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 2024 Jury Presidents line-up features 11 industry experts from nine distinct markets, showcasing the comprehensive scope of the branded communications ecosystem
Dubai Lynx, MENA’s leading platform for creative excellence and effectiveness, has announced 11 industry experts who will lead the 2024 Juries.
The 11 industry experts from nine different markets, representing the breadth of the branded communications ecosystem including creative agencies, independent agencies, and brands, will convene in Dubai alongside their respective juries to establish the benchmark for creative excellence across MENA.
Commenting on the Jury President line-up, Philip Thomas, Chairman, LIONS and Dubai Lynx, said: “We welcome a wonderfully talented group of experts for 2024, to recognise the best ideas shaping the landscape in this unique part of the world. We thank them for their individual perspectives, expertise and experience for the leadership they will bring to the very important task ahead of them.”
Ian Fairservice, Vice Chairman, Dubai Lynx, added: “We’re thrilled to bring a breadth of voices and perspectives to the Jury rooms for Dubai Lynx 2024, featuring some truly remarkable creative leaders. We’re grateful to all of our 2024 Jurors for devoting their time and knowledge, and we can’t wait to see them in action in Dubai next year.”
The 2024 Dubai Lynx Jury Presidents have been announced as follows:
Brand Experience & Activation and Creative Commerce:
Rafael Rizuto, Chief Creative Officer, Dentsu Creative, US and Hispanic LATAM
Creative Effectiveness and Creative Strategy:
Bertille Toledano, President, BETC Paris, France
Design and Industry Craft:
Rajdeepak Das, CEO and Chief Creative Officer of Leo Burnett and Chairman, Creative Council, Publicis Groupe, South Asia
Digital and Social & Influencer:
Anna Qvennerstedt, Global Chief Creative Officer, Forsman & Bodenfors, Global
Direct and Outdoor:
Nkgabiseng Motau, Co-Founder / Chief Creative Officer, Think Creative Africa, Africa
Entertainment:
Ana Balarin, Chief Creative Officer, Wieden+Kennedy, UK
Film Craft:
Pierre Nelwan, Managing Director, Media.Monks, the Netherlands
Film, Print & Publishing, Radio & Audio, Integrated, Glass: The Award for Change and Grand Prix for Good:
Gabriel Schmitt, Global Chief Creative Officer, Grey, Global
Healthcare:
Rohini Miglani, Vice President, Procter & Gamble International Operational SA SG, Asia/India/MEA
Media:
Enyi Nwosu, Chief Strategy Officer, UM London, UK
PR:
Anthony Chelvanathan, Chief Creative Officer, Canada
The Festival will take place on Tuesday 5 March 2024 followed by the Awards Ceremony & Dinner taking place on Wednesday 6 March 2024.
Entries into Dubai Lynx are being accepted until 25 January 2024. Click here for further information on the awards.
Motivate Val Morgan is the official representative of Dubai Lynx Festival in the UAE
The UAE Cannes Lions Awards Ceremony celebrated the country’s triumph at the 2023 Cannes Lions Festival, with 21 wins across various categories
Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan – the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity in the UAE, hosted their annual UAE Cannes Lions Awards Ceremony on Tuesday 12th September 2023 to celebrate this year’s winning agencies.
The 70th edition of the Cannes Lions Festival witnessed the UAE’s active participation with a total of 640 entries from 22 agencies. The UAE distinguished itself by securing a total of 21 Lions, including 1 Grand Prix, 1 Gold, 6 Silver, and 13 Bronze awards, spanning various categories. Notably, the UAE achieved inaugural victories in the categories of Glass: The Lion for Change, Entertainment for Music, and Creative Data. The UAE also amassed an impressive tally of 89 shortlisted entries, solidifying its position as a creative powerhouse on the global stage.
This year’s winners across Print & Publishing, Brand Experience and Activation, Creative Commerce, Creative Data, Creative Strategy, Design, Direct, Entertainment for Music, Health & Wellness, Industry Craft, Media, Outdoor, PR, Radio & Audio, and Glass: The Lion for Change categories included:
*VMLY&R Commerce New York in collaboration with VMLY&R Dubai secured 1 x Silver (Radio & Audio)
Creative heads and their respective team members from this year’s winning agencies gathered for an evening of networking and refreshments, culminating in the prestigious LIONS presentation.
Also in attendance was Jonathan Cruz, who, along with Saymon Medeiros, represented the UAE and And Us at the International Young Lions Digital Competition, as well as Chloe Salloum from the American University in Dubai, who proudly represented the UAE in the Roger Hatchuel Academy student program as part of the Cannes Lions Festival.
This year’s Festival marked a remarkable milestone for the UAE, boasting the largest assembly of jurors to preside over a single festival, totaling 18 esteemed jury members. Particularly noteworthy is Ali Rez from Impact BBDO, who made history by becoming the first Jury President from the MENA region.
Impact BBDO was also presented with the MENA Network of the Year award. This prestigious recognition follows the agency’s consistent performance as the No.1 agency in the Middle East and North Africa at Cannes Lions in 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022.
Motivate Media Group and Motivate Val Morgan extend our heartfelt congratulations to all the winning agencies, and we eagerly anticipate continued success at the upcoming Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity next year.
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.
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.