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
The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity – the largest gathering of worldwide advertising professionals, designers, digital innovators and marketers, drew to a close on 22nd June 2018 in Cannes, France.
1.Awards
United Arab Emirates walked away with 12 Lions this year – 3 Gold Lions, 2 Silver Lions and 7 Bronze Lions, across a number of categories. United Arab Emirates also secured approximately 47 shortlists at this year’s Festival.
This year’s Festival received a total of 32,372 entries – with approximately 456 entries from United Arab Emirates, while last year’s Festival received a total of 41,170 entries – with a total of 997 entries from the United Arab Emirates.
Speaking to Gulf News on TBWA\RAAD’s success at Cannes Lions 2018, Reda Raad – CEO TBWA\RAAD said:
“There’s something deeply satisfying about our wins at Cannes. “The wins confirm that what we have been doing for the past few years has been right. We have transformed ourselves into an agency of the future whilst simultaneously gathering new business, winning the highest industry accolades, and cultivating a creative culture that’s capable of consistently producing exceptional work.
It’s a huge achievement. An achievement that could not have been possible without the bravery and belief of our clients and team, and without the contribution of our partners at OMD, phd, Google and Facebook. These wins are an affirmation that data-driven creativity works. And that a team that believes passionately in what it’s doing can achieve almost anything.”
2.Judges
This year, 413 jury members were chosen to award and celebrate the best creative work from around the world.
This year’s juries were composed of individuals from 50 countries – with first-time representatives from Georgia, Nigeria, Kenya and Sri Lanka. Continuing the drive for a more diverse mix within the jury room, this year included 46% female jury members, as well as a wide mix of creative agencies, brands, media owners and production companies.
Seven leading creatives represented the UAE in the Awards and Shortlist jury panel under Entertainment, Design, Health & Wellness, PR, Media, Brand Experience & Activation and Direct categories.
Awards Jury from the UAE:
Entertainment – Walid Kanaan (Chief Creative Officer MENA, TBWA\RAAD)
Design – Ali Rez (Regional Creative Director – Middle East & Pakistan, BBDO Worldwide)
Health & Wellness – Alok Gadkar (General Manager & Executive Creative Director, The Classic Partnership Advertising)
Shortlist Jury:
PR – Alex Malouf (Corporate Communications Manager for the Arabian Peninsula, Procter & Gamble)
Media – Ravi Rao (CEO MENA Region, Mindshare)
Brand Experience & Activation – Juliana Paracencio (Regional Creative Director, Memac Ogilvy Dubai)
Direct – Kapil Bhimekar (Associate Creative Director, Y&R Dubai)
Speaking to Gulf News on his experience as an Awards Jury member at Cannes Lions 2018, Alok Gadkar from The Classic Partnership Advertising said:
“It was my first time for Cannes. It was an honor as much as it was a privilege.
No matter how prepared you are for it, you are never quite prepared. The excitement, the anticipation, the experience, they were unlike anything I had ever experienced before and I would classify this as an experience of a lifetime.
I was selected to judge in the Health & Wellness category and it had about 1462 entries waiting to be tried. That was about going through an average of 200 entries daily. What is really interesting in this category is, the work encompasses multiple disciplines ranging from social films, long format films, product innovation, radio, print, direct, media to all there is in the industry.
Our day typically begins at sharp 9 every morning and continues for at least 12 hours. On the final day of judging where the colour of the award had to be determined, the envelope was pushed and we finished at 2.30am the following day.
What’s really interesting though is despite the extended hours, we were never short on enthusiasm. The process of distilling the longlist to shortlist was challengingly fun. The atmosphere in the jury room was different every day. At times it was very silent and there were days where it was the complete opposite . By the end of the judging process, I had ticked two very important things: 1. Judged and selected the best work from around the world. 2. Judged and selected the best work from around the world with a new bunch of good friends.”
3.International Young Lions Competition
The seven Young Lions competitions (Film, Digital, Design, PR, Print, Marketers and Media) let the next generation of creative superstars demonstrate their creativity on a global stage. Taking place live in Cannes, the competitions are judged by members of the Cannes Lions Jury, and is the perfect opportunity to put young talent in the spotlight.
This year, Gaurav Maitreya and Sumer Kotwal (who entered as a freelance team) represented the UAE within the Digital category, and competed against 44 teams from around the world.
2018 International Young Lions Digital Winners:
Gold – Costa Rica
Silver – France
Bronze – Mexico
Speaking on his experience at the International Young Lions Digital Competition 2018, Gaurav Maitreya said:
“Cannes was a life-changing experience. That’s what I knew I’d say before I attended. But, it was so much more and less. More because rubbing shoulders with the world’s best for an entire week helped me set a new bar. Less because the industry seems to be in flux with budgets shrinking, mediocre content and no clear direction forward. But, no matter what, it holds a special place in advertising for a reason – winning a lion is still the pinnacle in the advertising industry.
