Ascential, the media and events company behind Cannes Lions, has entered into an agreement to acquire the commercial assets of Effie, the global benchmark in marketing effectiveness.
Pending regulatory approval, Effie will join Ascential’s LIONS Division, bringing with it more than 55 global, regional, and national Effie Awards programs, covering over 125 markets.
In acquiring Effie, Ascential also plans to undertake a long-term partnership with its not-for-profit arm, Effie Worldwide, which provides research and resources on effective marketing strategy. Moving forward, the organization will become The Effie LIONS Foundation and will focus on educating the next generation of talent, offering training for all marketing students, particularly those underrepresented in the marketing community. The Foundation will also provide a home for LIONS’ existing not-for-profit initiatives and access to some of the LIONS Division’s digital products.
Philip Thomas, CEO of Ascential, commented: “The coming together of LIONS and Effie is a powerful testament to the fact that effectiveness and creativity in marketing are inextricably linked. All enlightened businesses know that creative, effective marketing drives growth. This historic partnership will complement the insights and intelligence on marketing and creative effectiveness that LIONS already offers via WARC, The Work, and Contagious, providing marketing leaders worldwide with the data and evidence they need to make the case for creative marketing that matters. Meanwhile, the creation of The Effie LIONS Foundation, Inc. will educate and inspire our industry and broaden the opportunities available to everyone to build a career in creativity and marketing.”
Traci Alford, President and CEO of Effie Worldwide, commented: “We are excited to join LIONS with such a complementary, yet distinct, portfolio of brands. Closer collaboration between Effie, as the definitive marketing effectiveness benchmark globally, and the LIONS brands is an exciting prospect for the industry. Our ability to share insights and find synergies in our data will help to dissect the role creativity plays in driving marketing effectiveness overall. Together we will be able to better understand the key drivers of growth and ultimately help all businesses succeed.”
Headquartered in New York, with offices in Beijing and the UK, Effie has a network of 59 partners covering over 125 markets. Effie will continue to be led by Traci Alford, President and CEO of EffieWorldwide.
As the official representative of Cannes Lions in the UAE, Motivate Val Morgan warmly welcomes this exciting new partnership.
Source: Cannes Lions Press Release
The 71st edition of the Cannes Lions Festival will witness the largest cohort of jurors from the UAE to judge at a singular festival.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced the lineup of twelve shortlisting jury members from the UAE who will take part in the initial judging phase for this year’s Cannes Lions awards, scheduled to take place in Cannes, France, from June 17-21.
This update follows the earlier announcement of thirteen awarding jury members – including a jury president – who will collaborate with jurors from 54 diverse markets to acknowledge and celebrate exceptional global creative achievements, setting a new standard for excellence.
The 71st edition of the Cannes Lions Festival will feature its largest UAE cohort yet, with 25 jurors overseeing judging duties at a single festival, highlighting the nation’s increasing impact and expertise in the global creative landscape.
Commenting on the global shortlisting jury members announcement, Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said: “Our Shortlisting Jurors play a fundamental role in the Cannes Lions judging process. This talented line-up of industry experts will bring us one step closer to defining the creative benchmark on the global stage this June. I’d like to extend my gratitude for their hard work in curating the work that will go on to be awarded and recognised at the Festival this year.”
In reference to the Cannes Lions jury panel from the UAE, Ian Fairservice – Managing Partner of Motivate Media Group, said: “In reference to the Cannes Lions jury panel from the UAE, Ian Fairservice – Managing Partner of Motivate Media Group, said: “We are excited to see the continuous increase in the UAE’s footprint at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Kalpesh Patankar’s appointment as the second consecutive jury president in two years serves as a clear indication of the creative industry’s development here, steered by a diverse and talented group of experts. This reflects the UAE’s steadfast dedication to upholding standards of excellence and innovation in advertising, marketing, and communications. With a further twelve talented jury members, each bringing their own unique perspectives to the judging process, this is a great representation of our region at the international level.”
