FP7 made advertising history by becoming the first agency from the Middle East to win two Gold and two Silver Lions in the same year, at the 55th Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival held in France, the agency walked away with a Gold and Silver in the Press category, a Silver in the print category and a Gold in the Outdoor category.

Fortune Promoseven also had the highest number of campaigns shortlisted amongst agencies from the region, with over 30 pieces of work chosen by the Cannes judges.

"Our victory in Cannes is a step towards consolidating our plans to reinforce Fortune Promoseven's position as both a creative and effective force in the MENA region," said Fadi Salameh, Network President and Chief Executive Officer, Fortune Promoseven. "Our agency serves many multinational brands as well as a large selection of the region's best local brands, the acknowledgement we've received for our wins from our Clients, network offices and our peers in the industry is great. It is a big milestone in the history of ME advertising and it definitely is a sign of the years ahead for Fortune Promoseven as a network."

Akram Miknas, Chairman, Promoseven Holdings said "No one understands the Middle East like we do, we've been around for 40 years and during this time our business has expanded across the region. Today our size, reach and staff strength has become our competitive advantage. International recognition such as the recent Cannes wins goes to prove that as an agency, we are a contemporary and on par with global standards, our work is cutting edge and winning us global accolades. At the end of the day, it is not about how old you are, it's how young you can be..."

The Cannes festival is the most prestigious international event of its kind and each year for a fortnight Cannes turns from the playground of the rich and famous to a playpen for the world's most talented creative minds.

More than 10,000 delegates took part in Cannes Lions this year, making 2008 the biggest festival to date. The big news for our region is that Fortune Promoseven Doha have made history by becoming the first agency to win two Gold Lions at Cannes.

The Qatari agency landed a gold in the press category for its campaign for EA Games' Medal of Honour, adding it to the gold it won for the same campaign in the outdoor category.

It also took home a silver yesterday in the press category for its series of print executions for Bayer Advanced - Plant Food.

Also joining the party in Cannes, France, were FP7 Doha's sister agency Fortune Promoseven Dubai, which took home a silver in the press category for its campaign for Sony Microvault.

JWT Dubai also took home a bronze in the press category for its Red Dress work for Nicola Finelli/Tigerlily.

This year witnessed a record number of 616 entries from the Middle East and North Africa, up significantly on last year's total of 440.

Following Dubai Lynx 2007, Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and Motivate Publishing will co-manage a new three-day event, Dubai Advertising Festival, with Dubai Lynx Awards rounding up activities.

Steve Lane, currently sponsorship manager of the Cannes Lions, has been appointed festival director of the Dubai International Advertising Festival. The festival will be happening in March 2008.

Read more. 

This is a call which must be heard. Why don't more advertising agencies from the region participate in the Cannes Advertising Lions 2007 advertising awards?

Some agencies from Dubai and Lebanon have won awards in the past, and several pieces of work seen last year in various media are worth entering. So, why not more?

This impressive advertisement, by The Classic Partnership in Dubai, was published in Campaign Middle East to promote the festival.

So, here's a call from us at mediaME to all advertising agencies: "Save the Lions from extinction in the Middle East"!

 Thanks to John Mani from The Classic Partnership for sending in this advertisement.