The United Arab Emirates wins 21 majestic Lions – 1 Grand Prix, 1 Gold, 6 Silver and 13 Bronze, at the 2023 Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The 70th edition of the prestigious Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity drew to a close on 23rd June 2023, with the United Arab Emirates winning a total of 21 Lions – 1 Grand Prix, 1 Gold, 6 Silver and 13 Bronze, across multiple categories, including first-time wins in the categories of Glass: The Lion for Change, Entertainment for Music, and Creative Data. The UAE also amassed an impressive count of 89 shortlists, truly exemplifying its creative prowess on the global stage.
Winning agencies from the UAE include Impact BBDO Dubai, FP7 McCann, Leo Burnett, ‿ and us, VMLY&R, Saatchi & Saatchi ME and Havas Middle East. Their remarkable achievements serve as a testament to the thriving creative landscape within the UAE and the country’s capacity to compete at the forefront of the global advertising and marketing industry.
Philip Thomas, Chairman, LIONS, said, “The body of Lion-winning work that emerged from the Jury rooms points the way forward, and demonstrates the power of the industry to drive change, build businesses and shape society. Congratulations to all those who entered, who made the shortlists, and who won a Lion at the Festival’s 70th edition to set the creative benchmark on the global stage.”
The 70th edition of the Cannes Lions Festival also marked a significant milestone for the UAE, as it boasted the largest contingent of jurors to preside over a single festival. Notably, Ali Rez from Impact BBDO made history by becoming the first-ever Jury President from the MENA region, while Sandro Gelashvili from Google contributed as a jury member for the inaugural Entertainment Lions for Gaming category.
Symon Medeiros and Jonathan Cruz from ‿ and us, along with Chloe Salloum from the American University in Dubai, proudly represented the UAE in two esteemed events as part of the Festival: the International Young Lions Digital Competition (for young creatives under 30 in the digital category) and the Roger Hatchuel Academy (a mentorship program for university students in creative communications). Their participation exemplifies the UAE’s commitment to nurturing and empowering emerging talent in the ever-evolving creative landscape.
Commenting on their experience at this year’s Festival, Saymon and Jonathan from ‿ and us, expressed, “Attending Cannes Lions is always a fantastic experience. It’s a hub of creativity and inspiration where we can gain insights from the best ideas around the globe. Moreover, it’s an excellent opportunity to interact with past colleagues and connect with individuals we aspire to collaborate with in the future. This year, the Young Lions competition centered around Rocket Learning, a non-profit organization dedicated to helping young children prepare for school. We were given 24 hours to develop a digital solution for their brief. It was truly rewarding for us to utilize the power of creativity to assist them in solving real-world problems.”
Speaking about her experience at this year’s Roger Hatchuel Academy, Chloe Salloum from American University in Dubai said, “Representing the UAE at the Cannes Lions Roger Hatchuel Academy was a remarkable experience that exceeded all of my expectations. The week-long program has completely transformed my life and mindset, pushing me to embrace heightened creativity and purpose in my work. Beyond the educational aspect, I had the privilege of forging deep connections and friendships with my fellow Roger Hatchuel Academy graduates. As a member of SheSays Dubai, I was thrilled to learn that 80% of the academy members were women! That is a true testament to the brilliance of women in this industry, and I was ecstatic to be a part of it.”
She further added, “I want to thank my professor, Dina Faour, who has been the driving force behind all of this. I am grateful to American University in Dubai for providing me with the academic knowledge and professional exposure I need to start my career. Lastly, I would like to express my gratitude to the Motivate Val Morgan team, especially Dumindrini Ratnayake, for her professional guidance and support throughout the entire Roger Hatchuel Academy experience. The program has left a special mark on my heart, and I am eager to utilize the invaluable insights I have gained to contribute to the dynamic advertising industry in the UAE.”
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE, Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan extend heartfelt congratulations to the victorious agencies, esteemed jury members, and talented young representatives who proudly showcased the UAE at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Sources: Cannes Lions ‘The Work’
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’
UAE Jury for Cannes Lions 2021 include Paul Shearer, Jennifer Fischer, Dida Atassi and seven other highly respected and award winning advertising and media personalities.
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan are pleased to announce that ten leading advertising and media professionals from the UAE have been selected as jury members for the 2021 Festival.