The 2024 Shortlisting Jury Members from the UAE have been named as:
Brand Experience & Activation:
Jarrad Pitts, Creative Director, Consulum
Direct:
Zahir Mirza, Executive Creative Director, C2
Entertainment:
Shereen Mostafa, Head of Production Publicis Groupe Middle East, Publicis Groupe
Film:
Serena Abi Aad, Creative Director and Film Director
Film Craft:
Rodrigo Scapolan, Creative Director, TBWA\RAAD
Health & Wellness:
Rana Sadek, Associate Creative Director, ImpactBBDO Dubai
Industry Craft:
Prerna Mehra, Creative Director and Head of Art and Design, MullenLowe MENA,
Gemma Crompton, Creative Director, Landor
Outdoor:
Firas Medrows, Executive Creative Director, DDB
PR:
Shafaq Tariq, Director – PR, Social Media and Influencer Marketing, MKV Digital
Print & Publishing:
Mohamed Bareche, Executive Creative Director, Horizon FCB
Social & Influencer:
Akanksha Goel, CEO and Founder, Socialize / We Are Social
With the Luxury & Lifestyle Lions Jury to be announced soon, you can see the full list of Global Presidents and Awarding and Shortlisting Juries here.
Further information on this year’s Festival and the Lions Awards can be found at visit www.canneslions.com.
Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan are the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE.
The UAE jury members will collaborate closely with awarding jurors from 54 markets to recognize and honor outstanding work from around the world at this year’s festival
Cannes Lions has unveiled the cohort of global experts selected to award the world’s finest creative and effective work, setting the standard for excellence this June at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Among the distinguished jury members announced, this year will feature thirteen representatives from the United Arab Emirates.
The 71st edition of Cannes Lions will witness Leo Burnett’s Kalpesh Patankar serving as the first Jury President for Industry Craft Lions from the MENA region, marking the second consecutive jury representation in two years.
Commenting on the Jury, Simon Cook, CEO of LIONS, said: “We’re delighted to have a balance and breadth of expertise and global representation across our Juries. The Awarding Juries represent the global industry’s leading talent from a diverse range of disciplines, and we welcome the unique perspectives they bring. We thank them for their time, dedication, and care in setting the global creative benchmark for our industry.”
Regarding the Cannes Lions jury panel from the UAE, Ian Fairservice, Managing Partner of Motivate Media Group, said, “We are excited to see the continuous increase in the UAE’s footprint at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity. Kalpesh Patankar’s appointment as the second consecutive jury president in two years serves as a clear indication of the creative industry’s development here, steered by a diverse and talented group of experts. This reflects the UAE’s steadfast dedication to upholding standards of excellence and innovation in advertising, marketing, and communications. With a further twelve talented jury members, each bringing their own unique perspectives to the judging process, this is a great representation of our region at the international level.”
The 2024 Awarding Jury Members from the UAE have been named as:
Brand Experience & Activation:
Nayaab Rais, Senior Creative Director, FP7 McCann Dubai
Creative Commerce:
Sebastien Boutebel, Chief Creative Officer, Saatchi & Saatchi ME
Creative Effectiveness:
Islam Eldessouky, Global VP, Creative & Strategy, Coca-Cola TM
Digital Craft:
Stacy Andersen, Head of Digital Transformation & Innovation, Merkle MENAT
Direct:
Saymon Medeiros, Creative Director, and us
Entertainment Lions For Music:
Pierre Carnet, Managing Director, MENA, MassiveMusic
Film:
Camila Venegas Gomez, Associate Creative Director, M&C Saatchi
Industry Craft (Jury President):
Kalpesh Patankar, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett
Media
Elda Choucair, Chief Executive Officer, Omnicom Media Group (MENA)
Pharma
Darius LaBelle, President, BPG Group
PR
Marie Claire Maalouf, Chief Creative Officer, Edelman
Radio & Audio
Federico Fanti, Chief Creative Officer, FP7 McCann Dubai
Titanium
Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer, Impact BBDO
With shortlisting jury line-up alongside the Luxury & Lifestyle Lions Jury to be announced soon, see the full list of Global Presidents and Awarding Juries here.
Further information on this year’s Festival and the Lions Awards can be found at visit www.canneslions.com
Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan are the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE.
Source: Cannes Lions
Kalpesh Patankar from Leo Burnett UAE serves first Jury President for Industry Craft Lions from the MENA region
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity has announced the names of the global experts who will preside over the 2024 Juries, playing a pivotal role in assessing and setting benchmarks for excellence across the spectrum of the world’s most outstanding creative and effective work.
