Julia Neumann Appointed as Golden Drum's Craft Jury President

Julia Neumann appointed as craft jury president.

The CRAFT section honours outstanding creativity and exceptional execution in key areas of advertising and communication production. Awards in this group celebrate best practices that have elevated industry craft standards.

Julia Neumann, chief creative officer and partner, Le Truc, USA , is a trailblazer in advertising, shaping the future for global brands. Prior to Le Truc, Julia held pivotal roles at renewed agencies including Johannes Leonardo, TBWA/Chiat Day, Saatchi & Saatchi, Wieden+Kennedy, BBH, MullenLowe, and Y&R. She has collaborated with top-tier clients such as Kraft Heinz, Instagram, Uber, and Volkswagen, delivering ground breaking campaigns like Unfrosted (Kellanova Pop-Tarts), Billie Jean King Your Shoes (Adidas), FlyBabies (JetBlue), and Major Melon (MTN Dew).

Julia's career is defined by award-winning work and influential campaigns that shape industry culture. Recognised as one of Business Insider's Most Creative Women in Advertising in 2013, 2014, and 2016, featured on AdAge's Creatives You Should Know list in 2016, and named one of Adweek’s Creative 100 – Agency Leaders to Watch in 2020, Julia continues to redefine the boundaries of advertising creativity.

Julia Neumann, chief creative officer and partner, Le Truc, USA said, “Craft is the difference between something you forget in five seconds and something that gets under your skin and stays there. In a world drowning in content and shortcuts, craft is the last honest differentiator. It’s what shows the human behind the work, the judgment, the obsessiveness, the restraint and the risk. With AI now in the picture, we know it can replicate patterns, but it can’t replicate gut. Or taste. Or the chills you get when something is just right.

So, I’m excited to lead this year’s Craft Jury at Golden Drum. And celebrate the kind of work that is radical, couldn’t have been phoned in, templated, or done any other way. Work that sweats the small stuff. Work that makes us jealous. Work that reminds us why we got into this business in the first place.”

Meet the Craft Jury

Together with her, a prominent team of professionals will evaluate the most forward-thinking creative pieces:

- Nikola Foktová, creative director, Publicis Groupe, Czech Republic

- Michele Mariani, executive creative director, Armando Testa Group, Italy

- Gergana Mincheva, creative lead, Next DC, Bulgaria

- Grace O’Brien, creative director, AKQA Amsterdam, The Netherlands

- Nurlan Satarov, creative director, Cheil Worldwide, Kazakhstan

- Bogdan Teodorescu, executive creative director, VML, Romania

- Zeynep Tonguç, founder and creative director, PEP Brand Agency, Turkey

- Anselmo Tumpić, creative director and co-founder, Studio Tumpić/Prenc, Croatia