It’s that time of the year again! The biggest and most prestigious festival of creativity – the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, will kick-off in less than 2 weeks.
As the official representative of Cannes Lions in the UAE, Motivate Val Morgan strives to bring you the very latest from the desks of Cannes Lions.
The 2018 Programme is Now Live!
This year’s Cannes Lions Programme features more brands than ever, hot topic debates, power hours, gameshows, interactive sessions, creative legends on stage, five days of innovation and much, much more.
Explore the programme
More Speakers Confirmed
Hundreds of world-class thinkers, award-winning creatives and brand marketing leaders from across the globe have already been confirmed as Cannes Lions 2018 speakers. They’re ready to inspire you across the nine content tracks.
Look who’s talking
2018 Jury Members Announced
413 jury members have been chosen to award and celebrate the best creative work from around the world.
This year’s juries are composed of individuals from 50 countries, including for the first-time representatives from Georgia, Nigeria, Kenya and Sri Lanka. Continuing the drive for a more diverse mix within the jury room, this year includes 46% female jury members, as well as a wide mix of creative agencies, brands, media owners and production companies.
See who’ll be judging this year
Introducing ‘The Work’
The best creative work deserves its own space. Introducing The Work: a new online space for all Cannes Lions winning creativity since 2001 – including all 2018 entries.
Share ideas. Remind yourself of the best – so you can do better. Research a sector or brand – fast. Or just to explore for inspiration, to crack that uncrackable brief.
Reserve your free trial
Make New Contacts at Every Turn
The Cannes Lions community represents the industry at all levels – and provides ample opportunity to make new contacts. Whether it’s on the beach, at the bar, or at one of the Festival’s daily networking events, you’re sure to meet the people you want to talk to.
Find out more about networking
Make the Case to Come to Cannes – Convince the CFO Kit
We don’t need to convince you that Cannes Lions is the year’s unmissable communications festival. It’s the only global meeting place for the whole marketing and creative communications industry after all!
But, it’s sometimes hard to make the case to those that control the budgets. To help, Cannes Lions have created the ultimate ‘convince the CFO’ kit, packed with resources that will help your discussion.
Get the kit
The Cannes Lions App is Live!
The Cannes Lions App puts the Festival firmly in the palm of your hand. From mind-opening talks in the Palais to out-there experiences at the Festival Fringe, there’s more to do than ever and we’re making it as simple as possible for you to curate your own week.
Available to download now for iOS and Android
Download the App
Eating in Cannes
This year, Cannes Lions, the City of Cannes and local restaurants have teamed up to create great value, fixed-price lunch deals during the festival week.
Explore the restaurants
This year’s Cannes Lions Festival will run from 18-22 June 2018.
Further information can be found at www.canneslions.com
Source: Cannes Lions
Ski Dubai – developed by Majid Al Futtaim Group, is located at Mall of the Emirates and is the first Indoor Ski Resort in the Middle East.
Ski Dubai offers an unforgettable snow experience for the entire family from skiing, snowboarding and tobogganing or just playing in the snow. The indoor ski resort covers an amazing 34,300 SQM – of which 26,700 SQM is covered with real snow all year round.
Motivate Val Morgan has been the official advertising partner of Ski Dubai since October 2017, and recently, Etisalat booked a swyp campaign through Initiative Abu Dhabi which included:
Other advertising options available at Ski Dubai are as follows:
Warm Area Advertising
Cold Area Advertising
Contact a member of our sales team, for more information on advertising opportunities at Ski Dubai – Mall of the Emirates, Dubai.
Cannes Lions has announced the 20 participants taking part in this year’s See It Be It programme, an increase of five participants on previous years. Now in its fifth year, the initiative aims to create a platform for women who face diversity challenges in the industry and enable them to become the drivers for change in their respective regions and throughout the industry by providing access to high-profile leaders, executive coaching and mentoring opportunities with senior figures from across the industry.
“This initiative was launched to address the issue of gender disparity in the senior levels of the creative industry. While there has been some progress, the dial is moving far too slowly and by supporting exceptional female talent we believe we’ll help shift the balance. Over the years of running See It Be It we have been absolutely blown away by the power of the community of women that have been involved with the programme, so many of whom have gone on to become advocates for change and role models for the next generation. This year, the quantity and quality of applications has led us to add five additional places,” said Louise Benson, Cannes Lions’ Executive Lead on See It Be It.