Commenting on the Jury Presidents, Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said: “Our Jury Presidents play a crucial role in the existence of the Lions. Their knowledge, skills, and incredible talent, combined with the commitment and leadership that they will bring to their roles, bring integrity and rigour to the Lions. This is an exceptional line-up of talent from across the world, and we can’t wait to see the work that rises to the top in June.”
Kalpesh Patankar from Leo Burnett UAE has been appointed as the first Jury President for Industry Craft Lions, and the second consecutive jury representation in two years for the MENA region. Commenting on his appointment, Kalpesh remarked, “When you see a truly great piece of work, the feeling is undeniable. I have felt it many times, in many jury rooms over the years. This year, as Jury President I’ll be championing those undeniable pieces of work in Industry Craft at Cannes Lions 2024.”
The Cannes Lions 2024 Jury Presidents have been announced as follows:
Audio & Radio Lions:
Simon Vicars, Chief Creative Officer, Colenso BBDO, New Zealand
Brand Experience & Activation Lions:
Anselmo Ramos, Founder, Creative Chairman, GUT, Global
Creative B2B Lions:
Andisa Ntsubane, Managing Executive: Brand, Marketing and Communications Africa, Vodacom Group, Africa
Creative Business Transformation Lions:
Ariana Stolarz, Global Chief Strategy Officer, Marketing, Accenture Song, Global
Creative Commerce Lions:
Amy Lanzi, CEO, Digitas NA, Digitas, North America
Creative Data Lions:
Rose Herceg, Country President Australia and New Zealand, WPP, Australia and New Zealand
Creative Effectiveness Lions:
Harjot Singh, Global Chief Strategy Officer, McCann and McCann Worldgroup, Global
Creative Strategy Lions:
Vita M. Harris, Global Chief Strategy Officer, FCB, Global
Design Lions:
Fura Johannesdottir, Chief Creative Officer, Huge, Global
Digital Craft Lions:
Kentaro Kimura, International Chief Creative Officer and Corporate Officer, Hakuhodo, Global
Direct Lions:
Pancho Cassis, Partner and Global Chief Creative Officer, DAVID, Global
Entertainment Lions:
Geoffrey Edwards, Executive Creative Director, GALE, USA
Entertainment Lions for Gaming:
Lydia Winters, Chief Storyteller, Mojang Studios, Global
Entertainment Lions for Music:
Madeline Nelson, US Head of Independent Label Relations, Amazon Music, USA
Entertainment Lions for Sport:
Louise Johnson, CEO, Fuse, UK/EMEA
Film Lions:
Tor Myhren, VP Marketing Communications, Apple Inc, Global
Film Craft Lions:
Prasoon Pandey, Ad Film Maker, Corcoise Films, India
Glass: The Lion for Change:
Cindy Gallop, Founder and CEO, MakeLoveNotPorn, Global
Health & Wellness Lions:
Wendy Chan, Health Creative Lead, Asia Pacific, Edelman, APAC
Industry Craft Lions:
Kalpesh Patankar, Chief Creative Officer, Leo Burnett, UAE
Innovation Lions:
Diego Machado, Global Chief Creative Officer, AKQA, Global
Media Lions:
Prerna Mehrotra, Chief Client Officer and CEO Media, dentsu, APAC
Outdoor Lions:
Marco Venturelli, Chief Creative Officer, Publicis Groupe, France
Pharma Lions:
Collette Douaihy, Global Chief Creative Officer, Health, Dentsu Health, Global
PR Lions:
Kat Thomas, Founder and Global Chief Creative Officer, One Green Bean, Global
Print & Publishing Lions:
John Raúl Forero, President and Chief Creative Officer, DDB, Colombia
Social & Influencer Lions:
Amy Ferguson, Chief Creative Officer, TBWA\Chiat\Day New York, USA
Sustainable Development Goals Lions:
Gustavo Lauria, Co-Founder, President and Chief Creative Officer, We Believers, USA
The Dan Wieden Titanium Lions:
Debbi Vandeven, Global Chief Creative Officer, VML, Global
Further information on this year’s Jury Presidents, as well as the Festival, the Lions Awards and LIONS Membership can be found at canneslions.com.
