Interesting Times bags grand prix at the Effies

Beirut-based boutique agency Interesting Times has won the Gemas Effie grand prix for the second year in a row.

The agency picked up the award for its ‘The Last Summer on Earth’ campaign (above and below) for Lebanese Brew, capitalising on its grand prix for the same client last year. It also won gold.

In total, just eight golds were awarded at last week’s awards, which were presented by Gulf Marketing Review and its owner Mediaquest. Leo Burnett Beirut won two golds, both for its ‘Break the Silence’ campaign for Himaya, while Starcom MediaVest Group bagged gold for its work on the ‘Hello Tomorrow’ campaign for Emirates.

Also winning gold were Y&R Dubai for its ‘Headline News’ Cup Sleeve’; Momentum Abu Dhabi and Dubai for Subway’s ‘Inches to Togertherness; and FP7 Cairo for Molto Cheese’s ‘News Bigger Than Any Other’.

This year’s awards received “approximately 400 entries”, with Leo Burnett, Memac Ogilvy, JWT, Starcom, OMD, TBWA\Raad, FP7, Mindshare and Zenith all doing well in the shortlists.

“Leo Burnett Beirut did well at the Gemas Effies and we are quite happy with our overall wins,” said Nada Abi Saleh, deputing managing director at Leo Burnett Beirut. “We are particularly pleased with the Himaya double win for its ‘Break the silence’ campaign against child abuse. The bar was very high and when creative campaigns win, they help prove that the power of a great and engaging idea, along with its integration, are key to the effectiveness of a campaign in the market place.”

Discussing his agency’s gold for Emirates, John Antoniades, CEO of Starcom MediaVest Group MENA, said: “I’d like to thank the Emirates Airline marketing and communications team for entrusting us with, and empowering us, to do the award-winning work we do for them. SMG coordinated 27 local media plans, working with creative in over 20 different languages, across multiple platforms, and with a number of agency and supplier stakeholders. The most satisfying part about winning an Effie is knowing for a fact that your plan has had significant business impact, and this reflects the creativity and fresh thinking our team brings to the table.”