UAE jury members who will be on the Awarding and Shortlisting jury panel include:
Industry Craft Lions
Paul Shearer | Chief Creative Officer | Impact BBDO Dubai
Paul has always believed in bringing something different to the table.
His work for Guess Jeans, Nike, Audi and Levi’s has won him respect and numerous advertising awards.
During his time at BBH, Paul had the opportunity to work collaboratively with clients, which contributed to his work being impactful and successful in the marketplace. Paul then decided to broaden his horizons globally and took a job at Wieden and Kenedy Amsterdam as the Creative Director. It was here that he had the chance to work on the Nike account.
Paul prides himself on understanding the digital world and has won 54 Cannes Lions (the most recent being a Grand Prix). When it comes to awards, Paul believes that winning a client some new customers is far more satisfying. Other awards won include 8 D&AD pencils, 15 One Show and 9 British Television awards.
Innovation Lions
Jennifer Fischer | Chief Innovation Officer | TBWA\RAAD
Always dissatisfied with the status quo, Jennifer spent years shaping the future of some of the most valuable brands in the world such as Coca-Cola, Apple, Ikea, KFC, Expo 2020, Facebook or Nissan.
Her role as Chief Innovation Officer MENA for TBWA\RAAD is to lead an always in beta transformation – harnessing the power of technology, strategy, collaboration, and creativity to re-imagine the way companies work, innovate and grow.
Her career milestones include many firsts from launching the first opera house in the region to communicating the first space mission from an Arabic nation or working on the first Apple campaign in MENA.
Her ideas have been published and shared by Forbes, Campaign Magazine, Communicate, Marketing Society, Arab Ad, Arabian Business among others.
Design Lions
Dida Atassi | Design Director | Accenture Interactive Middle East
An accomplished digital professional, Dida has spent 18 years developing compelling world-class experiences for global and local brands across telecommunication, banking, retail, lifestyle and government sectors. From ideation workshops to polished design deliverables, Dida places a particular focus on crafting unique, loveable products and services that resonate with local cultures. As an advocate of the user, Dida tries to help people see how digital can make life a little easier by designing simple and rewarding experiences.
Dida’s skills include user experience design, interface design, service design, and digital strategy using tools such as prototyping, user research and design thinking workshops and methodology. She has a particular interest in studying local cultures and norms and how they impact design.
Media Lions
Asad Rehman | Director Media and Digital Transformation | Unilever MENA
Asad manages Unilever’s Media & Digital Marketing Transformation for Middle & East North Africa. He also sits at the Unilever MENA/Turkey/Russia Board. He has been in Dubai since 2013, prior to which he spent 6 years at the Unilever HQ in London. Earlier on in his career, Asad worked for WPP/Group M in various parts of the world. He managed local offices in Pakistan and Vietnam, did a global role in London, and managed regional projects in Asia and LATAM.
Asad is an award-winning marketer with accolades from D&AD, Cannes Lions, WARC, Global Effie’s, and Spikes, Lynx, Festival of Media, and MENA Effie’s, and is passionate about bringing together technology, data, and creativity to help craft purposeful brands.
Asad was the Founding Chair of The Marketing Society Middle East Chapter from 2016 to 2018 and sits on the board of the IAA UAE. He was awarded The Marketing Society Fellowship in 2019 and was also the Effie’s Marketer of The Year in 2018.
PR Lions
Amy Brill | Head of PR | M&C Saatchi
As M&C Saatchi Public Relations’ market lead for the UAE, Amy is responsible for the overall direction of the team, creative work and business growth. An experienced PR professional, she has worked for some of the world’s most recognisable brands across corporate and consumer sectors.
Amy has a BA Hons degree in Public Relations from Bournemouth University in the UK and started her career at BBC Worldwide before embarking on agency life, working for clients such as Rolls-Royce, Discovery, Hilton, Disney, PayPal and the British Embassy in both the UK and Middle East.
She established the M&C Saatchi Public Relations business in the UAE in 2017, aged just 27 and has been recognised by industry leaders as a Rising Star and Face to Watch. In the two years the agency has been running, Amy and her team have picked up gold and silver accolades at both the PRCA and MEPRA Awards.
Brand Experience and Activation Lions
Vidya Manmohan | Founder and Creative Chairwoman | V4 Advertising LLC
Vidya Manmohan is the Founder & Creative Chairwoman of V4 Good and Ex-Executive Creative Director of GREY Dubai.
