In last year's Cannes report, then-Film and Press jury president and DDB worldwide CCO Bob Scarpelli remarked to Boards, "Right now, it's almost as if TV isn't the sexy medium anymore, it's the Internet... should all those films that go on the Internet and YouTube go in the Film category?" The answer, for this year, is yes. For the first time, films made for other screens (web, mobile, digital outdoor solutions and branded content for TV) are eligible to compete in the Film category. Plus, two brand new categories for integrated film (work adapted for three or more screens) and interactive film (ads for any product or service using interactive filmed content) are being introduced.

You could call it the change that Dove wrought - specifically, Dove "Evolution". The viral clip from Ogilvy & Mather, Toronto took the world, and the Lions, by storm, grabbing 2007's Film Grand Prix amidst a fair bit of ballyhoo. But while Terry Savage, executive chairman of the Cannes Lions Advertising Festival, says the Dove film might have "accelerated the process", as Scarpelli's words reveal, it's a change that's been in the cards for some time.

"The important thing for us is to ensure that when we introduce new categories or sub-categories, that the time is right, and that they will be accepted in real terms," says Savage from his home base of Australia. "We don't want to introduce categories that will have low entry numbers because their markets haven't matured." Indeed, this year saw Film entries increase for the first time in three years by 3.4%. Overall entries were up by 10.2% from last year.

"These sorts of moves are about fostering discussion within the industry," he continues. "The same applies to Titanium and Integrated - the discussion points around those categories were very helpful in defining the way forward for them."

The way forward for Cannes 2008 is marked by more than the recognition of filmed content for the sexy emerging screens. It's also denoted by the arrival of the Design category, an addition that Savage says is part of the festival's remit to mirror the "total creative communication spectrum."

"In reality, it's rarely us [on the Lions team] that think up the new categories - they're usually pushed to us from people in the industry as areas we should embrace," he says. "Having played with design for the past three or four years we thought the time was right to introduce it." The amount of entries seems to bear witness to that: 1126 were sent in to compete in the category's first year. Savage also noted that the number of jurors for Design had to be bumped up from 12 to 15 to handle the amount of work entered.

Just as evolution and change have been key concepts for the advertising industry as of late, so too are they integral to the Lions' relevance. Savage says it's been imperative to continue growing the content offerings of the fest. While last year featured 42 seminars and 20 workshops for delegates, this year, over 50 seminars and 25 interactive workshops will compete with sleeping in and hangover-nursing as prime Cannes activities.