Impact BBDO has won the region’s fifth Prix on first day of the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
The win was announced during the first live Awards Show of the week at the festival.
The Grand Prix was awarded to Impact BBDO for the Print & Publishing category for “Newspapers Inside a Newspaper” for Annahar Newspaper.
The agency takes home a Grand Prix second year in a row for the Print & Publishing Category. Last year, it won the Grand Prix for the same category for “The Elections Edition”, also for Annahar Newspaper.
The win also marks the agency’s third overall Grand Prix, having won its first, also a first for the region, in 2019.
The“Newspapers Inside a Newspaper” campaign honours freedom of speech in Lebanon and the crisis that affected the publishing industry, using the newspaper’s daily edition to revive publications that had been shut down due to political failure and pressure.
“The Grand Prix was awarded to a brave piece of work that put into action a publication-based idea to defend the sanctity of a free press,” said the Print & Publishing Jury. “And did it in a way that we hope sends a signal to the industry on how eternally innovative the future of publication can be.”
The Print & Publishing Lions received 814 entries were received and 26 Lions awarded: 4 Gold, 7 Silver, and 14 Bronze Lions.
The jury for the category was led by Ali Rez, the Chief Creative Officer of Impact BBDO, who is also the MENA region’s first Jury President.
Also announced during the first Awards show were the winners of the Pharma Lions, Health & Wellness Lions, Outdoor Lions and Radio & Audio Lions.
In the Outdoor category, FP7 McCann Dubai took home a Silver and Bronze Lion for ‘The Heinzjack’. The agency also took another Bronze for Babyshop’s ‘Frequencies of Peace’ in Radio.
VMLY&R Dubai, in collaboration with US-based VMLY&R Commerce, received a Silver Lion for Radio for the ‘I See Coke’ for Coca-Cola.
Two agencies, And Us and Saatchi & Saatchi, took home a Silver and Bronze respectively, under the Health & Wellness category. The Silver went to the ‘Sole Music’ for Sole Music and Bronze went to the ‘Empty Plates’ for UAE Government Media Office.
Simon Cook, CEO, LIONS, said, “We’re delighted to honour our first Lion winners who are raising the creative bar on the global stage. Thank you to all of our exceptional Jurors who have given their time, dedication and expertise to define the creative benchmark for the Festival’s 70th edition.”
