“Steve Ballmer, the chief executive of Microsoft, will be named media person of the year at the Cannes International Advertising festival in June,” Mark Sweney reports for The Guardian.

“‘This is a time of sweeping innovation and transformation in advertising and publishing and there are incredible opportunities to use technology to deliver more value to both advertisers and consumers,’ said Ballmer,” Sweney reports.

“He will be presented with the award at this year’s festival, for which Guardian News & Media is the official UK representative, on 24 June during the press, design and Cyber Lions awards for advertising,” Sweney reports.

Sweney reports, “Philip Thomas, the chief executive of the festival, said that Ballmer had a ‘passionate and dynamic personality’ – perhaps best summed up by his remarkable ‘monkey dance’ in 2006 expressing his love of Microsoft – and had ‘touched the lives of millions and changed the face of worldwide communication.’”

Full article here.

MacDailyNews Take: Did the planet fall into a black hole recently or what?! Next up, FHM’s 2009 Sexiest Woman of the Year: Bea Arthur.

[Thanks to MacDailyNews Reader "Mobi" for the heads up.]