The 70th edition of the Cannes Lions Festival will witness the largest cohort of jurors from the UAE to judge at a singular festival.
Leading voices in their fields — and proven experts when it comes to creative excellence in action – meet the esteemed panel of jury members from the United Arab Emirates, tasked with benchmarking creative work at the 70th edition of the prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The 70th edition of Cannes Lions will witness the largest delegation of jurors from the UAE to judge at a Lions Festival, Impact BBDO’s Ali Rez serving as the first Jury President from the MENA region, and Google’s Sandro Gelashvili as an awarding jury member for the Entertainment Lions for Gaming category, which will be awarded for the first time in 2023.
Commenting on this year’s Cannes Lions Jury line-up, Simon Cook – CEO of LIONS, said: “Our Jurors have a huge responsibility – giving up their time, energy, and expertise to set the benchmark for creative excellence as part of the 70th edition of the Lions. We are excited to see the body of Lion winning work that will set the industry standard for the next 70 years.”
In reference to the Cannes Lions jury panel from the UAE, Ian Fairservice – Managing Partner of Motivate Media Group, said, “We are thrilled to have such a diverse and talented group of experts representing the UAE as part of this year’s Cannes Lions jury panel. The 70th edition of the festival signifies a series of milestones for the UAE, including this year witnessing the largest cohort of jurors to judge at a singular festival, and the notable appointment of Ali Rez from Impact BBDO Dubai as the inaugural Jury President from MENA. All eighteen jury members from the UAE reflect the country’s unwavering commitment to maintaining the highest standards of excellence and innovation in advertising, marketing, and communications, and we are confident that their extensive knowledge and insights will significantly contribute to setting new benchmarks for the global industry.”
See the full list of Presidents, Awarding and Shortlisting at canneslions.com/awards/jury
Further information on this year’s Festival and the Lions Awards can be found at canneslions.com
Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan are the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE.
Source: Cannes Lions
LIONS Scholarship will support more than 130 underrepresented members of the creative community and emerging talent with access to Cannes Lions
LIONS has announced the launch of the LIONS Scholarship, which is designed to support the next generation of talent. The scholarship offers a group of young people from around the world a fully funded place on the Cannes Lions Brand Marketers and Creative Academies, which will take place during the Festival in June.
The new initiative sits alongside a range of talent programmes which are part of LIONS’ drive to introduce more opportunities for underrepresented groups through fully funded talent programmes at Cannes Lions.
Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said, “We’ve spent 70 years helping to shape careers, foster connections, and platform the power of creativity on a global scale. As we look forward to the next 70 years, we will focus on creating opportunities, providing access, and nurturing the next generation of creative marketing leaders. As part of our mission to support those ‘in the making’ and drive progress for people, we’re opening up the Festival to more than 130 people from groups traditionally underrepresented in the creative industries. To mark our 70th edition, we’re introducing the inaugural LIONS Scholarship. This initiative is designed to increase the accessibility of Cannes Lions’ bespoke academies, which offer a curated education programme at the heart of the Festival.”
The LIONS talent programme includes a range of early career initiatives with the LIONS Academies and Young Lions Competitions designed to catapult young talent in their careers. Additionally, LIONS current talent accelerator programmes continue this year, including See It Be It, which aims to help achieve equal gender representation of creative directors and leaders.
Included within the wider talent programme are community-led initiatives which have been designed in partnership with the global creative industry. These include: a programme with The Black Executive CMO Alliance to bring Future Leaders from The BECA Playbook to Cannes; complimentary passes for the winners of the Perifa Education Programme which is designed for creatives from the Brazilian peripheries; support of the #CannesForAll initiative, launched by the Brixton Finishing School, DigiLearning Foundation and Lollipop Mentoring, with Festival access for their 12 talents; and a continued partnership with Cephas Williams to provide Black talent with Cannes Lions access and curated Festival programme.
Learn more on all the LIONS talent programmes, along with how to apply here
Cannes Lions will take place from 19-23 June in Cannes, France.
The annual LIONS Creativity Report ranks the most creative businesses and people in the world based on performance at Cannes Lions.
Official rankings are presented alongside insights, analysis, and interviews with Lion-winning creators, uncovering what it takes to produce the highest-ranking work in the world.