The competition was spectacular. Competing with the best creatives from around the world was a rush I could only compare to the first time I ate sugar. The standard was high, but we felt we were right up there with them. It’s really anyone’s game.”
4.Roger Hatchuel Academy 2018
The Roger Hatchuel Academy – which runs parallel to the Cannes Lions Festival, trains the Lion winners of tomorrow with intensive mentorship from industry thought-leaders, marketing luminaries and the world’s most celebrated creatives.
Students follow a programme tailored to the current industry landscape, one which combines classroom sessions and a selection of official Festival content.
This year, Lina Ibrahim – a third year student of the American University in Dubai (AUD) who is currently pursuing a Bachelor’s degree of Fine Arts in Visual Communication (majoring in Advertising), was selected to represent the UAE at the prestigious Academy.
Speaking on her experience at the Roger Hatchuel Academy 2018, Lina Ibrahim said:
“This opportunity allowed me to meet anyone and everyone. Students, professionals, leaders and even celebrities. Every conversation I had and every talk I attended gave me new insights and increased my knowledge and understanding of the industry. The workshops I did alongside other students helped me better my skills. I learned how to be a better leader, communicator, and learned to become more open minded and diverse. This allowed me to become more confident in myself and my skills, which made me not only realize that my work is in fact remarkable, but also helped me fight for what I’m passionate about.
One of the most memorable workshops was a 48-hour brief which was presented to the jurors of Cannes Lions. This was the highlight of my trip as they told my group that our idea was clever and that they would like to see it come to life for next year’s festival as we were labeled the future creatives of the industry! Another bit of the trip that blew me away was the future technological innovations that were introduced to us by Google and other companies. Despite the fact that I was on a whole different continent, I was astounded to realize what a small world it really is. As even in France, I met mutual friends of mine and my family. I’m also glad that I made new friends and that we’ve grown so close together in such a short period of time. We already consider each other family and it was emotional leaving each other behind.
It’s safe to say that the Roger Hatchuel Academy was quite literally the best experience of my life and for that, I would like to thank Motive Val Morgan for the opportunity. I would also like to thank Maksimilian Kallhed and Abraham Abbi Asefaw for organizing the Roger Hatchuel Academy. It’s because of them that I am even more informed and passionate about advertising. I definitely recommend that everyone in the industry should visit Cannes Lions at some point in their lives. It is an unforgettable and seamless experience where you come out as a better and more improved version of yourself.”
5. “See It Be It” 2018
As part of the Cannes Lions Festival, the ‘See It Be It’ programme is an initiative that aims to create a platform for women who face diversity challenges in the industry and enables them to become the drivers for change in their respective regions and throughout the industry by providing access to high-profile leaders, executive coaching and mentoring opportunities with senior figures from across the industry.
This year’s ‘See It Be It’ programme included 20 participants in total from Lebanon, Uganda, USA, Turkey, Australia, Brazil, France, Denmark, Chile, India, Ecuador, Romania and UAE.
Prajakta More – Conceptual Creative from Geometry Global Dubai, represented the UAE at this year’s programme, and she’s written a comprehensive article on her experience which can be accessed here.
As the official UAE representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Motivate and Motivate Val Morgan would like to congratulate all winning agencies in the UAE, and wish those who represented the country at this year’s Festival a job well done!
Sources: Cannes Lions and Gulf News
As the official representatives of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, Motivate and Motivate Val Morgan are delighted to announce that seven leading creatives from the UAE have been selected as jury members for this year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The seven leading creatives who will represent the UAE in the Awards and Shortlist jury panel under Entertainment, Design, Health & Wellness, PR, Media, Brand Experience & Activation and Direct categories include:
Awards Jury
Entertainment:
Walid Kanaan
Chief Creative Officer MENA
TBWA\RAAD
With more than 20 years of advertising experience across the Middle East and North Africa, Walid has worked on hundreds of multinational and regional brands. During his recent time as the creative leader at TBWA\RAAD, he has managed to create landmark talk-of-the-region campaigns that generated tremendous impact, including Nissan’s Camelpower, produced in conjunction with National Geographic Abu Dhabi, and the Nissan ‘She Drives’ and Louvre Abu Dhabi projects, among others.
His achievements also include esteemed international award shows such as the Cannes Lions, Clio, One Show, D&AD, Webby, Epica, New York Festivals and the London International Awards as well as Grand Prix at the Dubai Lynx, the Loeries, and many “Agency of the Year” titles.
After receiving the IAA Award for Best Advertising Diploma in Beirut, he began his professional journey with Publicis Beirut in 1992, and after four rewarding years, he joined Impact BBDO Beirut in 1997 as Creative Director.
