A total of 1364 entries from 16 countries have been submitted to this year’s Dubai International Advertising Festival, which kicks-off on Sunday. Dubai Lynx is the largest awards show celebrating creative excellence in MENA’s advertising and communications industry and the Festival will be attended by over 1000 delegates this year.

Entries have been submitted in 10 categories: TV/Cinema (159 entries), Print (300), Outdoor (233), Direct & Sales Promotion (94), Media (230), Radio (50), Interactive (83), Integrated (39), and the new TV/Cinema Craft (35) and Print Craft (141) categories. The entries will be judged by top international industry experts who will convene in Dubai at the weekend.

The top country participating is the UAE with 847 entries, followed by Lebanon with 142, Egypt on 124 entries, Saudi Arabia with 66 and Kuwait with 57.

“Honouring the best work and providing inspiration and motivation is paramount to agencies and their clients, especially during such an economic downturn. Despite an inevitable drop in the overall number of entries, we are delighted to still see growth in the Media category, a good start to the new Craft categories as well as a record number of attendees at the Festival,” said Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, organisers of the event. “Dubai Lynx continues to be the largest awards in the region, the most sought after trophy to win and the premier industry event to attend.”

The winners will be announced and honoured during the Dubai Lynx awards ceremony and dinner held during the evening of Wednesday 17 March at The Palladium in Dubai, attended by 1,300 industry peers.
Other awards to be revealed during the Awards Ceremony are: Agency of the Year, Media Agency of the Year and the new Network of the Year. Saudi Telecom Company will be honoured with the 2010 Advertiser of the Year and Ramzi Raad, Chairman & CEO of TBWA\RAAD Middle East, will be presented with the prestigious 2010 Dubai Lynx Advertising Person of the Year Award.

To attend the Dubai International Advertising Festival or the Dubai Lynx awards ceremony and dinner, please register online at www.dubailynx.com.

 

Ramzi Raad - Chairman & CEO, TBWA\RAAD Middle East

The organisers of the 3rd Dubai International Advertising Festival are proud to present Ramzi Raad, Chairman & CEO of TBWA\RAAD Middle East, a pioneer and key figure in the Middle Eastern and North African advertising industry for nearly four decades, with the prestigious 2010 Dubai Lynx Advertising Person of the Year Award.

The Advertising Person of the Year Award honours someone who by their efforts, energy and dedication, has lifted the presence and profile of the region within the international advertising, marketing and communications community be it at a national or regional level.

Ramzi graduated from the American University of Beirut and began his advertising career in 1967. During the following 12 years he helped to expand the first Middle East regional agency network, firstly into Kuwait and Bahrain. Then, with the eruption of the Civil War in his native Lebanon, he was the first Lebanese ad man to move to the Gulf where he settled in Dubai in 1975. In 1982, he moved to Paris and two years later transferred to London. In 1986 he returned to Dubai which has since remained his base of operations.

In 1988, Ramzi was voted President of the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA) and during his Presidency, the first Advertising Awards Program in the region was launched (1990). The first meeting for the IAA World Executive Committee in the Middle East was hosted in Dubai, and the Chapter led large delegations to the IAA World Congress in Sydney, Australia (1988) to Advista Arabia in Cairo (1989), and the Asian Advertising Congress in Lahore, Pakistan (1989). He was then named Vice President/Area Director of the International Advertising Association for the Middle East and Africa in 1991.

Ramzi is a founder of the GCC Advertising Association, the Middle East Research Forum and the Middle East Advertising Agencies Association. He has lectured on Middle East Advertising in London, Zurich, Sydney, Lahore, Cairo, Bahrain, New Delhi and Mexico.

Ramzi founded TBWA\RAAD Middle East in September 1999, which quickly entered the Middle East Ad Agencies Top 5 League, with a network of agencies in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, Jeddah, Riyadh, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman, Egypt, Jordan, Lebanon, Algeria and Morocco. The network he leads also encompasses Ketchum Middle East (PR), and Tequila Middle East (CRM).

"Ramzi has been, and continues to be, an instrumental figure in the development and growth of the advertising and communications industry throughout the Middle East and North Africa. We are delighted to pay tribute to his dedication and success," said Terry Savage, Chairman of Cannes Lions, who, with Motivate Publishing, are joint organisers of the Festival.

On receiving the award, Ramzi Raad said, "I am extremely humbled and flattered to be acknowledged by the Middle East ad industry with this award, which I consider only partly personal, as most of the credit goes to my TBWA colleagues who have earned this honour along with me.

I am so pleased that this comes to me on the 10th Anniversary of TBWA\RAAD, confirming that we have fulfilled the TBWA mantra to 'Change the Rules of Arab advertising' something I had promised to do, and we have done it in record time.