She also happens to be one among the rare breed of female Executive Creative Directors in the region today, celebrated for having travelled off the beaten track, across the span of her career – from walking out of the gates of medical school to pursue a career in Advertising and switching from Art direction to copywriting mid-way through her successful career.
What’s more, this mom of a University student has gone back to University herself to pursue her Master’s in Digital Management, whilst having successfully launched a new-age communication hub.
Her work reflects the pop culture around her and has bagged International awards, not only in the print and outdoor categories, but also in radio, design, digital, integrated and advertising for good.
Vidya has also been on the jury panel of International Advertising Festivals such as Cannes Lions, New York Festivals, Clio, Adfest, Lisbon Advertising Awards, The White Square and the Young Guns to name a few.
Film Lions
Serena Abi Aad | Head of Content | Havas Dubai
Serena is an award winning film director whose short films have travelled international festivals across the Middle East, Europe and Canada.
As a passionate storyteller, her professional journey has been diverse and always centered around storytelling.
She spent most of her twenties on film sets, learning every job in a film crew. She then decided to understand the ad world better and became a TV producer at Leo Burnett, where she worked on films for DSF, Chevrolet and Hummer, among others.
Following her time at Leo Burnett, she worked with MBC as writer, producer and director of a first of its kind reality TV show. In 2012, she joined Yahoo as branded content manager and supervised multiple video content productions for brands such as P&G and DSF.
She had her own content production house for a couple of years, before joining Havas DXB as Head of Content.
She is currently Creative Director at Havas DXB, telling stories for clients such as FAB, Barakat, Veet and Durex.
Social & Influencer Lions
Akanksha Goel | Founder & CEO | Socialize
A digital marketing pioneer, Akanksha Goel is the founder of Socialize; Middle East’s first dedicated social media agency.
Akanksha started her career at the age of 20, as the youngest ever Editor-in-chief for STUFF Magazine. She gained experience working across India & Singapore, where she was at the forefront of the Web2.0 revolution and helped organise Asia’s first-ever pod-camp. She then moved to Dubai amidst the region’s economic crisis, and in 2010 created Socialize to harness the untapped business potential of then-emerging social networks.
In her current role as Managing Director, she is actively involved in driving business growth, leading team development and overseeing the strategic mandate across the agency’s coveted client roster that includes iconic brands like Dubai EXPO 2020, Volkswagen, Sony, General Mills & Bioderma.
An executive graduate from Harvard Business School; she holds a business degree in Marketing Communications from Singapore Management University. Nominated as Emirates Woman of the Year and named to Holmes Report’s Innovator 25 list in 2018, Akanksha is widely recognized as a business influencer, speaker, and a reference for social media in the Middle East.
Direct Lions
Alex Pineda | Creative Director | TBWA\RAAD
Alex Pineda was born in Bogotá, Colombia, and English and Spanish speaker and Crazy about football. He is also a museum hunter, napkin illustrator and comic book artist who has travelled to 5 continents, 77 countries, hundreds of cities, and explored many cultures.
He holds a Master’s degree in ‘Creativity and Strategic Management of Advertising’ from the European Institute of Design in Barcelona, Spain; Specialist in ‘Advertising Management’ from the Jorge Tadeo Lozano University of Bogotá, Colombia; and graduated as a ‘Professional in Graphic Design’ from the same university.
Alex has been awarded at Cannes Lions, Cannes Young Lions, D&AD, One Show, Clio, Dubai Lynx, LIA London International Awards, New York Festivals, Loeries, Webby Awards, Effies, Epica, Cresta, Ojo De Iberoamérica, Festival El Dorado and ‘Lápiz de Acero’ (National Design Award of Colombia).
He was also elected as ‘Associate Creative Director of the Year’ for the Middle East and North Africa, by the ‘Black & White Report’ in 2018; the Number 1 Creative Copywriter in the UAE by ‘Lürzer’s Archive’ Magazine in 2017, 2018 and 2019, and one of the “Best Colombian expats around the world” by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Colombia and the Embassy of Colombia in Abu Dhabi in 2020.
Outdoor Lions
Fabio Silveira | General Manager | Havas Dubai
Fabio has been in leadership positions on strategy and client services in creative agencies for the past 10 years.
His experience spans 15 years and 5 continents – with regional and global responsibilities in Brazil, Portugal and Dubai.
