Dubai Lynx, the renowned creative festival and awards programme organised by Cannes Lions, announced its annual winners at an awards ceremony on Wednesday in Dubai.
WPP-owned VML was named Network of the Year, followed by BBDO Worldwide and McCann Worldgroup.
Omnicom-owned agency Hearts & Science took home the Media Network of the Year award, followed by fellow Omnicom agencies OMD and PHD in second and third place.
Other special awards included Agency of the Year in the MENA region, which went to creative firm Impact BBDO Dubai, as well as FP7 McCann Dubai and BigTime Creative Shop Riyadh.
The latter was also named Independent Agency of the Year, with Serviceplan Middle East in Dubai and Abdullah & Shokri in Cairo taking second and third place respectively.
Saudi brands and agencies took home a total of seven Grand Prix trophies across multiple categories. Among the winning campaigns were “Birthmark Stories” for HungerStation by VML; “5 vs 5” for Riyadh Season by BigTime Creative Shop; and “The Second Release” for Billboard magazine by SRMG Labs.
“This year we have seen a compelling shift towards content that not only engages and entertains, but also effectively drives business results,” Marian Brannelly, global director of awards at Lions, told Arab News.
New subcategories like Use of Humor received 3 percent of all submissions, while creator-focused categories under Social Media & Influencers received 14 percent of all submissions.
Brannelli noted that “humor played a big role” this year, “touching on even sensitive topics and giving campaigns a fresh and realistic feel.”
She added: “It’s also commendable to see work that not only evokes emotion but also clearly communicates the brand message and product value through compelling storytelling.”
“The balance between purpose and commercial impact is critical, and this year’s winners have demonstrated how to achieve this.”