“The programme brings them together to learn from current industry leaders and one another. And this year we have a fantastic partner in Spotify to help enhance the experience and expand it beyond the onsite experience at Cannes Lions.”
As special guests of Cannes Lions, the group receives a curated programme of events including executive training, creative masterclasses, an insider tour of a Cannes Lions jury room, exclusive networking opportunities and mentoring from some of the most successful leaders in the global branded communications industry. Travel, accommodation and a Complete Festival pass are also included for a career changing experience.
This year’s See It Be It Ambassador, Chloe Gottlieb, Chief Creative Officer, R/GA will lead the group onsite and provide counsel and guidance for the 20 women. Speaking on the announcement Chloe said, “Each one of these talented women has overcome significant barriers to arrive at this moment. Helping them stay the course to realize their potential means our entire industry benefits from their leadership. When they see us, they see what is possible. When we see them, we see a brighter future.”
Prajakta More – Conceptual Creative from Geometry Global Dubai has been selected as a participant at this year’s programme – where she’ll join 19 other female creatives from Lebanon, Uganda, USA, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, France, Denmark, Chile, India, Ecuador and Romania.
Prajakta More is a first generation working woman in her family, who left her career in engineering to become a copywriter. She firmly believes that the best work transcends advertising and creates something far more valuable for people. She is also a founder of Blank Paper Project, a platform for women artists who have pushed boundaries of current thinking through their work.
Click here to meet the rest of 2018’s See It Be It participants.
Source: Cannes Lions
The much-awaited first trailer for the upcoming Eid release Race 3 – starring Salman Khan and Anil Kapoor, hit the web last week and the response has been tremendous!
Ace choreographer turned director Remo D’Souza helms the edgy and glamorous action thriller where Anil Kapoor is a business tycoon (who will do anything to save his portfolio), Daisy Shah and Saqib Saleem play his children, and Salman Khan is the “blue eyed boy” in the family. Jacqueline Fernandez features in action sequences and so does Bobby Deol (who appears to be Anil Kapoor’s rival in business).
The latest instalment of the Race movie was extensively filmed in UAE’s capital Abu Dhabi. The adrenaline packed stunts and bombastic dialogues take place against the backdrop of some of Abu Dhabi’s snazziest locations – including Yas Viceroy and Liwa Desert.
“Our shoot went seamlessly thanks to the incredible support of organisations such as twofour54, Abu Dhabi Film Commission and, of course, the UAE Armed Forces, without whom we would never have been able to create such high-octane action sequences,” said Remo D’Souza in a statement.
Race 3 will be the fifth Bollywood-feature film to be shot in Abu Dhabi after Baby, Dishoom, Bang Bang! and Tiger Zinda Hai.
Soon after the release of the trailer, Twitterati went no holds barred reacting to how awesome the upcoming film looked. And not just fans, when it comes to Salman Khan, Bollywood doesn’t hold back emotions either.
From Bollywood divas Sonam Kapoor and Diana Penty, to singers Mika Singh and Baadshah, all chimed in to rave about the trailer and extend their good wishes to their ‘bhai’.
Watch the trailer below:
The blockbuster is scheduled to release across cinemas in the UAE, Oman, Qatar and Bahrain on 14th June 2018.
Contact a member of our sales team to align your brand alongside this MEGA Bollywood blockbuster – guaranteed to attract large Asian audiences.
Sources: Gulf News (Tabloid), ndtv.com and timesnownews.com
Organizers of the film festival announced a “new approach” to support the region’s film industry.
After 14 years, the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF) is taking a break and will be embracing a new strategy to support the growth and evolution of film and content industries in the region.
The strategic shift aims to adopt changes taking place in this region’s creative and entertainment landscape. The new strategy seeks to leverage the emergence of upcoming talent and new technologies that are changing the content landscape in this region.
DIFF will now transpire every two years, with the 15th edition to be hosted in Dubai in 2019.
Jamal Al Sharif, Chairman of Dubai Film and TV Commission said, “DIFF has established Dubai as a world-class destination in the film and content industry. It serves as a platform to promote cultural understanding between the region and the world, as well as the development of the local and regional film industry, giving the opportunity to many ambitious film makers to shine.”