He’s currently responsible for the operations of Havas Creative in Dubai, encompassing Client Services, Strategy, Creative, Social Media, Content and Production.
Cannes Lions 2021 will mark the highest ever representation from global brands, platforms, entertainment and technology companies, bringing a breadth of expertise to the Lions awards.
Furthermore, for the first time ever, the number of female jurors too reaches 51%, up from 48% in 2019.
Cannes Lions 2021 will be fully digital, running as Cannes Lions Live, from 21-25 June. Due to the ongoing pandemic, the event in Cannes, France, will not take place this year. Further information on the Lions can be found at Cannes Lions Awards.
We at Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan warmly congratulate these ten highly respected and award winning advertising and media personalities from the UAE who will be part of the jury panel at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, and wish them all the very best with the judging ahead.
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE, Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan recently concluded the distribution of Lions won by UAE at this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
This year witnessed UAE bring home 7 Lions – the region’s first Grand Prix and six Bronze Lions, all of which were won by Impact BBDO Dubai.
Of the 1,252 entries from 62 countries competing in the Print & Publishing Lions category (Communication Track) where 32 Lions were awarded – 1 Grand Prix, 6 Gold, 7 Silver and 18 Bronze Lions, Impact BBDO Dubai snatched the Grand Prix for ‘The Blank Edition’, which saw the agency work with leading Arabic-language daily newspaper An-Nahar to print an entirely blank edition – calling on Lebanese citizens to use the space to send a message to the stalled government.
Ian Fairservice – Managing Partner and Group Editor in Chief at Motivate Media Group, and Avinash Udeshi – Chief Operating Officer at Motivate Val Morgan, paid Dani Richa – Chairman & CEO of BBDO Middle East, Africa & Pakistan, and his team a visit on Wednesday 9th October 2019 to hand over the Lions won by their agency at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival which concluded in June 2019.
We at Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan warmly congratulate Impact BBDO Dubai and look forward to UAE winning many more Lions at next year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
Related Article:
Impact BBDO Dubai Wins Seven Lions at Cannes Lions 2019
The 66th Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity drew to a close on 21 June 2019, with Impact BBDO Dubai winning UAE 7 Lions – the region’s first Grand Prix and 6 Bronze Lions.
Of the 1,252 entries from 62 countries competing in the Print & Publishing Lions category (Communication Track) where 32 Lions were awarded – 1 Grand Prix, 6 Gold, 7 Silver and 18 Bronze Lions, Impact BBDO Dubai snatched the Grand Prix for ‘The Blank Edition’, which saw the agency work with leading Arabic-language daily newspaper An-Nahar to print an entirely blank edition – calling on Lebanese citizens to use the space to send a message to the stalled government.
On UAE winning the ‘Top Award’ and taking home the Grand Prix in this category at the Festival’s opening Awards Show, Jury president, Olivier Altmann, CEO and Chief Creative Officer, Altmann + Pacreau, France, said: “We are very happy to award the Grand Prix to a piece of work that celebrates creativity and journalism.”
After the release of the completely blank edition, the newspaper’s editor-in-chief encouraged citizens to use it to write their own headlines and send messages to politicians, over social media.
Altmann said the bold campaign – and political message – led to an easy jury decision.
“It was really unanimous – a good surprise. It took us about five seconds to award the Grand Prix,” he said.
“For us, it was the perfect demonstration that print creativity can do a lot for print media itself, for print journalism. We thought it was really bold to award a Grand Prix to a white piece of paper that people could fill. It’s almost an interactive tool for real life.”
Image Credits: Getty Images, Cannes Lions 2019
Impact BBDO Dubai also won 6 Bronze Lions across Health & Wellness, Industry Craft, Brand Experiences & Activation and Media categories for: ‘The Toxic Flag’ (Waste Management Coalition), ‘The Zero Tolerance Ribbon’ (28 Too Many) and ‘The Black Edition’ (An-Nahar).
Commenting on the Grand Prix win, Paul Shearer, Chief Creative Officer at Impact BBDO MENA, added: “Bringing home the first Grand Prix Lion for not only the UAE but also the region is of course an incredible honor.”
Shearer said he personally hopes that this win will spur on everyone in the business around MENA.
“There is so much talent and esteemed agencies around that this should be just another step on the regions maturity. I also think some of the other work from the region was unlucky not to win at Cannes, as there was some great work there.”
