Lawson, who joins directly from CMW Interactive where he was head of digital design, is credited with working on award-winning campaigns from Cadbury Creme Egg and Littlewoods Direct's Trinny & Susannah tie up.
He has also worked freelance for Ogilvy, Craik Jones and Wunderman on accounts for Ford, Microsoft, IBM and Orange.
Rik Haslam, digital creative director at WWAV Rapp Collins, said: "Our aim for this year is to increase the pace of change, creating highly creative and effective interactive work for an even wider range of clients.
"Jacob's appointment is an important step towards achieving that goal."