In the presence of HE Excellency Mr. Melhem Riachi, minister of Information and broadcast, Executive magazine, the country representative of the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, in cooperation with the IAA (International Advertising Association) Lebanon Chapter and AA (Advertising Association), has invited young creatives to take part in the third edition of the national Young Lions Print Competition on April 7 at the American University of Beirut. The winning team will go on to represent Lebanon at the global Young Lions Print Competition at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2017.
The Cannes Lions festival was launched in 1954 and is today the most prestigious advertising and communications awards event in the global advertising industry. Every year the best and brightest professionals in the field from around the world gather in Cannes, France during the third week of June for a celebration of the world’s most creative minds.
Thanks to the united support of the Lebanese advertising industry, Bobolink, Choueiry Group, Fortune Promoseven, Grey Worldwide, H&C Leo Burnett, Impact BBDO, Intermarkets Advertising, J. Walter Thompson, M&C Saatchi, Memac Ogilvy, Pimo, Publicis, Team Young & Rubicam Lebanon, the American University of Beirut as well as Air France for supporting young talented professionals. The winners are awarded an all-expense paid trip to this year’s festival including flights on Air France, our official carrier, from June 17 – 24, to compete against their peers from around the world.
Participants, Juries, NGO and organisers
During the national competition young professionals aged 30 and under are challenged to demonstrate their creativity under pressure and test their skills against their peers. Teams of two are given seven hours to produce a print ad for one Lebanese NGO. The identity of the NGO is kept secret until the day of the competition. A jury consisting of several creative directors of leading advertising agencies then judges the final ads and winners will be announced on April 12, 2017.
Mr. Alain Hochar representing the AA Lebanon said:”The AA is not only a regulatory body; its role is also to help maintain the communication sector in an attractive shape for it to keep fostering the best creative talents. Hence, supporting initiatives like the Young Lions Competition is at the core of the AA’s purpose.”
Mr. Joe Ayache, board member of IAA Lebanon chapter: “The young generation, representing the future of the Advertising, will be competing with their fresh ideas, their new approach to communication. We believe in their capacities and ambitions especially that the Lebanese creatives have time and time again proved to us their world class standards be it here or abroad.
Mr. Yasser Akkaoui, editor-in-chief of Executive, said “Against all odds, Lebanese creativity continues to make our nation proud worldwide. Across all industries, our creative minds have been able to outgrow our small nation geographically and conquer markets worldwide fuelled by our unstoppable entrepreneurial drive.”
As a strong believer in Lebanon’s creative talents and the potential of our young professionals, Executive is proud to continue its support for young pioneers in the advertising field. We are confident that creative Lebanese youths will surpass our greatest expectations, and we are honoured to be able to advocate, nurture and support them. This competition is both an unparalleled opportunity for young creatives to kick-start their careers with national and international recognition and a great way to position Lebanon at a higher level of creative recognition globally.
“End”About Cannes Lions
The International Festival of Creativity, also known as Cannes Lions, is the world’s leading celebration of creativity in communications. Founded in 1954, the Festival takes place every June in Cannes, France.
The Festival is the only truly global meeting place for advertisers, advertising and communications professionals. More than 12,000 delegates from 95 countries attend a weeklong program of exhibitions, screenings and talks by worldwide thought leaders. As the networking and learning opportunity of the year, Cannes Lions is the must-attend event for anyone involved in brand communications.
As the most prestigious international annual advertising and communications awards, over 35,500 entries from all over the world are showcased and judged at the Festival.
Winning companies receive the highly coveted Lion trophy, a global benchmark of creative excellence, for Film, Print, Outdoor, Interactive, Radio, Design, Promo & Activation, Film Craft, Mobile, Branded Entertainment and Integrated advertising, as well as the best Media, Direct, PR, Titanium, Creative Effectiveness and Innovation ideas.
The importance of the event is exhibited by the more than 574 journalists from over 56 countries who cover the event.