The LIONS Creativity Report has been released and is available to everyone for free through LIONS’ insights and intelligence platform The Work. Full to the brim with insights and data, the report is the ultimate global benchmark for impactful creativity and ranks the most creative businesses and people in the world, based on performance at Cannes Lions.
Speaking about the report, Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said, “It’s a celebration and also a tool for future success. The official global creativity rankings provide a definitive benchmark for the industry, accompanied by insights and commentary from our winners and the talented experts who judged the work this year. I would like to congratulate everyone who ranked this year. Together, they set the global benchmark for creativity.”
The LIONS Creativity Report presents four Regional Network of the year awards and 11 global awards: Creative Company, Network, Agency, Independent Agency, Creative Brand and Palme d’Or, as well as Health Network, Health Agency, Media Network, Agency by Track, and Independent Agency by Track of the Year. The creative rankings also include the top performing Director, Art Director, Creative Director and Copywriter.
The rankings are compiled using data from Lion-winning and shortlisted work from 2022. PwC is LIONS’ Process Integrity Partner and is responsible for independently confirming due process in the calculation and reporting of the Special Awards rankings listed in the LIONS Creativity Report.
In this year’s Lions Creativity Report, Jarred Pitts and Maher Dahdouh from Impact BBDO Dubai share seventh rank as ‘Copywriter of the Year’ – another triumph for the agency, who not only won 8 Lions at this year’s Festival, but has also been ranked the No. 1 creative agency in the Middle East and Africa region for the fourth consecutive year.
Also included in the report is analysis and insights from the winning work and lessons on how brands are growing businesses and tackling some of the world’s most challenging problems in innovative ways. The themes covered include – Creativity for Growth; Scalable Solutions; Craft with a Conscience; Tech in Service to the Idea; and Invite Everybody. It is an essential companion for the coming creative year for it showcases brilliant work that will help guide creativity, as well as give exclusive insight that will support awards entries for Lions in 2023.
The LIONS Creativity Report is powered by The Work, the LIONS intelligence and insights platform that houses 250,000 pieces of work along with how it was briefed, researched, produced and crafted.
Access the full report, for free, here.
Source: Cannes Lions (Press Release)
United Arab Emirates wins 2 Grand Prix, 2 Gold, 13 Silver and 5 Bronze Lions at the 2022 Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
Cannes Lions – the largest gathering in the creative marketing community, has announced all the winners of its 69th Festival awards, and UAE, once again, has emerged victorious at the event which took place between 20 – 24 June in Cannes, France.
United Arab Emirates won 22 Lions – 2 Grand Prix, 2 Gold, 13 Silver and 5 Bronze, across multiple categories, including first time wins in the category of Entertainment for Sport and Social & Influencer. The UAE also secured 61 shortlists at this year’s Festival.
This year’s winning agencies/clients from the UAE include Havas Middle East, Impact BBDO Dubai, Horizon FCB Dubai, TBWA\RAAD Dubai, VMLY&R Commerce MENA, Keko Dubai and UAE Government Media Office:
Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, commented: “Cannes Lions is a global platform, and it’s been an incredible week, as the global creative community reunited in Cannes once again. Our community came together from across the globe, and from every corner of the industry, to drive progress through creativity, for business, the planet, and society at large. I would like to congratulate everyone who entered, who made the shortlists and who won a Lion to set the benchmark for creative excellence on the global stage.”
2022 also witnessed 13 professionals from the creative marketing/communication community represent the United Arab Emirates at the Cannes Lions Festival as awarding and shortlisting jury members:
Ali Rez (Regional Executive Creative Director – Impact BBDO Dubai), Priya Sarma (Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability – Unilever), Akhilesh Bagri (Chief Creative Officer – Serviceplan Middle East), Paul Banham (Regional Executive Creative Director – MullenLowe MENA), Lucy Harvey (Managing Director Middle East, Turkey, India & Africa – Hill+Knowlton Strategies Middle East) and Ali Cheikhali (Creative Strategy Lead, Creative Works MENA/TR/SSA – Google) were part of the awarding jury across Print & Publishing, Sustainable Development Goals, Brand Experience & Activation, Industry Craft, PR and Creative Commerce respectively. Shortlisting jury members included Alok Gadkar (Executive Creative Director & Managing Director – Group Partnership), Racha Makarem (Chief Executive Officer MENA – Starcom MENA), Aunindo Sen (Executive Creative Director – FP7 McCann), Ivan Bormaister (Associate Creative Director – M&C Saatchi UAE), Dana Tahir (General Manager – Red Havas ME), Pablo Maldonado (Executive Creative Director – Grey Dubai) and Till Hohmann (Chief Creative Officer MENA – Memac Ogilvy) across Health & Wellness, Media, Direct, Film, PR, Design and Outdoor respectively.