“I would like to thank Cannes Lions for their continued support with Lynx. Without this I fear we would have never achieved Grand Prix level. Lastly, I would like to thank our Chief Executive Officer, Dani Richa, who’s creative eye makes our work so much better,” said Shearer.
Ali Rez, Regional ECD Middle East & Pakistan at Impact BBDO – who was also a Glass Jury member at Cannes Lions 2019, said: “ In what seemed a year featuring very tough juries, it is even sweeter that Impact BBDO managed to bring home such a large haul of Lions: 13 spread across three offices – UAE, Pakistan and Lebanon, and more than 50 shortlists across almost a dozen categories.”
“The Glass jury was an incredible learning experience featuring some of the sharpest minds in the business – it was an absolute honor to be part of such an important jury. We saw solutions from around the globe tackling a number of issues related to gender inequality: financial inequality, stereotyping, health, violence, even technology-related.”
“A trend that emerged this year was that awareness as a goal is simply not enough anymore, and that action is the need of the day,” he added.
Tres Colacion, Creative Director, Impact BBDO Dubai – who played an instrumental role in campaign creation for An-Nahar, said: “The Blank Edition was a very special project for us. We set to change a national conversation through the power of creatively, the ultimate test. We talk a lot about game “changing ideas” and “culture busting”, but there are very few instances that these opportunities truly present themselves. When they do, you absolutely need to take them and meet them with the kind of ideas that will truly resonate with people.”
The Blank Edition team did just that and I’m incredibly proud to have our work recognized at the highest level. To win a Grand Prix, let alone the first in the region, is the highest honor,” he added.
Check out case study for ‘The Black Edition’:
As the official representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in UAE, Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan would like to congratulate Impact BBDO Dubai on doing UAE proud by winning 7 Lions – including the most prestigious of them all!
Sources: Cannes Lions 2019, Campaign Middle East, Adweek and PRWEEK
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan are pleased to announce that seven leading advertising professionals from the UAE have been selected as jury members for this year’s Festival.
The seven leading advertising professionals who will represent the UAE in the Awards and Shortlist jury panel under Print & Publishing, Design, Glass: The Lion for Change, Media, PR, Direct and Brand Experience & Activation categories include:
Awards Jury
Print & Publishing:
Fouad Abdel Malak
Executive Creative Director
TBWA\RAAD
With over 18 years of experience in the region, Fouad is currently serving his second stint at TBWA\RAAD in Dubai as Executive Creative Director, after holding the creative helm at BBDO Dubai for 4+ years.
His career highlights include key business wins and leading some of the most awarded teams in the region, as well as working on sought-after brands such as: Nissan, Louvre Abu Dhabi, KFC, Pepsico, Emirates Airlines, MARS, du, GE, among other notable names.
Fouad drives business results, winning: multiple Grands Prix from Integrated to Direct, and Golds’ at major award shows on SCB, Nissan, Domino’s, MARS, Louvre Abu Dhabi, MTV, and many others from Cannes Lions to the Dubai Lynx and beyond.
He’s a ‘Disruptor’ by nature and is most passionate about integrated ideas centered around innovation. Not only was Fouad named 2019 Executive Creative Director of the Year in the MENA Region – according to the official B&W 2019 Report, but was also ranked 8th worldwide according to The Big One Rankings.
Design:
Vidya Manmohan
Executive Creative Director
Grey Group
From walking out of the gates of medical school and entering an Art campus, to switching from art direction to copywriting half way through her advertising career, Vidya has constantly followed her passion.
After four decades in Dubai and having witnessed sand dunes transform in to skyscrapers, this charming young lady from India, proudly says she’s ‘Made in Dubai’.
Her work reflects the culture around her, be it the awards won in Radio, Print, Design, Outdoor, Integrated or Advertising for Good.
Vidya has been on the Jury of International Award Festivals that include: Clio, NewYork Festivals, Lisbon Ad Fest and recently was also a part of the Young Guns and Adfest, and says she learns as she shares her knowledge.
When asked on how she copes with advertising, this mom of an 18-year old, smilingly adds, “You don’t teach a mom how to cope.”
Glass – The Lion for Change:
Ali Rez
Regional Executive Creative Director – Middle East & Pakistan
BBDO Worldwide
Ranked amongst the Top 15 Creative Directors and the Top 10 Art Directors in the world by the Big Won Report, and named the 2018 South Asian Creative Person of the Year by Campaign Magazine, Ali is one of the most awarded ECD’s in the Greater Middle East region.