For more than 18 years, Walid worked within the Impact BBDO network, covering numerous key MENA markets including Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and UAE, before moving back to Beirut in 2010 where he was promoted to Chief Creative Officer Levant & KSA.
In September 2015, Walid joined TBWA\RAAD as Chief Creative Officer Mena, propelling the network to win top ranks in regional award shows, culminating in TBWA\RAAD being named Agency of the Year at Dubai Lynx in 2018. He is based in Beirut and Dubai.
Design:
Ali Rez
Regional Creative Director – Middle East & Pakistan
BBDO Worldwide
Ranked amongst the top 15 creative directors and top 10 art directors in the world by the Advertising Big Won report – Ali Rez is one of the most awarded creative directors in the Middle East and South Asian region. He has won more than 150 advertising awards in his career which include Cannes Gold Lions, D&AD pencils, Gold Clios, Effies, One Show, LIA, Dubai Lynx and Asian AdStars, amongst many others.
Ali’s creative experience – shaped in the USA at Y&R and Goodby Silverstein Collaboratory, followed by a move to the Middle East – has contributed to BBDO being named Network of the Year at Cannes Lions, Effies, Dubai Lynx and AdStars, while his work led BBDO Pakistan to be named Agency of the Year by Campaign magazine in 2015 and 2016. In the UAE, Ali was part of the team that saw FP7 DXB crowned the most effective agency in the world by the Effies. Ali’s campaigns brought home the first Gold Cannes Lions, Gold Clios and D&AD pencils for Pakistan, and led the agency to Grand Prix wins at Dubai Lynx, Cristals, and AdStars.
His work has been celebrated beyond advertising shows and has been displayed in museums around the world – including the Tate UK and discussed in parliament leading to legislative change. Ali is also a recipient of a peace award by the United Nations and has been selected as a member of the jury at Clios, Effies, Spikes, Andy Awards and AdStars. Ali has spoken at TedX and several prestigious universities, including being invited to lecture on political art at the University of Oxford, London School of Economics and on advertising at Dubai Lynx.
Health & Wellness:
Alok Gadkar
General Manager & Executive Creative Director
The Classic Partnership
Graduated from the prestigious JJ School of Art and holder of a BFA Degree specializing in photography, Alok has close to 20 years of experience in the advertising industry. He has gone through the ranks of the industry and seen action with successful stints at Mudra Communications (DDB), Enterprise Nexus, Lowe Mena, Leo Burnett and currently, The Classic Partnership in Dubai.
Through the years, Alok has hauled an impressive collection of metals in Gold, Silver, Bronze and Grand Prix from the Cannes Lions, D&AD, D&AD Impact, One Show, Clio, The Global Awards, Dubai Lynx, Mena Cristal, Abby and AAAi Awards. A defined all-rounder; Alok has spearheaded work for local fashion brands, Splash and Iconic; for healthcare leaders, Aster and Medcare; and for shakers, Times of India and Economic Times.
A strong believer that the future of communication is integration and horizontality is the new vertical, Alok has sat on the Grand Jury panel of New York Festivals, Global Awards and KYIV Festival and has been a guest speaker at Dubai Lynx and MENA Cristal.
Shortlist Jury
PR:
Alex Malouf
Corporate Communications Manager for the Arabian Peninsula
Procter & Gamble
The first ever recipient of the Holmes Report Innovator Award in the Middle East, Alex Malouf has carved out a niche as a lively voice in the Middle East’s burgeoning media scene, combining razor-sharp observations with a keen understanding of the forces that underpin the region’s digital transformation. Much of which, no doubt, is informed by Alex’s day job at Procter & Gamble, where he manages reputational affairs for the Middle East’s largest FMCG.
Alex’s is also a highly visible advocate for modern public relations, serving in senior roles on numerous industry organizations, including the Middle East Public Relations Association, the International Association of Business Communicators and the Global Alliance. Malouf is also considered the first Gulf-based communicator who holds a Chartered Practitioner certification from the Chartered Institute of Public Relations and an IABC Communications Management Professional.
Alex has previously served on a number of juries, including for the MEPRA Awards, the IABC Gold Quill Awards, the Global Alliance Comm Prix Awards, the Holmes Report Sabres, and the MENA Effie Awards.
Media:
Ravi Rao
CEO MENA Region
Mindshare
A management graduate with a career of 25+ years in advertising & media for Unilever, PepsiCo, P&G, Henkel, Mars, Wrigley, FedEx, Dubai Holding, Ravi Rao comes back for a second stint in the MENA region. Rao has a reputable track record in marketing, account management and media. He was earlier with Mindshare India managing South Asia and is now the CEO for Mindshare MENA.
He loves to paint, yearns to be an archaeologist in the far future, but continues to be fascinated with developments in new media.
