My 2017 Lions judging experience

This year has been an eye-opening experience. I’ve been confronted. I’ve been comforted. And I’ve been inspired. Whilst I’ve won my share of Lions in my time, I’ve never been asked to judge Lions before, so I thought it would be helpful to share my experiences so far to those of you unfortunate to be stuck back in winter in Australia.

I thought there were six standouts worth sharing. Not all are Gold Lion worthy, but these are the six entries that I saw that will stick with me forever.

A unanimous choice for Gold Lion.

The proud stance. The dignified eye gaze. The lustrous mane. Add these together and you have one of the most superb Lions I have ever had the good fortune to witness. It’s Lions like this that really make you proud to be a part of such a wonderful industry, that gives back to so many.

This Lion doesn’t get out bed for under $10,000.

Have you ever been in a room when someone fabulously famous and utterly beautiful walks into a room? They have a magnetic gravity to them, where other people in the room are just drawn towards them.

Conversations stop. Heads turn. Mouths drop.

This Lion was like the equivalent of a person that was an amalgam of the best features of Barack Obama, Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Nelson Mandela, and Marilyn Monroe all walking into the room at the one time.

Everything moved in slow motion like a classy version of the Baywatch titles.

 Magnificent.

This Lion divided judges.

You know how every director is always looking to cast “characters”, which really means they want to cast a weird looking red head?

Well, this Lion had a similarly divisive effect on the jury.

Some loved its originality, whilst others thought it was a grotesque parody that mocked the very industry that supports it.

Like a young child who couldn’t yet jump very high, I was on the fence.

Some Lions were lazy in their execution.

There’s nothing worse than seeing a great idea executed poorly. You know there’s something brilliant there, but it just hasn’t been developed enough to reach its potential. It’s like those kids in school who got great marks without really trying. They can do so much better, but they don’t have to. They don’t have that killer instinct, and they’ve never been challenged enough to find an inner reserve to get the best out of them.

It was a real shame, this Lion. It definitely had the bones to be more highly ranked. That’s why I’ll remember it. Because it’s a reminder that a great idea is only part of the equation. Putting it together and executing it flawlessly is just as important.

So near, yet so far.

This one was an interesting case. It tried in all the right places. It was brilliantly executed. And there was no doubting it had heart.

But there was something that just didn’t sit right. I couldn’t put my finger on it, but I just had a gut feel that this wasn’t really worthy of being called a Lion.

Happy to hear other people’s opinions on this. Maybe because it was so different to the normal Lion I was blinded to its originality…?

Why would you bother entering this?

It’s staggering how many Lions that didn’t even meet the bare requirements were entered. How can its creators think it worthy of being judged against the best Lions in the world.

After all, if it walks like a dog, and barks like a dog, it certainly ain’t a Lion.