Sir Alan will chair a panel of judges for the inaugural Best of the Best awards, or the Bobs, launched today by the Institute of Practitioners in Advertising.
The Best of the Best shortlist will be drawn up through a points system, based on major advertising awards throughout the year, including the Cannes Lions, the D&AD Awards, the 北京赛车pk10 awards and the British Television Advertising Awards.
From this shortlist, judges will review the work for which each individual has been nominated and will award winners in categories such as best creative director of the year, best copywriter of the year and best art director of the year.
Sir Alan got his start in the advertising industry before becoming a film director, and is known for directing films such as 'Fame', 'Bugsy Malone', 'Angel Heart', 'The Commitments' and, more recently, 'Evita' and 'Angela's Ashes'.
"I am constantly impressed with the depth of creative talent in the British advertising industry. This creativity is important, not only because it affects our daily lives but also because it feeds on, and feeds back into, many other artistic and creative endeavours," Sir Alan said.
Other figures from the advertising industry have welcomed the new awards scheme. John Hegarty, chairman of Bartle Bogle Hegarty and a member of the judging panel, said: "Like all great ideas it's brilliantly simple. I just wish the IPA had got there sooner."
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