Rao has been part of the jury for the prestigious honors below:
Brand Experience & Activation:
Juliana Paracencio
Regional Creative Director
Memac Ogilvy Dubai
Juliana is currently a Regional Creative Director at Memac Ogilvy and Mather in the Middle East and North Africa region, and is leading 15 offices from her hub in Dubai, working for clients such as IKEA, Volkswagen, Coca-Cola, Vodafone, Arab Bank, Burger King, GSK, Pfizer and many others.
At Ogilvy, she got to grips with an important piece of business in a challenging market in a remarkably short space of time. Her work for the business won 3 Golds, 1 Silver and 1 Bronze at the Cannes Lions, 5 Pencil at D&AD, leading it to be considered the ‘The 5th Most-Awarded Print/OOH campaign in the world by Gunn Report 2016’. This work also led to Ogilvy Jeddah and IKEA Saudi Arabia winning its first awards, and Ogilvy to win Cannes Lions Network of the Year. The campaign stood out especially for its Craft in Design, which led Juliana to be considered as one of the most-awarded art directors in 2016. In 2017, it wasn’t different. Juliana led Ogilvy Jeddah and IKEA Saudi Arabia to win at Cannes for the second time in a row. In the same year, she was recognized as Top 3 Best Art Directors by Lürzer’s Archive.
In São Paulo, she had the chance to learn from remarkable Brazilian art directors, that made and still make history in Cannes. It was an iconic start, of an award-winning art director’s career in 3 countries (Brazil, Germany and United Arab Emirates), 1 independent agency and 3 networks (Jung von Matt, Leo Burnett, Y&R, and Ogilvy).
Direct:
Kapil Bhimekar
Associate Creative Director
Y&R Dubai
Kapil has been in advertising for over 12 years now. He started in Mumbai, India after graduating in applied arts. He worked with Leo Burnett Mumbai for 3 years before moving to Dubai in 2009. His work has been awarded at shows like D&AD, Cannes Lions, One show, Clio, New York Festivals, LIA, Fab Awards London, Dubai Lynx, Loeries and Adfest Asia Pacific.
In 2015, the American Garden campaign he worked on (Little books of big consequences), was named the 10th Best Design Campaign by the Big Won Rankings. He also won the coveted D&AD Yellow Pencil for the same work. In 2017, he was Ranked No. 3 Art Director by The Loeries Awards.
Kapil has passion for illustration. His unique style has been recognized by world renowned designer Stefan Sagmeister. He has undertaken numerous art projects, leaving his unique black & white imprint across the city of Dubai; a passion he practices on weekends and after office hours.
Please Note: Shortlist jury members will conduct the first round of judging in advance of the festival – from the UAE, and will be invited to attend the Festival with a complimentary pass. Awards Jury members will join the jury committee in Cannes, France and will get complimentary hotel accommodation and registration to the Festival.
Judging at Cannes Lions
Each year, much interest is focused on the winners of Cannes Lions. The global campaigns, agencies, clients, networks and countries that have been successful are given a worldwide platform.
But before there are winners, there’s judging.
Enormous consideration is given to who will judge the work and how. The high calibre of our juries is matched by the high standards that we hold them to and the rigorous processes they undertake.
This is what sets Cannes Lions apart and ensures it continues to be the most respected creative accolade.
How the Judging Works
Judging consists of three rounds involving viewing, voting, discussion and awarding of Lions.
In the first round, judges consider and score each entry on a scale of one to nine based on whether they consider it a shortlist candidate. The second round is a review where judges will consider whether entries on this provisional Shortlist are worthy of being Shortlisted only, a possible winner or a definite winner. Typically about 10% of entries will make it to this stage.
In the final round, guided by the Jury President, judges review and debate entries before voting on whether they consider each a Gold, Silver or Bronze Lion winner, or Shortlist only. It takes a two-thirds majority vote to claim a Lion and only about 3% of entries will do so.
After voting, results are read out and juries confirm the decisions. Candidates for Grand Prix, selected from among Gold Lion winners, are also identified and further discussion follows before a last vote to determine the Grand Prix winner. Entries for public awareness messages, non-profit organisations and charities aren’t eligible in their category, but will be considered for the Cannes Lions Grand Prix for Good and Lions Health and United Nations Foundation Grand Prix for Good. As the Film Craft and Innovation awards are judged on the merit of the craft/ technology behind the idea, they are an exception to this rule. All Gold Lion winners from the Film Craft and Innovation Awards are eligible to win the Grand Prix within their own Lion.
This year’s Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity will run from 18th – 22nd June 2018
We at Motivate and Motivate Val Morgan warmly congratulate the seven judges who will represent the UAE as awards and shortlist jury members at this year’s Cannes Lions Festival, and wish them all the very best with the judging ahead of them.
Source: Cannes Lions