Representing the UAE at this year’s International Young Lions Digital Competition (for young creative below the age of 30 years in the digital category) and the Roger Hatchuel Academy (a mentorship programme for university students in the field of creative communications), were Rebecca Menezes and Eduardo Cesar Guimarães from Saatchi & Saatchi MEA, and Fatma Al Suwaidi from American University in Dubai.
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE, Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan warmly congratulates all Lion winners from the UAE, and the jury members and young talent who represented the country at this year’s Festival.
Source: Cannes Lions ‘The Work’
Ali Rez, Priya Sarma, Akhilesh Bagri, Paul Banham, Lucy Harvey and Ali Cheikhali from the UAE to join Cannes Lions 2022 awarding jury member line-up.
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity returns in 2022 as a live event, and will provide an annual forum for the global industry to address the most pressing issues that they and the world are facing today.
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE, Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan are pleased to announce the line-up of awarding jury members from the UAE who will come together in Cannes to complete the final stage of judging and awarding of Lions.
Print & Publishing Lions
Ali Rez
Regional Executive Creative Director
Impact BBDO Group MENAP
Ranked amongst the Top 10 ECDs in the world on the World Creative Rankings and named Creative of the Year twice by Campaign magazine, Ali Rez is one of the most successful creative leaders in EMEA. Rez’s work has been instrumental in Impact BBDO Dubai being named the No.2 Creative Agency In The World in 2021 on the WARC report, and has brought tremendous positive impact to business and social causes alike — he currently leads creative output for the IMPACT BBDO Group across the Middle East, North Africa and Pakistan region.
Rez has won more than 600 international accolades in his career spanning four continents over 20 years, which include several Cannes Lions, Clios, D&AD, Effies, and a United Nations Peace Medal – awards which have led him to be ranked No.1 ECD in MENA and APAC in 2021 on a number of creative rankings.
Moving from California, Rez currently lives in Dubai, where he is an avid mountain biker. Besides lecturing at Oxford University and St.Martin’s College, Rez has exhibited at Tate UK, spoken at Tedx, captained a cricket county team, and — being a firm believer that curiosity leads to creativity — has traveled to 133 countries.
Sustainable Development Goals Lions
Priya Sarma
Head of Corporate Affairs & Sustainability
Unilever
Priya joined Unilever in February 2008 as the Corporate Communication Manager for Middle East and North Africa (MENA) and is based in Jebel Ali, Dubai which is the regional Unilever headquarter. In January 2012 she was assigned the additional responsibility for Employee Engagement across the countries of MENA, Turkey, Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. In 2019 she was promoted as Sr. Sustainability Head for MENA, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus & Turkey and in 2021 the additional remit of MENA External Affairs was added to her portfolio.
Prior to joining Unilever, Priya worked in global advertising agencies including FCB Ulka, India, Equity Advertising (an affiliate of Grey Communication) Egypt, and Lowe Look (an affiliate of Lowe Worldwide), Egypt.
In 2016, she led the formation of the Advertising Business Group (ABG) and has been its Board Member since 2016. The ABG is GCC’s largest advertising and marketing self-regulatory body with over 60 members who account for over 70% of the MENA’s advertising spend.
Since 2018 she has been representing the Multinational Companies Business Group in the FCSA led Private Sector Advisory Council on the SDG’s. In Nov 2020, Priya led the launch of the UAE Chapter of the Unstereotype Alliance (UA) in partnership with UN Women. The UA is a thought and action platform that seeks to eradicate harmful gender-based stereotypes in media and advertising. For this, she was recognised by Campaign Magazine as a ‘Marketing Game Changer 2020’.
