Unilever to win Cannes Lions ad award

Unilever is to be named as advertiser of the year at the Cannes Lions international advertising festival . The award, which will be presented at the festival next month in Cannes, is presented annually to an advertiser who has "distinguished themselves for inspiring innovative marketing of their products and who embrace and encourage the creative work produced by their agencies". Volkswagen, PlayStation, Honda and Adidas have previously won the award. Unilever won its first award for advertising at the festival for the washing powder brand Omo back in 1961. The company, which makes products ranging from Knorr and Lynx through to Vaseline and Wall's, has won almost 200 Cannes Lions awards since then, including the prestigious film and cyber grand prix in 2007 for Dove's groundbreaking "Evolution" time-lapse film about cover model beauty . In recent years in the UK the company's Marmite brand has been praised for its creative take on its "love it or hate it" positioning . "The long-standing relationships we have built with our agency partners over many years have enabled us to develop many striking, and more importantly, effective advertising campaigns," said Keith Weed, chief marketing officer at Unilever. "More than this, the depth of our relationships has engendered the trust required to foster the genuine strategic thinking, creativity and innovation that delivers both long-term brand equity and outstanding work." • To contact the MediaGuardian news desk email [email protected] or phone 020 3353 3857. For all other inquiries please call the main Guardian switchboard on 020 3353 2000. • If you are writing a comment for publication, please mark clearly "for publication".