With the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity kicking off on June 18, two of the United Arab Emirates’ judges discuss their hopes and fears
Ash Chagla, executive creative director, Science & Sunshine
It’s that time of year where the Saturday morning Emirates flight to Nice is overbooked and chock full of ad folk making their way to Cannes. For the Middle East and North Africa delegation, the mood is happy, optimistic and super charged with hope, and air kisses. But we all know that Monday morning’s shortlists will define whether we’re still smiling for the rest of the week or the rest of the year even. It is the ad industry’s annual emotional rollercoaster. The festival that makes careers, induces tears, damages livers and fuels the creative brain for another 365 days.
This year, I’m heading to Cannes a little earlier to start judging the film Lions. It’s a big year for the United Arab Emirates, with five seats on the jury. And that’s thanks to a collective effort by all the agencies over the last few years. The creative push at Cannes Lions has been tremendous. More agencies are entering and winning in more categories than ever before. We’re a tiny country that is winning gold, titanium and glass Lions. Think about that. Even clients are actively pushing their agencies to do stand-out work, and a lot of them are also joining their agencies in Cannes to get inspired, learn and celebrate great creative work. It’s all signs of a maturing industry that has come into its own.
Cannes Lions is the festival that raises the bar creatively. It recognises the brilliant ideas from the current year and sets the benchmark for the following year. And with just 3 per cent of the entries going on to win a Lion, it’s a pretty big deal when you win one.
As a first-time Cannes juror I know it’s going to be an incredibly enlightening experience. Sitting in a room with some of the best creative minds in the world is always fun – the discussions, unique insights and perspectives really enrich the judging process. And at the end of the day, we all want to celebrate the ideas that are truly courageous and impact the world, and inspire more. One of my favourite things in a jury room is how a great piece of work has the ability to make people want to defend it and campaign on its behalf. I hope there are some pieces like that from our region this year. Work that demands recognition because it is so simple, yet genius. An idea that is beautifully expressed, exceptionally crafted, and impacts the audience it was created for.
I’ve heard the film jury is tough and you spend seven days in a cold, dark, room. So, I’ve packed a sweater, a six-pack of Red Bull and prepared myself for hours of fierce and passionate debate on the best films of the year. It would be awesome if some of that debate included films from our region.
I think we’ve got a few contenders this year that have the potential to do well at Cannes – the new du Tuesdays commercials are great, Coca-Cola’s ‘Dark Iftar’ that has done quite well internationally, Ikea’s affordable poster campaign, and The Good Note for Bou Khalil from Lebanon.
Good luck everybody. I hope the Sunday flight back is chock full of gold Lions in the overhead compartments. A grand prix for the UAE would be even better – no pressure.
Paul Shearer, group chief creative officer, Memac Ogilvy MENA
Cannes looms ahead. And as usual in any French summer, the French workers are striking again. So no doubt my journey to Cannes and subsequent travel will be affected. As a Brit, I have always been impressed by how the French gather in solidarity to defend their fellow workers. It got me wondering if we Middle East jurors will do the same.
My big worry is that, unlike the French, some of us will deliberately vote against one another through pure jealously. I really hope not. But I have sadly
come across this recently. This is more of a plea than a hope. What this region doesn’t need is for its hard work over the last five years to grind to a halt. I will vote for the best work without conviction. If I know it’s from one of my fellow MENA agencies, it will make no difference. It will actually make me happy. Jealous yes. But spiteful. No way.
When MENA does well. We all do well. Our profile is what matters. Higher profile. More jury people. More jury people, more voice. Look what the pesky Brazilians have done.
In the words of another Frenchman, all for one and one for all. We lost a truly great executive creative director in Mark Lewis from MullenLowe recently. It’s things like this that make you humble and realise that we take ourselves way too seriously.
I wish good luck to all our MENA agencies.