He explained that with the changes taking place both in the regional and global movie making and content industry, the objective is to redefine the festival’s approach towards nurturing growth, creativity and talent.
“Innovative new approaches and technologies are transforming the distribution of content and the craft of movie-making. As a forward-thinking player in the global film industry, DIFF seeks to embrace the future of the industry through this strategic shift,” he said.
Sharif also added that the festival will continue its significant contribution to the industry, as they look forward to celebrating with the public, film-lovers and industry professionals in 2019.
DIFF has celebrated cinema over the past 14 years, with almost 2,000 screenings including 500 films from the Arab world, helped more than 300 films from the region reach completion, facilitated funding and partnership for a further 140, supported more than 200 talented Arab filmmakers through the Festival’s Muhr Awards, and driven tourism across the city.
For more information visit dubaifilmfest.com
Sources: DIFF, The Arabian Marketer, Hollywood Reporter and Arab News
Saudi Arabia saw the opening of its second cinema – a four screen VOX Cinemas multiplex with a total seating capacity of 330. The cinema opened to the public on Friday 4th May 2018.
The new cinema – located at Riyadh Park Mall– comes two weeks after the kingdom’s first public cinema screening in Saudi Arabia.
“Tonight’s cinema opening represents another historic moment in the transformation of the Saudi economy under the Vision 2030 plan,” Saudi Minister of Culture and Information Dr. Awwad S. Alawwad was quoted as saying at the opening. “It is great to have the second cinema open in the kingdom within a span of less than two weeks.”
“This is just one example that shows the fast pace of development in the kingdom,” he added.
The opening of the new cinema is part of a broader effort by VOX Cinemas to expand in Saudi Arabia, where the company has said it will invest an additional $533.2 million to open 600 screens over the course of the next five years.
VOX’s parent company, Majid Al Futtaim, has already announced project investments valued at $3.73 billion across its mall asset, fashion, leisure and retail offerings, a commitment that is expected to create over 114,000 direct and indirect job opportunities.
Additionally, through a partnership with 20th Century Fox, the distribution arm of Majid Al Futtaim Cinemas will exclusively distribute Fox content to cinemas in the kingdom. In 2018 alone, the company is planning to release a number of hotly anticipated films including The Darkest Minds, The Predator and the James Cameron produced Alita: Battle Angel.
Other cinemas currently under design include Majid Al Futtaim’s Mall of Saudi and City Centre Ishbiliyah – both expected to open in Riyadh in the coming years.
As the exclusive cinema advertising partner of VOX Cinemas, Motivate Val Morgan congratulates VOX Cinemas on the launch of their new multiplex in Saudi Arabia and proudly welcomes VOX Cinemas – Riyadh Park Mall to our circuit.
Contact your respective Account Manager for a detailed presentation on on-screen cinema advertising opportunities at VOX Cinemas – Riyadh Park Mall.
For more information on locations and movie timings, visit https://ksa.voxcinemas.com/
Sources: Arabian Business and Gulf News
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Motivate and Motivate Val Morgan are delighted to announce that seven leading creatives from the UAE have been selected as jury members for this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The seven leading creatives who will represent the UAE in the Awards and Shortlist jury panel under Entertainment, Design, Health & Wellness, PR, Media, Brand Experience & Activation and Direct categories include:
Awards Jury
Entertainment:
Walid Kanaan
Chief Creative Officer MENA
TBWA\RAAD
With more than 20 years of advertising experience across the Middle East and North Africa, Walid has worked on hundreds of multinational and regional brands. During his recent time as the creative leader at TBWA\RAAD, he has managed to create landmark talk-of-the-region campaigns that generated tremendous impact, including Nissan’s Camelpower, produced in conjunction with National Geographic Abu Dhabi, and the Nissan ‘She Drives’ and Louvre Abu Dhabi projects, among others.
His achievements also include esteemed international award shows such as the Cannes Lions, Clio, One Show, D&AD, Webby, Epica, New York Festivals and the London International Awards as well as Grand Prix at the Dubai Lynx, the Loeries, and many “Agency of the Year” titles.
After receiving the IAA Award for Best Advertising Diploma in Beirut, he began his professional journey with Publicis Beirut in 1992, and after four rewarding years, he joined Impact BBDO Beirut in 1997 as Creative Director.
