Chris Beresford-Hill, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of BBDO, whose career spans leadership roles at top agencies like Ogilvy and TBWA\Chiat\Day NY takes on a new challenge as Jury President for the Dubai Lynx Awards’ Audio and Radio category in 2025.
Known for groundbreaking campaigns such as Workday’s Super Bowl ‘Rockstars’, Verizon’s ‘Can’t B Broken’ with Beyoncé, and adidas’ ‘Billie Jean King Your Shoes,’ Chris’ work has redefined the advertising landscape.
Benchmarking the region’s most innovative work as a Dubai Lynx Jury President, Beresford-Hill shares insights on what excites him about chairing the Jury, the trends that are reshaping the industry, and his approach to evaluating work in the category in this exclusive Campaign Middle East interview.
The role of audio has evolved from being channel focused to being channel agnostic. How do you think this shift has had an impact on creative marketing and what according to you does the future hold?
Brands that have a high ‘share of ear’ will win big. Today you can do so many innovative things, from leveraging AI and its ability to create, augment and customise music, to interacting with voice tools and commands, there is so much fresh space to play in.
I believe audio is ready to rise up and be as relevant as the social, influencer and experience categories.
What should production agencies do differently to break through the clutter and integrate audio to commercial effectiveness?
I suppose the same advice I would give for any medium: say something interesting or provocative, use the medium in a new way, create something people want to experience; it’s really the same things that make it great.
What do you expect to see from the work in the Audio and Radio category at Dubai Lynx 2025?
I’m expecting great craft, and hoping for surprise and innovation, pushing the category forward.
Is there a piece of work that’s stuck with you over the past year? One that truly celebrates the best of creativity in audio or radio?
It’s from our network, but I can be a big fan of it, because I did not work on it. For me ‘Audio Nikahnama’ for easypaisa is the definition of groundbreaking. To use Audio to overcome literacy barriers and potentially help two-thirds of Pakistani women who cannot comprehend their marriage contract. This shows you Audio is not just a medium, it can be a means.
What’s the best piece of advice you’d give to entrants submitting work to the Awards this year?
Don’t try and win an award, you’ll only chase what has been done. Try and do something that gets you excited, that reflects who you really are, and how you see the world. That’s the purity with which original ideas are created, and those are the ones that end up winning big.
The countdown to creativity is on as entries for the Dubai Lynx Awards remain open until 23 January 2025. The winners will be unveiled at the highly anticipated Awards Ceremony on 9 April 2025.
For more details on the Awards and submission guidelines, visit www.dubailynx.com/awards.
