For the third consecutive year, Executive Magazine — country representative of the Cannes Lions Festival — celebrates the return of the young and talented Lebanese team Elie Fakhry and Stephanie Koyess from Fortune Promoseven, who represented Lebanon in the Cannes Lions Festival held from June 17 to 24, 2017. Elie and Stephanie attended and competed in the Young Lions Print Competition.
The competition called upon creative professionals under the age of 30 from all around the world to submit a print ad for “Global Citizen,” a social action platform that wants to solve the world’s biggest challenge: ending extreme poverty by 2030. Global Citizen focuses on building a global movement for change by mobilizing people to make a difference now.
With 44 teams competing, Elie and Stephanie showcased a remarkable ad explaining what Global Citizen stands for with a meaningful call to action: “When we come together to work for the greater good, we become global citizens.” Koyess said, “It was overwhelming, inspirational, exciting, and a little intimidating to be exposed to such giants! Makes you fall in love with the industry again. It surely opened our eyes to the positive impact and purpose advertising can have, that goes light-years beyond just promoting a product. [It] felt like being in an adult Disneyland for admen!”
Fakhry commented by saying, “It’s a real boost for our careers! Being surrounded by all those talented people and watching so many great talks really made us project ourselves into the future. We came back extremely optimistic and recharged!”
Mr. Yasser Akkaoui, managing director of Executive Magazine said, “Understanding, nurturing and developing creativity is today ever more important than it has been in the past. Being in Cannes is provocative, but competing in Cannes is far more exciting and stimulating. The Young Lions Competition was an incredible experience that challenged the winners of the 2017 national Young Lions Competition, Elie and Stephanie, to think differently than their day job allows.
Young people are living in times of rapid cultural change and increasing cultural diversity. It’s vital that we celebrate and nurture the industry’s brightest young talent. Participating in the Cannes Lions festival is a great chance for our best young creative talents to step into the limelight and gain some valuable experience that will help them in their career.”
A most heartfelt thanks goes to all of our sponsors and partners: the IAA Lebanon chapter (International Advertising Association), AA (Advertising Association), 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.
Firmly committed to nurturing Lebanon’s creative talents, and maximizing the potential of our young professionals, Executive is proud to continue supporting young, bright minds in the advertising field. We are confident that young, Lebanese creatives will positively influence the industry far and wide, and we are honored to advocate for, 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.