For more than 18 years, Walid worked within the Impact BBDO network, covering numerous key MENA markets including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE, before moving back to Beirut in 2010 where he was promoted to Chief Creative Officer Levant & KSA.
In September 2015, Walid joined TBWA\RAAD as Chief Creative Officer Mena, propelling the network to win top ranks in regional award shows, culminating in TBWA\RAAD being named Agency of the Year at Dubai Lynx in 2018. He is based in Beirut and Dubai.
Design:
Ali Rez
Regional Creative Director – Middle East & Pakistan
BBDO Worldwide
Ranked amongst the top 15 creative directors and top 10 art directors in the world by the Advertising Big Won report – Ali Rez is one of the most awarded creative directors in the Middle East and South Asian region. He has won more than 150 advertising awards in his career which include Cannes Gold Lions, D&AD pencils, Gold Clios, Effies, One Show, LIA, Dubai Lynx and Asian AdStars, amongst many others.
Ali’s creative experience – shaped in the USA at Y&R and Goodby Silverstein Collaboratory, followed by a move to the Middle East – has contributed to BBDO being named Network of the Year at Cannes Lions, Effies, Dubai Lynx and AdStars, while his work led BBDO Pakistan to be named Agency of the Year by Campaign magazine in 2015 and 2016. In the UAE, Ali was part of the team that saw FP7 DXB crowned the most effective agency in the world by the Effies. Ali’s campaigns brought home the first Gold Cannes Lions, Gold Clios and D&AD pencils for Pakistan, and led the agency to Grand Prix wins at Dubai Lynx, Cristals, and AdStars.
His work has been celebrated beyond advertising shows and has been displayed in museums around the world – including the Tate UK and discussed in parliament leading to legislative change. Ali is also a recipient of a peace award by the United Nations and has been selected as a member of the jury at Clios, Effies, Spikes, Andy Awards and AdStars. Ali has spoken at TedX and several prestigious universities, including being invited to lecture on political art at the University of Oxford, London School of Economics and on advertising at Dubai Lynx.
Health & Wellness:
Alok Gadkar
General Manager & Executive Creative Director
The Classic Partnership
Graduated from the prestigious JJ School of Art and holder of a BFA Degree specializing in photography, Alok has close to 20 years of experience in the advertising industry. He has gone through the ranks of the industry and seen action with successful stints at Mudra Communications (DDB), Enterprise Nexus, Lowe Mena, Leo Burnett and currently, The Classic Partnership in Dubai.
Through the years, Alok has hauled an impressive collection of metals in Gold, Silver, Bronze and Grand Prix from the Cannes Lions, D&AD, D&AD Impact, One Show, Clio, The Global Awards, Dubai Lynx, Mena Cristal, Abby and AAAi Awards. A defined all-rounder; Alok has spearheaded work for local fashion brands, Splash and Iconic; for healthcare leaders, Aster and Medcare; and for shakers, Times of India and Economic Times.
A strong believer that the future of communication is integration and horizontality is the new vertical, Alok has sat on the Grand Jury panel of New York Festivals, Global Awards and KYIV Festival and has been a guest speaker at Dubai Lynx and MENA Cristal.
Shortlist Jury
PR:
Alex Malouf
Corporate Communications Manager for the Arabian Peninsula
Procter & Gamble
The first ever recipient of the Holmes Report Innovator Award in the Middle East, Alex Malouf has carved out a niche as a lively voice in the Middle East’s burgeoning media scene, combining razor-sharp observations with a keen understanding of the forces that underpin the region’s digital transformation. Much of which, no doubt, is informed by Alex’s day job at Procter & Gamble, where he manages reputational affairs for the Middle East’s largest FMCG.
Alex’s is also a highly visible advocate for modern public relations, serving in senior roles on numerous industry organizations, including the Middle East Public Relations Association, the International Association of Business Communicators and the Global Alliance. Malouf is also considered the first Gulf-based communicator who holds a Chartered Practitioner certification from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and an IABC Communications Management Professional.
Alex has previously served on a number of juries, including for the MEPRA Awards, the IABC Gold Quill Awards, the Global Alliance Comm Prix Awards, the Holmes Report Sabres, and the MENA Effie Awards.
