?

Walter> I hope to walk away feeling jealous and envious of the work so that I am inspired to come back next year and take home the gold in this category, lol.

In all seriousness though, this is a category that truly makes an impact on the world. I hope that we can play a small role in helping give more visibility to the winning work, so that they can continue making the change to help move this entire industry and world forward.

Q> What do you think will be the biggest themes at this year’s festival? 

Walter> AI, AI, AI …. and did I say AI? I expect to see mass amounts of submissions within innovation that lean heavily on the use of platforms like DALL-E2 and ChatGTP. It will be interesting to see who can take AI and truly do something unique, because while we are at the brink of what’s to come with AI, at this point I feel as though a lot of people are using it similarly.

Q> What does creativity mean to you? OR what does the future of creativity look like?

Walter> The signature in my personal email says, “Creativity is the extent of your imagination.” Creativity is limitless, but to truly create something that is purposeful, it means solving a problem. As advancements in technology continue to move at a rapid pace, the answer to what creativity is will change.

Think about what creativity meant in 2000 — it meant smarter ways to get a brand in front of a user’s face. The end result of that was pop-up ads, homepage takeovers, and anything that would be as intrusive as possible to get in front of a consumer.

Creativity in 2020 was about being less intrusive and leaning in on relevance, by using data. Brands wanted to know where you go, what you do and how you do it.

It will be interesting to see what 2040 brings us.