Brand Experience & Activation Lions
Akhilesh Bagri
Chief Creative Officer
Serviceplan Middle East
Akhilesh started his journey in advertising in Mumbai at a malleable age of 17, before which he was a full-time teenager. A copywriter by trait he has worked at various acronymed and unacronymed agencies such as DDB, BBDO, JWT, McCann and Leo Burnett.
Flashback, 2007: Akhilesh wins an all-expenses trip to Cannes as a student to be part of the Roger Hatchuel Academy. Still wet behind the ears he has no idea what to expect from the week. His mind is blown.
Present Day, 2022 : Now a multiple-award winning creative and CCO of Dubai Lynx Independent Agency of the Year (how about that plug) Akhilesh gets invited to an all-expenses paid trip to Cannes, this time as a jury member. He still has no idea what to expect from the week. His mind is prepared to be blown.
Industry Craft Lions
Paul Banham
Regional Executive Creative Director
MullenLowe MENA
Paul has been the ECD of seven world-class agencies over the last 20 years. In that time, he’s helped to steer the way to 22 ‘Agency of the Year’ titles. His work has collected more than 700 awards for creativity and effectiveness. And he’s ranked in the world’s top fifty ECDs four times – 2008 #17th, 2014 #27th, 2016 #9th, 2021 #36th.
He’s judged at D&AD, One Show, Campaign BIG, NYF, IAB, Caples, Immortals, Lories, TIKTOK and many other global shows, and he has spoken on a variety of subjects at the likes of Cannes and Lynx. Paul’s work/opinions have also been published in many advertising books/annuals and editorials in the Guardian and The Wall Street Journal.
After moving from London to Dubai in 2012, he helped steer FP7 McCann to the enviable position of No.1 – ‘The World’s Most Effective Agency’ (Effie’s). Currently, he’s working to lift MullenLowe MENA to equally lofty heights – In 2021 alone, they collected 130+ global Awards – and three ‘Agency of the Year’ titles, including the Campaign Tech’s ‘Global Agency of the Year’ and New York Festival’s ‘Regional Agency of the Year’ 2021. Out of the top 200 agencies on the Drum Report, MullenLowe ranked 17th in 2021. They were the AME Awards’ 2nd Most Awarded Agency Globally in 2021 and the Caples Awards’ 5th Most Awarded Agency Globally.
PR Lions
Lucy Harvey
Managing Director, Middle East, Turkey, India + Africa
Hill+Knowlton Strategies Middle East
Lucy has over two decades of experience in the communications industry. She has worked with some of the world’s most recognisable brands and is currently supporting the growth of the creative firepower of H+K through the development of its award-winning Studio and Innovation + Creative hub in the Middle East, Turkey, India, and Africa.
Now living in Dubai with her family, Lucy has developed and led memorable campaigns, and delivered professional trainings to leaders across the region’s C-suite. Lucy’s resume includes consumer launches, impactful government communications for national and global initiatives, and effective internal campaigns. She champions the intersection of technical innovation and creativity, something the team at H+K are working on; but is most impressed by insightful ideas that are brought to life with simplicity, beauty and clarity. A big believer in giving back, Lucy is known in the industry as an ardent champion of nurturing young talent.
Currently listed in the PRWeek Middle East Power Book, she has been actively involved with Dubai Lynx as a coach and mentor in the See It Be it programme for young female talent, and is a regular judge and speaker for awards, seminars, and workshops.
Originally from the UK, Lucy previously worked for Freud Communications and in video production at The Press Association.
Creative Commerce Lions
Ali Cheikhali
Creative Strategy Lead – Creative Works MENA/TR/SSA
Google
Ali is an award-winning Creative Strategy Lead who works with brands and agencies across MENA, Turkey and SSA on maximizing their creative impact to solve critical business problems. In his role, he pushes the boundaries of Google’s tools and platforms to drive innovative work at the intersection of data, technology, and creativity. Before joining Google from the agency world, Ali was one of the most awarded creative strategists in MENA. The Drum’s ‘Big Won Rankings’ ranked him among the Top 20 Planners Worldwide in 2018 and the B&W Report named him MENA’s Planner of the Year in 2017.