Media:
Ravi Rao
CEO MENA Region
Mindshare
A management graduate with a career of 25+ years in advertising & media for Unilever, PepsiCo, P&G, Henkel, Mars, Wrigley, FedEx, Dubai Holding, Ravi Rao comes back for a second stint in the MENA region. Rao has a reputable track record in marketing, account management and media. He was earlier with Mindshare India managing South Asia and is now the CEO for Mindshare MENA.
He loves to paint, yearns to be an archaeologist in the far future, but continues to be fascinated with developments in new media.
Rao has been part of the jury for the prestigious honors below:
Brand Experience & Activation:
Juliana Paracencio
Regional Creative Director
Memac Ogilvy Dubai
Juliana is currently a Regional Creative Director at Memac Ogilvy and Mather in the Middle East and North Africa region, and is leading 15 offices from her hub in Dubai, working for clients such as IKEA, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, Vodafone, Arab Bank, Burger King, GSK, Pfizer and many others.
At Ogilvy, she got to grips with an important piece of business in a challenging market in a remarkably short space of time. Her work for the business won 3 Golds, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze at the Cannes Lions, 5 Pencil at D&AD, leading it to be considered the ‘The 5th Most-Awarded Print/OOH campaign in the world by Gunn Report 2016’. This work also led to Ogilvy Jeddah and IKEA Saudi Arabia winning its first awards, and Ogilvy to win Cannes Lions Network of the Year. The campaign stood out especially for its Craft in Design, which led Juliana to be considered as one of the most-awarded art directors in 2016. In 2017, it wasn’t different. Juliana led Ogilvy Jeddah and IKEA Saudi Arabia to win at Cannes for the second time in a row. In the same year, she was recognized as Top 3 Best Art Directors by Lürzer’s Archive.
In São Paulo, she had the chance to learn from remarkable Brazilian art directors, that made and still make history in Cannes. It was an iconic start, of an award-winning art director’s career in 3 countries (Brazil, Germany and United Arab Emirates), 1 independent agency and 3 networks (Jung von Matt, Leo Burnett, Y&R, and Ogilvy).
Direct:
Kapil Bhimekar
Associate Creative Director
Y&R Dubai
Kapil has been in advertising for over 12 years now. He started in Mumbai, India after graduating in applied arts. He worked with Leo Burnett Mumbai for 3 years before moving to Dubai in 2009. His work has been awarded at shows like D&AD, Cannes Lions, One show, Clio, New York Festivals, LIA, Fab Awards London, Dubai Lynx, Loeries and Adfest Asia Pacific.
In 2015, the American Garden campaign he worked on (Little books of big consequences), was named the 10th Best Design Campaign by the Big Won Rankings. He also won the coveted D&AD Yellow Pencil for the same work. In 2017, he was Ranked No. 3 Art Director by The Loeries Awards.
Kapil has passion for illustration. His unique style has been recognized by world renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister. He has undertaken numerous art projects, leaving his unique black & white imprint across the city of Dubai; a passion he practices on weekends and after office hours.
Please Note: Shortlist jury members will conduct the first round of judging in advance of the festival – from the UAE, and will be invited to attend the Festival with a complimentary pass. Awards Jury members will join the jury committee in Cannes, France and will get complimentary hotel accommodation and registration to the Festival.
Judging at Cannes Lions
Each year, much interest is focused on the winners of Cannes Lions. The global campaigns, agencies, clients, networks and countries that have been successful are given a worldwide platform.
But before there are winners, there’s judging.
Enormous consideration is given to who will judge the work and how. The high calibre of our juries is matched by the high standards that we hold them to and the rigorous processes they undertake.
This is what sets Cannes Lions apart and ensures it continues to be the most respected creative accolade.
How the Judging Works
Judging consists of three rounds involving viewing, voting, discussion and awarding of Lions.
In the first round, judges consider and score each entry on a scale of one to nine based on whether they consider it a shortlist candidate. The second round is a review where judges will consider whether entries on this provisional Shortlist are worthy of being Shortlisted only, a possible winner or a definite winner. Typically about 10% of entries will make it to this stage.
In the final round, guided by the Jury President, judges review and debate entries before voting on whether they consider each a Gold, Silver or Bronze Lion winner, or Shortlist only. It takes a two-thirds majority vote to claim a Lion and only about 3% of entries will do so.