"To me, this is less about my own 40 years in the business and more about the exciting momentum and where it will take us. As a region, we are at a pivotal point in time, and I look forward to seeing what our young ad talent will show the world, the further our region steps into the international spotlight," he continued.

Beyond the field of advertising, Ramzi served as the Middle East Consultant for the Hong Kong Trade Development Council (1988-2000) and the Dubai Press Club which is owned and managed by the Government of Dubai (1999-2000). In 2009, Ramzi was named on the list of the World’s Most Powerful Arabs.
Ramzi Raad will be honoured during the Dubai Lynx Awards Ceremony and Dinner to be held on 17 March at The Palladium in Dubai.

Joseph Ghossoub, President and CEO of MENACOM (formally The Holding Group) and Tanvir Kanji, Head of Inca Tanvir have both been past recipients of this honour.
 

Delegates wishing to attend the 57th International Advertising Festival, to be held in Cannes from 20-26
June 2010, can register online at www.canneslions.com from Thursday 7 January.

Prices for all delegate packages, as well as for all entry categories, will remain at the same level of 2009 prices.

Delegates can select a 3 Day, 4 Day or Full Registration package, providing access to over 50 topical seminars, 25 educative workshops, screenings, exhibitions, four award ceremonies, two galas and the
greatest networking opportunity the advertising industry has to offer.

NEW: From this year delegates can also add a guest to their 3 Day, 4 Day or Full Registration package, allowing their companion to enjoy the award ceremonies and galas with them.

Special Young Lion 4 Day and Full Registration packages are also available for young creatives (28 years or under) and young marketers (30 years or under). A student registration is offered to those enrolled in full-time education.

Registered delegates can benefit from reduced accommodation rates at a wide range of hotels, residences, serviced apartments and villas.

Further information can be found by viewing the improved Accommodation Guide featured on www.canneslions.com.

NEW: Along with learning, inspiration and celebration, networking is a huge part of the Cannes experience. The launch this year of Cannes Connect, an online networking tool, will aid delegates to get in touch
with other delegates before arriving in Cannes, facilitating meeting-up with other like-minded people during the Festival.

NEW: Cannes Lions has teamed up with the reputable Berlin School of Creative Leadership to launch a brand-new venture called The Cannes Creative Leaders Programme, a two-week training initiative taking
place in Berlin and Cannes in June 2010 for industry executives.

NEW: A Young Marketers Competition will launch this year to sit alongside the Cannes Young Lions competitions in Cyber, Media, Film and Press. Competing teams will have 24 hours to create the perfect
brief and present it to a panel of world-leading creatives and strategists who will judge their efforts. In the same way that the Cannes Young Lions creative competitions have encouraged and raised the bar for young agency talent around the world, the aim of the Young Marketers Competition is to do the same for clients.

NEW: Newcomers to Cannes Lions can maximise their experience by attending "How to Cannes". Every morning at 09:30 for 30 minutes, a Cannes Lions veteran delegate will share top tips from their years of
experience in a short talk about 'How To Make The Most of Cannes'. A Festival Official will also be on hand to answer any questions.

"Cannes Lions is a unique insightful and learning experience, a celebration of the best global creativity and the industry's networking capital. To facilitate attending this unmissable annual event during the current economic climate, we are keeping the prices at last year's level which, coupled with all the other delegate
enhancements, we are sure will be very much welcomed by the industry," said Philip Thomas, Festival CEO.
 

The 2010 Dubai Lynx Awards, the leading creative advertising competition for the Middle East and Africa, will be chaired by three top industry leaders.

Amir Kassaei, Chief Creative Officer of DDB Group Germany will head the TV/Cinema, Print, Outdoor and Radio Jury.

David Nobay, Creative Chairman of Droga5 Australia, will chair the Direct & Sales Promotion and Interactive Jury.

The Media Jury will be led by Barry Cupples, CEO of Omnicom Media Group Asia Pacific.

"Once again, we are delighted to welcome to Dubai Lynx three highly respected international award-winning professionals to guide the juries as they continue to set the standard and ultimately raise the creative bar in the Middle East and Africa," said Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, organiser of Dubai Lynx.

Amir Kassaei has been Creative Director and Managing Partner of the DDB Group in Germany since 2003, an agency that he has catapulted out of nowhere within the space of two short years, transforming it into one of Germany’s most creative shops.

He is one of the most highly-decorated creatives in the world, having won over 1600 national and international awards and has served on the most noted award shows around the globe. According to the Big Won Report (2007, 2008 and 2009), he is one of the three best chief creative officers in the world.

"I am honoured and proud to be this year’s TV/Cinema, Print, Outdoor and Radio Jury President. On the one hand because the Middle East will be the emerging region concerning communication, on the other hand it is like a journey home as I was born in Iran," said Amir on his appointment.

