Christophe Lambert to Deliver Keynote on Creativity at MIPTV

PARIS, December 22: Christophe Lambert, the advertising director and co-founder of the Blue agency, will speak about creativity in branded entertainment at the upcoming 46th MIPTV content market, taking place in Cannes from March 30 to April 3.

Lambert joined forces with director/producer Luc Besson this fall to form the first French "advertainment" agency, Blue, which specializes in the production of multiplatform entertainment content designed for brands. Lambert began his career in advertising, and is credited for inventing the slogan "Ask for more" for Pepsi while at BBDO, where he oversaw other international accounts such as Total and Fedex. In 2003, he became the president of Publicis Group in France and a member of the executive committee of the Publicis Worldwide network.

"MIPTV is the opportunity to demonstrate to the world’s television creatives, producers and executives that branded entertainment is alive and well in Europe," said Lambert. "By offering a strong collaboration between producers, a brand and good screenwriters, you can produce entertaining programs of prime-time quality and offer a valuable alternative to traditional advertising, which viewers are now rejecting."

Paul Johnson, the director of television at Reed MIDEM, added: "Christophe Lambert is a Branded Entertainment Ambassador of the next generation. He is part of a small and prestigious group of ad-execs/directors/producers who are building the bridges between brands and channels in an age when the funding of television is the object of intense debate. His creative keynote will examine how best the next generation of TV production will be financed and consumed."

The keynote, organized in partnership with Euronews, will be held on Tuesday, March 31, in the Palais des Festivals.

—By Kristin Brzoznowski