After voting, results are read out and juries confirm the decisions. Candidates for Grand Prix, selected from among Gold Lion winners, are also identified and further discussion follows before a last vote to determine the Grand Prix winner. Entries for public awareness messages, non-profit organisations and charities aren’t eligible in their category, but will be considered for the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good and Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good. As the Film Craft and Innovation awards are judged on the merit of the craft/ technology behind the idea, they are an exception to this rule. All Gold Lion winners from the Film Craft and Innovation Awards are eligible to win the Grand Prix within their own Lion.
This year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will run from 18th – 22nd June 2018
We at Motivate and Motivate Val Morgan warmly congratulate the seven judges who will represent the UAE as awards and shortlist jury members at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, and wish them all the very best with the judging ahead of them.
Source: Cannes Lions
With just two weeks under its belt, Avengers: Infinity War just can’t seem to stop breaking box office records. The 2018 superhero team-up film – directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and based on a script by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely – is undoubtedly one of the biggest Hollywood movies ever to grace the silver screen.
The super mashup shattered a number of records, in its worldwide debut over the first weekend, less than three months after Marvel’s Black Panther began its own historic run.
Let us take a look at the movie’s box office achievements so far:
Avengers: Infinity War earned $258.2 million in its first weekend, surpassing fellow Disney title Star Wars: The Force Awakens ($248 million), to make the biggest domestic opening of all time.
Globally, Avengers: Infinity War has now grossed over $1.2 billion and has become the first film ever to cross the $1 billion mark in 11 days of release, and it has yet to release in China.
Avengers: Infinity War scored the biggest opening of all time in numerous international markets, achieving the highest debut ever in South Korea ($39.2 million), Mexico ($25.1 million), Brazil ($18.8 million), the Philippines ($12.5 million), Thailand ($10 million), Indonesia ($9.6 million) and Malaysia ($8.4 million). In India ($18.6 million), it was the biggest bow for a Western title ever and has already surpassed the entire runs of The Avengers, Avengers: Age of Ultron and Captain America: Civil War.
Apart from ranking as the second biggest debut of all time in Australia ($23 million), behind Star Wars: The Force Awakens, the superhero blockbuster notched the best start for a superhero pic in France ($17.7 million), Germany ($14.7 million) and Spain ($8.3 million). It was the second-best superhero epic showing in Italy ($11 million).
Leading all foreign markets with $42.2 million was the U.K./Ireland, where Avengers: Infinity War now boasts the third-biggest launch of all time, including the biggest Saturday ever.
The movie recorded the biggest three-day opening in the UAE, raking in a gross total of Dh15.4 million at the box office. According to UAE distributor Italia Film, the Marvel superhero adventure recorded 3,900 admissions in its opening weekend (between Thursday to Saturday) and is still running to packed houses.
Avengers: Infinity War is the 19th film in the so-called Marvel Cinematic Universe, combining a whooping nine franchises and a cast list that reads like a who’s who of Hollywood’s A-list.
Still to watch this MEGA superhero blockbuster?
Don’t miss out. Book your tickets now at Motivate Val Morgan serviced cinema operators – VOX Cinemas (UAE, Lebanon, Oman, Egypt, Qatar, Bahrain and Saudi Arabia), Reel Cinemas (UAE), Roxy Cinemas (UAE), Oscar Cinema (UAE), Cine Royal Cinema (UAE) and Cinemacity (UAE).
Sources: Gulf News (Tabloid), The Hollywood Reporter and TIME
Each year, Motivate and Motivate Val Morgan, the official UAE representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, nominate one student to attend the Roger Hatchuel Academy – which runs under the auspices of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
This year, Lina Ibrahim – a third year student of the American University in Dubai (AUD) who is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree of Fine Arts in Visual Communication (majoring in Advertising) has been selected to represent the UAE at the prestigious Roger Hatchuel Academy.
The five-day training course will be held in Cannes, France, from 18th – 22nd June 2018.
This programme is carefully designed to offer students of advertising, communications and other creative disciplines, the head-start they need to secure a role within the competitive creative industry post-graduation.
Students can expect a programme tailored to the current industry landscape, one which combines classroom sessions and a selection of official Festival content.
Academy students get full access to the Cannes Lions Festival, including the five Award Shows and the Young Lions Party. They will also have exclusive access to the Jury rooms – which are closed to all other attendees of the Festival. This is a unique way to navigate the world’s most important discussion of creativity in communications, and an unrivalled opportunity to network with other future Lions-winners.
