W+K has been named 'Independent Agency of the Year' at the 2011 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.

The W+K network won awards for clients across the board including P&G, Heineken, Nokia, Levi’s, Chrysler, EA Games, Lurpak, ESPN and Cravendale.  The network also picked up the Grand Prix for Nike ‘Write The Future’.

The Cannes Festival is the world’s biggest celebration of creativity in communications.  As the most prestigious international advertising awards, more than 24,000 entries are made from all over the world are showcased and judged.

This week's New Media Age includes a top 100 survey of agencies 'most respected' by the PR world. I have to confess to being a little suprised to see that Wieden + Kennedy has topped the list, as we wouldn't normally think of PR as falling within our skill-set. But I guess that this result, and the inclusion of other 'ad agencies' on the list, just shows how the lines are now blurring between advertising, social media and PR. The shape and nature of a 'campaign' these days is very different as we seek to seed material, start conversations and stimulate debate around client's brands. With something like 'Cats with thumbs' for Cravendale, the TV advert is just one element amongst a whole range of stuff, some of which isn't even branded as coming from Cravendale. Anyway, many thanks, ladies and gentlemen of the PR world.