NEW YORK: The advertising industry's most coveted awards' committee has introduced a new award to honour innovation. The Titanium Lion will be added to this year's Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival to be held between 16-22 June 2003.

Ad agency Wieden & Kennedy chairman Dan Wieden, who is also the president of this year's film and print and posters juries at the Cannes festival, was behind the creation of the Titanium Lion. Wieden and the respective presidents of the media, direct and cyber juries will chose the winner of the Titanium Lion by majority vote.

The award will be given each year to provocative work "in any category, or any combination of categories, that causes the industry to stop in its tracks and reconsider the way forward". An adage report says that the new prize was created at least in part over how difficult it is to award groundbreaking work like the BMW Films campaign that doesn't fit neatly into a single category.

BMW Films swept award shows in the US and around the world last year and was considered by Cannes juries for film, media and cyber Lions but won only in the cyber category, which prompted widespread criticism by those in the ad industry.

In an earlier interview with Advertising Age, Wieden had indicated he will look for ads that point the way to advertising's future, seeking out work with "a sign of where things could be going, the antenna to indicate a new landscape. I hope that's what we can focus on."