Lord Smith, chairman of the Advertising Standards Authority and former Labour Secretary of State for the Department of Culture, Media & Sport, has been appointed chair of judges for the 2011 DMA Awards. 

Lord Smith will oversee the rigorous DMA judging process which involves more than 200 industry experts from client companies, suppliers and agencies. He will also lead the final Grand Prix judging process, during which an overall champion is selected from among the Gold winners. Previous chairs of judges have included vice-chair of Ogilvy Group UK Rory Sutherland and film producer Lord Puttnam. 

During his political career and tenure as chairman of the ASA, Lord Smith has been closely involved with the UK’s creative industries. After spending 20 years as a Labour MP for Islington South & Finsbury he was created a life peer and assumed the title Baron Smith of Finsbury in 2005. 

Commenting on the role, Lord Smith said:

“I’m delighted to be asked to be chair of the judges this year. I know just how much a DMA Award is valued by the winners. I’m really looking forward to engaging with the wealth of exciting creative work which always emerges during the DMA Awards.”

Mike Colling, chair of the DMA Awards Committee, adds: 

“It’s a great honour that Lord Smith has agreed to chair the DMA Awards judging. His outstanding insight and industry expertise mean that he is ideally positioned to guide and advise the judging panel.”

For the first time, the 2011 DMA Awards are sponsored by TNT Post. Agencies and brands have until 9 September to submit their entries. Entries will be judged in October. Each campaign is judged individually and then by group discussion on three key criteria: strategy, creativity and results. 

The winners of the 2011 DMAs will be announced at the Awards Presentation Ball to be held at Old Billingsgate in the City of London on 7 December.

For more information on the DMA Awards, visit the DMA Awards website: www.dmaawards.org.uk

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Notes to editors
A hi-res jpg of Lord Smith is available upon request.

Contact 
Tristan Garrick, DMA PR manager
Tel. 020 7291 3315
Email tristan.garrick@dma.org.uk