Dubai Lynx announces jury presidents for 2012 edition

Dubai International Advertising Festival, awards for creative excellence in advertising and communications in the Middle East and North Africa, announced the presidents of juries that for its 2012 edition, that will take place in the 1st week of March.

Ted Royer, Partner and Executive Creative Director of Droga5 USA, will chair the Film, Print, Outdoor, Radio and Craft Jury as well as the Integrated Jury. Helping to build Droga5 from its founding, Ted’s clients include Puma, Coke, Method, Activision, Rhapsody, New Museum and Net10. Among his nearly 100 international awards, Ted has won 16 Cannes Lions – including four Titanium and three Grand Prix Lions – as well as two D&AD Black Pencils, and numerous One Show Pencils, Clios and Andys. He has also seen Droga5 named Creativity’s Agency of the Year. Previous to Droga5, Ted has held positions at major agencies including Saatchi & Saatchi Singapore, Ogilvy & Mather, Wieden+Kennedy and Publicis.

Leading the Direct, Promo & Activation, Interactive and Mobile Jury will be Gastón Bigio, Regional Creative Director of Ogilvy Latina. He leads the Ogilvy team for their Coca-Cola Latam account and has picked up numerous awards along the way. Notably, 2010 saw him win 20 Lions for Ogilvy Latina, an increase of 19 from the previous year, and in 2011 not only did he achieve 27 Lions, including three Golds for Coca-Cola, but Ogilvy Latina were named Direct Agency of the Year. Recently, Gastón was voted President of Argentina’s Creative Circle, the most prestigious creative institution in the country. Just recently it has been announced that Gastón will head a new international Ogilvy &Mather agency called David that will fuse the talents of Latin America’s two most creative markets, Brazil and Argentina together with two other Ogilvy Brazil executives. Opening in January 2012, there will be offices in both Sao Paulo and Buenos Aires with a New York office planned for later in the year.

Jacki Kelley, Global Chief Executive Officer of Universal McCann USA, will take the helm of the Media Jury. Jacki boasts more than 20 years of global media owner experience after starting her career at USA Today as Vice President of Advertising. Previously, she was Executive Vice President, of Media Sales at Omnimedia and prior, she served as Vice President, Worldwide Strategies and Solutions at Yahoo!. In 2005 she was inducted into The American Advertising Federation’s Hall of Achievement, and in 2011, Advertising Age listed her as a “Woman to Watch”. She currently sits on the boards of The Advertising Club, The American Advertising Federation and Free the Children.

Richard Millar, Chief Executive Officer of Hill & Knowlton UK, will preside over the inaugural PR Jury. Leading the agency since 2009 Richard’s client management responsibilities are focused in the retail sector where he leads the adidas account. His time at Hill & Knowlton has seen him remodel the agency around nine key industries, drive a commitment to industry expertise, broaden the agency’s service offer and champion a company-wide commitment to training and development. Richard is a brand marketing specialist with extensive experience both agency and client side.

Jonathan Ford, Creative Partner of Pearlfisher, will chair the Design Jury. With offices in London and New Yor,k Jonathan and his team have completed projects for clients in every major world region creating Design for an enviable list of iconic and challenger brands such as Jamie Oliver, Fortnum & Mason, Absolut Vodka, Green & Blacks’s, Cadbury, Innocent, Waitrose, Coca Cola, Soho House and Nude Skincare. Along with awards for outstanding creativity, Pearlfisher have won Design Business Association Design Effectiveness awards consistently for over a decade.

This is an exceptional line-up of jury presidents. Highly respected professionals and leaders in their fields, they will guide their juries to seek out the best work produced in the region. Their decision will not only have an impact on the participating agencies, but also on the future of MENA’s advertising and communications industry, which is currently going through enormous transformations

Terry Savage

CEO of Cannes Lions, organisers of Dubai Lynx

Dubai Lynx is now open for entries, that can  be submitted to the Dubai Lynx Awards across all categories: Film, Print, Outdoor, Radio, Media, Direct, Promo & Activation, Interactive, Print & Poster Craft, Film Craft, Design, Integrated, and the new categories, PR and Mobile.

Presented by Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity together with their regional partner, Motivate Publishing, Dubai International Advertising Festival is held with the support of Dubai Media City (DMC) and in association with the UAE Chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA). The 5th Dubai International Advertising Festival will bring to the Middle East and Africa a series of high-profile seminars, workshops, exhibitions and screenings aimed at giving creative inspiration, learning and networking opportunities to the advertising and allied industries in the region. The Lynx Academy, The Young Lynx Integrated Competition and Networking evenings are additional events enjoyed by participants.