About Executive
Executive is a monthly business magazine that offers its readers in-depth and forward thinking analysis, solid reporting and punchy opinion on the Middle East and North Africa’s commerce, economy and finance as well as regular industry surveys, regional market data and global economic trends.
Since its launch in 1998, Executive’s passion for business, its inside access and uncanny foresight has earned it the highest plaudits, where its readers choose it for its unbiased editorial line and comprehensive analysis.
Executive’s reach is unprecedented for an English language business publication in the Middle East. From Morocco to Iraq, Executive has a solid network of the best business and economic analysts, experts, and reporters to provide what is arguably the most authoritative business writing in the Middle East.
No matter the topic at hand, Executive aims to bring maturity to every story it publishes. Executive’s vast resources enable it to continuously deliver compelling, internationally conscious journalism that meets with the high quality standards of the magazine to ensure that readers are never disappointed. Covering all the major sectors (banking, finance, insurance, technology, tourism, hospitality, media, retail, etc.), and all the relevant issues, our reporting seeks to be objective, accurate and focused on bringing the reader the real story.
About the International Advertising Association “IAA” – Lebanon Chapter
Founded on November 14, 1961, the Lebanon Chapter was one of the first international chapters of the network to be formed. Although the IAA has no executive power, it nonetheless played a formative role in shaping regulations, business practices and ethics, to promote and protect the interests of agencies, media, and clients within the industry in Lebanon. It also provided valuable opportunities for young professionals to learn from the world’s foremost leaders in advertising and media, particularly at IAA World Congresses organized every two years.
Perhaps above all else, the importance of the IAA Lebanon Chapter was in the opening it created for Lebanon on the international scene, securing Lebanon’s position as the doorway to the Middle East for international brands, and promoting it as an exceptional place for business; a burgeoning center of trade and services where East and West meld seamlessly, and where the pioneers of advertising and media, educated in their fields of business, were entirely versed in the three main languages of communication. Although professional organizations created to effectuate change and aid industries can appear good on paper, without proactive, dedicated, and inspirational leaders, the ambitions or objectives of such groups can remain lifeless. This was definitely not the case with the IAA Lebanon Chapter.
Its very inception and creation was spearheaded by entrepreneurs whose understanding of the future of advertising and the power of modern media — particularly TV — was simply visionary. The history of the IAA Lebanon Chapter would not be what it is, were it not for the roles some of its key members played throughout the past five decades. It is the individuals, those who took the mantle of leaders, patrons, and ambassadors of Lebanon, who brought about the achievements that set apart the IAA Lebanon Chapter. These men were certainly driven by ambition, but they were first and foremost united and motivated by their patriotism, national pride, and the firm belief in keeping Lebanon’s standing on the international scene alive during the years of war. Their persistent efforts resulted in not only securing Lebanon’s active presence on the world stage, but also in winning the election of five Lebanese World Presidents to the IAA in the space of twenty years.
About the Association of Advertising “AA”
The Association of Advertising in Lebanon is the official, national organization of the advertising industry, formed to promote the advertising’s interests and make an essential and ever-increasing contribution to the nation, by working towards the following objectives:
- To protect the industry and raise its overall standing;
- To safeguard the interests of its members and to create a common bond among them;
- To develop a mutually beneficial relationship with other professional and official associations.
It all started when Late FouadPharaon, came about through his ability to create proper and solid advertising agencies in Lebanon.
In the early 1935, he introduced practices and regulations that proved valuable to the business. Pharaon became one of the founders of the Syndicate of Advertising (SOA) which was founded on October 12, 1959 by Decree No. 230 issued by the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs.
The AA held its founding meeting on December 13, 1960 at the Bristol Hotel in Beirut; 16 advertising agencies were represented. The first elected executive committee consisted of: MouhamadChoucair as President and Theodore Sarrouf, FouadPharaon, MukhtarShamli, Philippe Hitti, and Fayez Sultan as members.