Creative leaders that have previously lectured at the Academy are – Bob Greenberg, Bob Isherwood, Neil French, David Droga, Jim Stengel, Michael Conrad and Tham Khai Meng, to name a few.
Commenting on being selected, Lina Ibrahim stated, “For the past three years in AUD, I have enjoyed learning, experiencing and achieving any opportunity that has come my way. I have made friends and built connections with people from all over the world. Within these few years, I have accumulated tools and skills that will help me better myself, my understanding and knowledge, my experience and my connection with anyone I may cross paths with. I have learned how to identify problems and create solutions, to think and execute ideas creatively, and to work and share ideas with my peers. Although some challenges were difficult to face, I can proudly say that I have handled those challenges with the up-most pride and positivity. A special thank you to Professor Dina Faour who has constantly been supportive, encouraging and a huge push in the right direction. I am so very thankful for you and all the help and encouragement you have provided for me and other students. Lastly, I am honored, proud and excited to be part of this year’s selected students for the Roger Hatchuel Academy in Cannes. I am more than grateful to be representing the UAE, the MENA region and AUD as a Visual Communication student. I will try my absolute best to make everyone proud. Thank you so much for this amazing opportunity.”
Dina Faour – Academic Coordinator and Associate Professor of Advertising at AUD, said, “Everyone here at AUD is proud and excited for Lina. We are certain that the Roger Hatchuel Academy at Cannes Lions will equip Lina with the creative inspiration, the global insight and the personal incentive that will boost her performance when she comes back to continue her coursework. The advertising industry in this region is definitely booming with young talent, determined to make a difference. We want to thank Motivate Val Morgan for helping such talent sharpen their skills and shine. This is an opportunity that remains unmatched.”
Motivate and Motivate Val Morgan would like to wish Lina Ibrahim the best of luck and we hope her enrollment at the Roger Hatchuel Academy will create a positive impact – in both her professional and personal life.
Burj Khalifa, the world’s tallest building, has lit up for many special events previously, but for a movie? Now, that’s a first!
Avengers: Infinity War will release across cinemas in the UAE on Thursday 26th April 2018, and Burj Khalifa is joining Avengers fans in hype for this highly anticipated and star-studded movie.
“An unprecedented cinematic journey ten years in the making and spanning the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe, Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Infinity War brings to the screen the ultimate, deadliest showdown of all time,” says Marvel.
The Burj Khalifa will count down to the release of the new film every day at 7:50pm until Thursday 26th April 2018.
Downtown Dubai shared a picture on social media of the Avenger-themed lighting covering Burj Khalifa.
The picture was captioned with the hashtag #InfinityWarWithEmaar, inviting people to use the hashtag and post their pictures for a chance to win tickets to watch the movie.
People are now sharing all kinds of thoughts and feelings about the Avengers’ movie, as well as posts about the Burj Khalifa countdown, expressing their amusement and astonishment.
Here’s what some posted:
“This level of magnificence!!!! Dubai took architect extraordinaire, Adrian Smith’s [Burj Khalifa’s architect] genius to another level… This is why I now love Dubai,” someone commented on the picture.
Kim Lesplingard Marketing Manager in the Middle East & North Africa at the Walt Disney Company posted: “A Guinness World Record Mickey Mouse was one of the highlights in my career, but having a countdown to the biggest movie on the tallest building in the world is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!”
Twitter had its share as well with posts like “OMG how cool is the #InfinityWarWithEmaar in Dubai, cannot wait for this film next weekend!!”
A record-breaking light show
On New Year’s Eve, Burj Khalifa earned itself a new Guinness World Record with its New Year’s Eve laser and light show titled “Light Up 2018”, “the largest laser, light and sound show on a single structure”.
In a video shared by Burj Khalifa’s media team, Bashar Kassab, Technical Services Director of the world’s tallest building, explained the challenges that his team faces when installing and maintaining the structure’s LED exterior.
“We use more than 110 kilometres of rope access, 72 kilometres of cabling and 10,000 connectors to cover a total area of 33,000 square meters,” Kassab says.
So if the Burj Khalifa can host the largest laser light and sound show, promoting a movie is clearly a simple act.
Source: AMEinfo
