Update: Dubai Lynx Awards Yanks Top Honors

Dubai Lynx Recognizes Top MENA Work, Cracks Down on Scammers

The winners of the 3rd Dubai Lynx Awards, the leading creative advertising competition for the Middle East and North Africa, were revealed last month at a packed awards ceremony held at the Dubai International Convention and Exhibition Centre.  Since initially issuing its list of winners, the competition has withdrawn 18 entries submitted by FP7 Doha as ineligible, and has withdrawn its Agency of the Year honors.  The festival announced in its place that no agency would win that distinction this year.

Gold, Silver and Bronze prizes were awarded for TV and Cinema work, with the Grand Prix going to a Coca-Cola campaign from agency Fortune Promoseven in Cairo, produced by Broadcast, also Cairo.  US-based Bent Image Lab, the animation and visual effects company based in Portland, was represented with a Gold winner for its "Stop the Suffering" campaign for Procter & Gamble and Leo Burnett/Beirut and with Bronze winners for the Lebanese newspaper Al Balad (see "Napoleon" and "Gandhi"), also out of Leo Burnett/Beirut.  Most of the medals won by FP7 Doha were in various print and outdoor categories, but the agency did lose its TV winners for Samsung, which won Gold, and for Nissan, which won Bronze.

Now in its second full year, Dubai Lynx kicked off with a heavy hitter from Adland providing a unique presentation.  Bob Isherwood, former Worldwide Creative Director of Saatchi & Saatchi – where he has been the onstage presenter of its New Directors Showcase for a number of years – gave the keynote presentation on how to find award-winning ideas.  Check out his video interview at: www.dubailynx.com/video.cfm

Also presenting were Contagious Magazine’s Paul Kemp Robertson and Piyush Pandey, Executive Chairman, National Creative Director, Ogilvy & Mather/India, both of whom next were on stage at AdFest as well. They took the time to talk to Dubai Lynx delegates about advancements in non-traditional advertising and how to put the consumer first in ad messages.  Pandey, a former Jury President in Cannes, is particularly passionate about contemporary advertising being not just about creative but also about selling products, something that in the current financial climate is key for both marketers and their agencies. Also on the program in Dubai was Scott Godson, founder of StrawberryFrog, who spoke about how to use brands to spark cultural movements.

After judging 2,079, entries the jury awarded a total of 135 Dubai Lynx trophies. The Media category was the strongest with a total of 39 winners, followed by Print with 26, Outdoor received 21, 18 trophies were awarded in the Direct & Sales Promotion category, 13 in TV/Cinema, 11 in Interactive, 4 Radio winners and 3 Integrated winners.

Other TV & Cinema Gold and Silver winners included Boomtown Productions in Dubai, which won a Gold for MTV’s AIDS Awareness campaign from Lowe MENA; Dolce Vita Productions, Dubai, which won a Silver for Oasis from Leo Burnett/Dubai; We Shot The Sherif, Dubai, which won three Silvers for its Sony campaign from FP7 Doha; City Films, Beirut, which won for P&G’s Crest toothpaste out of Saatchi & Saatchi/Beirut; Signature Productions, Beirut, which won four Silvers for its MTV Arabia campaign from TBWA\RAAD Middle East/ Dubai; and Workshop Productions, Beirut, which won a Silver for its QNB spot for FP7 Doha.

The Media Grand Prix went to Starcom MediaVest Group/Dubai for the "Fallen in Love Again" Mars Chocolate campaign. The Print Grand Prix went to Leo Burnett/Cairo for the Heinz Ketchup campaign titled "Egyptian Hotdog," "Egyptian Burger" and "Egyptian Pizza."  The Outdoor Grand Prix was awarded to FP7 Dubai for the Braindrain Education program campaign, "Gumi Bears," "Poodle Balloons" and "Anatomy."  There were no Grand Prix awarded in the Radio, Interactive, Direct & Sales Promotion and Integrated categories.

For more on the controversy surrounding the withdraw of the Agency of the Year honors, go to http://www.dubailynx.com/about/news.cfm?newsid=44. For a full list of winners and other news about Dubai Lynx, please visit http://www.dubailynx.com/winners.