Ali has won more than 350 accolades in his career which include multiple Gold Cannes Lions, Gold Clios, D&AD pencils, Gold Effies, One Show pencils, a United Nations peace award, and the honor of setting a record of winning 4 Grands Prix for one campaign at Dubai Lynx.
His creative experience – shaped in the USA at Y&R and Goodby Silverstein Collaboratory and followed by a move to the Middle East, has contributed to BBDO being named Network of the Year at Cannes Lions, Effies, Dubai Lynx, Spikes Asia and AdStars, and Impact BBDO being named Agency of the Year at Dubai Lynx 2019.
Ali has lectured at Oxford University, exhibited at Tate UK, spoken at TEDx, traveled to 122 countries, and captained a county cricket team in the USA. He actively volunteers to fight for gender equality, and has won the inaugural Glass awards at both Dubai Lynx and Spikes Asia.
Please Note: Awards Jury members will join the jury committee in Cannes, France and will receive a complimentary pass to the Festival along with their accommodation paid for in full.
Shortlist Jury
Media:
Tarek Daouk
CEO
Dentsu Aegis Network MENA
Tarek has been at the centre of innovation in media, content, and digital media in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) for almost two decades. He built Starcom Mediavest Group into an early leader in the space, launched innovative new business models such as the content agency LiquidThread and landed Cannes Lions and numerous other awards.
Throughout his career he has amassed a wealth of industry experience, working with a number of blue-chip advertisers including GSK, GM, Mars, Mondelez, P&G, Samsung and Visa.
Today, Tarek is committed to supporting advertisers with their businesses in the region by building a next generation agency – focused on the convergence of creative, media, data, and commerce and which enables the design of unique experiences for consumers.
PR:
Valerie Tan
Vice President – Public Relations, Social Media and Internal Communications
Emirates Group
With 18 years of experience in communications, Valerie has held leadership roles in-house and at a global PR agency in Singapore.
Based in Dubai, she leads an in-house team of 30 professionals, overseeing a support network of over 80 agencies in the implementation of internal and external communications activity for Emirates Group – which comprises the global airline Emirates, the air services provider dnata, and over 100 subsidiaries. The Group employs more than 100,000 employees with operations in over 80 countries on six continents.
Prior to her current role, Valerie worked at a large communications agency in Singapore, leading its healthcare practice, select corporate accounts as well as media skills training and crisis communications.
Valerie was recognised in the Holmes Report Top 100 Most Influential In-house Communicators in 2018, and received an Individual Achievement Sabre Award the same year. She was also recognised in the inaugural PRWeek Middle East Power Book. She most recently served on the jury for the 2018 MEPRA Awards.
Direct:
Dhruv Warrior
Associate Creative Director
VMLY&R Dubai
Dhruv spent a little over 7 years working for JWT Bangalore in India – first two years in client servicing followed by a switch to the creative side, before moving to VMLY&R Dubai in 2015.
His time at JWT saw him work on brands across a multitude of categories. He has diverse work experience spreading across different brands and categories such as United Breweries, Google, ING, Levi’s, Van Heusen and Parikrma Humanity Foundation to name a few. His major successes came on his work for Nike, as he was instrumental in the execution of the ‘Bleed Blue’ and ‘Make Every Yard Count’ campaigns which were awarded at multiple global award shows including Cannes Lions, Clio’s, One Show, and D&AD. The ‘Make Every Yard Count’ campaign was named in the Top 20 films globally by the Gunn Report in 2015 and the Top 10 films & Top 10 digital campaigns in 2014 by the Big Won report.
While at VMLY&R, Dhruv has worked on the agency’s key brands which include Mall of the Emirates, Mashreq Bank, Nando’s, American Garden, UNHCR, Dubai Font, General Mills and more.
He has been an essential part of a team whose work has been recognised by international and regional award shows and has helped VMLY&R EMEA gain regional and global recognition – which includes Regional Network of the Year in 2017 and No. 3 globally in Industry Craft at Cannes Lions.
Dhruv has won awards at Cannes Lions, Clio’s, Spikes, One Show, D&AD, Adfest, The Effies, Goafest and Dubai Lynx. He was named in the 2014 list for Top Copywriters in the World by the Big Won report and was also listed in the Top 30 Under 30 Hot Young Creatives in 2014 by Economic Times.