Today, Ali enjoys being on the judging side of top award shows such as Cannes Lions, Dubai Lynx, WARC and New York Festivals in addition to teaching his Design Thinking & Product Creation course at Miami Ad School. Outside of work, and when he’s not agonizing over his favorite football team’s performances, he spends most of his time as a self-proclaimed food and filmmaking critic.
The initial stages of judging will take place remotely, with a cohort of Shortlist jury from the UAE to be announced over the week ahead.
On the judging at the Cannes Lions 2022 Festival, Philip Thomas, Chairman, LIONS, said, “The return of the physical Festival to Cannes in June allows us once again to bring the juries together in person to define the benchmark of creativity.”
The Cannes Lions Festival will take place between 20-24 June, and will be accessible to everyone, and delegate registration is now open. If anyone is unable to travel for any reason, LIONS Members get exclusive digital access to Cannes Lions – plus a series of other benefits, throughout the year.
More information on this year’s Cannes Lions jury can be found at canneslions.com/jury.
Rebecca Ann Menezes and Eduardo Cesar from Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East win gold at the UAE Young Lions Digital Competition 2022.
The 19th edition of the esteemed UAE Young Lions Digital Competition, hosted by Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan – the official UAE representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, took place on Saturday, 26th March 2022.
This year’s competition took place online and witnessed participation from 18 teams across 10 creative agencies. The judging and awards ceremony followed on Wednesday, 30th March 2022, with Rebecca Ann Menezes and Eduardo Cesar from Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East winning Gold.
Rebecca and Eduardo will move on to represent the UAE at the International Young Lions Digital Competition, which will take place online between 25th – 27th May 2022. The gold winning duo will also receive a full week delegate pass and an all-expense paid trip to attend the in-person Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in June 2022.
Ana Julia De Oliveira and Jarrad Pitts from Impact BBDO bagged Silver, while Mayar Essawy and Francesco Negri from FP7 McCann won Bronze.
The jury panel for this year’s competition comprised of Louise Kotze Hussein (BPG Group), Giorgia Fattoracci (Leo Burnett), Bruno Barbosa (Saatchi & Saatchi), Yasmina Boustani (Impact BBDO), Rafael Augusto (Publicis Middle East), Andre Marchesi (Science & Sunshine), Claudia Canas (FP7 McCann), Muhammad Ali (Momentum MENA), Vivek Kukreti (Precise Communications) and Vijay Simon (You Experience).
This year’s client brief was from Goumbook, the leading social enterprise promoting sustainable living and green practices in the UAE and beyond since 2010, and the competition was sponsored by Getty Images.
Participating teams were challenged to develop a creative and innovative digital led campaign for Goumbook’s latest initiative ‘Save the Butts – Waste to Value’ – the first sustainability initiative in the UAE that adopts a circular Economy approach to environmental pollution, that converts cigarette butts into a value-added material. The campaign goal was to raise awareness on the littering of cigarette butts and its negative impact on the environment, with a focus on promoting the initiative to corporates/companies and encouraging them to get involved.
Speaking at the online awards ceremony, Tatiana Antonelli, Founder of Goumbook, stated: ”Trillions of cigarettes are smoked annually, making cigarette butts the most common type of litter in the world. Due to the composition of butts being mainly plastic and toxic substances, this waste carries a very harmful risk for the environment and for living organisms, including humans. The ‘Save The Butts’ campaign aims to raise awareness and showcase alternative solutions to landfilling and incineration. We have identified technology to properly recycle this kind of waste and promote the recovery of materials in line with a circular economy approach and sustainable development. We welcome the local community, including individuals and businesses, to join the initiative, collect cigarette butts and help transform waste into value.”
Ian Fairservice – Managing Partner, Motivate Media Group, said: “After a stellar performance from the standout up-and-comers of the industry, it was particularly difficult to narrow down the top submissions. In the end there had to be a winning team – I want to congratulate everyone who participated, but especially the winners Rebecca and Eduardo from Saatchi & Saatchi ME, who I’m sure will be great ambassadors from the UAE during this year’s Cannes Lions event.”
The UAE Young Lions Digital Competition – hosted by Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan, supported by Getty Images, aims to unveil the brightest creative minds from across the UAE, and is part of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – the world’s biggest celebration of creativity in communications. 2022 will witness the return of the annual festival and will take place between 20th – 24th June at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France.