David Nobay is ranked in Archive Magazine’s Top Ten most published copywriters of the last millennium as well as being named as Australia’s most awarded creative director by Campaign Brief Magazine in 2008. In January of the same year, he was invited by David Droga to launch Droga5 Australia, the New York-based agency’s first foray into an international network.

During his career, David has been recognised by D&AD, Art Directors Club, New York Festivals, London Festivals, the Clio Awards, Cannes Lions and The One Show for a myriad of international clients, including Toyota, Lexus, Lion Nathan, Milk, the New York Times, Sony, Fox Sports, Intel and Datek Online. Under his leadership, Droga5 Sydney has just been named Agency of the Year in Australia by B&T magazine.

"Of course, I'm honoured to be leading the Direct & Sales Promotion and Interactive juries, but even more so, I’m genuinely intrigued: the categories are, in my opinion, where the most ambitious creativity is happening and geographically this is a region I've never worked in so I'm fascinated to see what will be revealed," commented David.

As CEO of Omnicom Media Group’s (OMG) Asia Pacific region since October 2007, Barry Cupples oversees media operations in 26 offices, spanning 13 countries.

Barry moved to OMG in 2006, serving both the media communications company OMD and the newly-launched media services company PHD. Under Barry’s leadership, OMD won significantly more awards on behalf of clients than any other regional competitor and, for the fourth time, was named Media Magazine's Media Agency of the Year in 2008.

"I am very honoured to have been asked to take part in such a prestigious event and I take the responsibility seriously to ensure that the best work gets the recognition it will surely deserve. Great work is no respecter of borders and I am really excited at the prospect of seeing this year’s entries and the solutions to business challenges that they will represent," said Barry.

"The world we live in has changed so much in the last 12 months and that seismic change is matched by the Communications industry where media platforms driven by technology and content and fed by a socially-aware consumer are evolving at a pace that is both inspirational and exciting for the future," he continued.

Entries can now be submitted online in the categories of TV/Cinema, Outdoor, Print, Radio, Interactive, Direct & Sales Promotion, Media, Integrated and, new for 2010, Craft. To submit entries or register to attend the Dubai International Festival, please go to www.dubailynx.com.

 

The 3rd Dubai International Advertising Festival, the leading creative advertising competition for the Middle East and Africa, will adopt a new and exciting format in 2010 that will take place at a new, state-of-the-art venue, The Palladium, in Dubai Media City.

Dubai Lynx registration opens on 14 March with a special welcome event from 4pm to 6pm that day. The Festival seminar programme kicks off on 15 March when, over two days, attendees can benefit from an insightful, inspirational and world-class learning programme of 16 seminars and four workshops presented by high-profile international and local experts addressing current and topical industry issues. Chuck Porter, Chairman of Crispin Porter + Bogusky, and Prasoon Joshi, Executive Chairman and Regional ECD Asia Pacific of McCann Erickson India, are the first speakers to be confirmed, with more international leading names to be announced soon.

A programme of evening networking events will take place during the Festival, details of which will be announced shortly. The Festival will culminate on 17 March with the famous Lynx Awards, where the 2010 winners will be revealed during a celebratory Dinner, the largest event of its kind in Dubai.

A new lower delegate registration fee has been introduced to reflect the current financial circumstances. The cost for the full delegate pass is US$400, but registrations made before 1 February 2010 can enjoy an early-bird discounted rate of US$325.

"The global recession has heavily affected the region, but keeping abreast of the industry’s changes and challenges as well as the recognition of good work is now more crucial than ever," says Terry Savage, Chairman of Cannes Lions, who, with Motivate Publishing, are joint organisers of the Festival. "This new price point makes Dubai Lynx accessible to all in the region, and we believe that with the quality speaker list we will bring, it will be a must-attend event for all."

Entries can now be submitted online in the categories of TV/Cinema, Outdoor, Print, Radio, Interactive, Direct & Sales Promotion, Media, Integrated and, NEW for 2010, Craft.

Dubai Lynx introduces Craft as a new entry section rewarding excellence of craft technique in Print, Outdoor, Radio and TV/Cinema advertising, over and above the creative idea of the work. Categories include best use of animation, special effects, computer animation, best use of film direction and cinematography and best use of music in the TV/Cinema category. Print and Outdoor ads can be submitted in best use of copywriting, illustration and photography. Radio ads can be submitted in categories for best script and best use of sound, while both Outdoor and Print work can also be judged in best art direction.

Entries deadline across all categories: 11 February 2010.

Exhibitions, interactive kiosks and screenings will showcase all the competing work from the Middle East and Africa. In 2010, three new countries are eligible to enter: Ghana, Kenya and Nigeria.

A new award for agency networks will also be introduced. Network of the Year will honour the most awarded network of the region by assessing its agencies’ success across all categories entered at Dubai Lynx. Other special awards include Agency of the Year, Media Agency of the Year, Advertiser of the Year and Advertising Person of the Year.