Brand Experience & Activation
Marie Claire Maalouf
Creative Director
Impact BBDO Dubai
Marie-Claire holds a Master’s degree in Creative Advertising and a Bachelor’s degree in 2D/3D Animation from the Lebanese Academy of Fine Arts. Graduating top of her year in 2005, she received an excellence award and was offered an internship in France at the ENSAD — École Nationale Supérieure des Arts Décoratifs.
During her diploma presentation in 2006, where leading advertising agencies were invited, she was offered to join the Impact BBDO group and has been with them for over a decade, working on their wide range of global brands including Mars, PepsiCo and Johnson’s.
Her work has been recognised at Dubai Lynx, Adfest, Global Cristal Festival, MENA Cristal, Effies and Cannes Lions — she has even hugged a real lion.
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.
This year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will run from 17th – 21st June 2019.
We at Motivate Media Group 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.
Centrepoint – Middle East’s biggest fashion store and the region’s most coveted fashion retail brand, launched its newest brand film in cinema.
Conceptualized by Impact BBDO, Dubai, the new brand positioning embodies the spirit of the Centrepoint brand, to promote confidence through fashion.
“With a shifting consumer, cultural and competitive landscape, our new brand strategy focuses on positioning Centrepoint with purpose and pride heralding a new era for fashion-retail. The brand campaign is a reflection of our ‘purpose driven’ thinking and puts the consumer right at the centre of the action.” says Simon Cooper, Head of Centrepoint.
Not only does the campaign target a growing segment of the youth who constantly battle to express themselves, but cuts across a wide spectrum of audiences – especially in the region that can relate to the emotion and the lack of it. For them, fashion-confidence is a powerful ally and a response to the uncertainty.
Shyam Sunder, Senior Marketing & Ecommerce Head of Centrepoint adds,” ‘Show Yourself’ is based on a simple insight – that the lack of confidence often buries people under layers of self-doubt and uncertainty. Thus, making the brand platform an invitation to the inner-self, to break through the layers of ‘self-doubt’ that curb expression. “
Produced by Truffle, Beirut, and directed by Martin Stirling, the film tells the story of ‘The boy nobody could see’ and features Passenger cover ‘Let her go’ by Anna Pancaldi and Arch Birds.
Fadi Yaish, ECD of Impact BBDO, Dubai adds to the truth behind the film: “I’ve always identified with introverts. There have been times where I have felt comfortable blending in with the surroundings or the furniture even. But my best moments have come, when I’ve taken the courage to show the world that I exist.”
Centrepoint’s – Show Yourself, 60 sec brand film was booked through Motivate Val Morgan in two bursts:
1st Burst –
Start Date: 25 January 2018
End Date: 31 January 2018
Period: 1 week
Cinema Locations: VOX Cinemas City Centre Deira, City Centre Mirdif, Mall of the Emirates and Burjuman
2nd Burst –
Start Date: 8 February 2018
End Date: 14 February 2018
Period: 1 week
Cinema Locations: VOX Cinemas City Centre Deira, City Centre Mirdif, Mall of the Emirates and Burjuman
Take a look at the commercial below:
Credits:
Client – Centrepoint
Head of Centrepoint – Simon Cooper
Senior Head of Marketing – Shyam Sunder
Marketing Manager – Rupal Panjani
Agency – Impact BBDO, Dubai
Executive Creative Director – Fadi Yaish
Associate Creative Director – Alok Mohan
Agency Producer – Aly Seifelnasr
VP General Manager – Colin Farmer
Account Director – Christopher Kiernan
Account Director – Andrew Peacock
Account Manager – Lizelle Rodrigues
Planner – Saurabh Dahiya
Production House – Truffle, Beirut
Executive Producers: Michel Abou Zeid and Cynthia Chammas
Director: Martin Stirling
DOP: Carl Burke
Costume Designer: Valter Kobal
Grading: Jean Clément Soret / MPC London
Online: MPC London
Music Supervisor: Leland Music
Passenger Cover: “Let Her Go” by Anna Pancaldi and Arch Birds
Production Designer: Natasa Rogelj
Editor/ Editing House: Eve Ashwell – The Assembly Rooms
Source: Centrepoint
