Agencies from across the Middle East continued to demonstrate the region’s growing creative impact at the 2025 Cresta Awards, with standout performances from the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia.
The region claimed the global Independent Agency of the Year award along with 31 awards, including a Grand Prix and a string of Gold, Silver and Bronze awards across multiple categories.
From Saudi Arabia, BigTime Creative Shop delivered one of the region’s most awarded performances and were awarded the title of Independent Agency of the Year 2025. This is a major achievement, as it marks the first time this global title has been awarded to a Middle East agency.
BigTime also collected six Gold, six Silver and three Bronze for Riyadh Season’s campaigns including Obsession, Everything or Nothing, Call of the Kings and The 4th Judge. Its campaign Obsession earned Golds in Moving image, digital, film craft while Everything or Nothing and The 4th Judge picked up additional Golds for Film Craft and Creative use of AI.
Mohammed Sehly, BigTime Creative Shop CEO, said: “Independent but never alone. This win is for our clients who trusted and empowered us to bring out our best, a reminder that real work wins hearts before trophies and that Saudi creativity now shines on the world’s biggest stages.”
From the UAE, Impact BBDO Dubai received a Grand Prix in Long Term Creativity for Active Journalism by AnNahar Newspaper.
Horizon FCB Dubai earned one Gold and five Silver awards for Shield The Protest, created for the Courageous Conversation Global Foundation. The campaign was recognised across categories including The #OMG Award, Ambient and Experiential, Technology of the Future, Cultural Impact, Wish we’d thought of that award, The Media Magic Award, marking one of the strongest showings for a UAE agency this year.
Publicis Middle East secured one Gold, three Silver and two Bronze for Strangers, a film developed for King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre. The work earned recognition across film craft, moving image, digital and healthcare categories.
Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East was also among the UAE winners, taking two Silver and one Bronze for The Needed Space, a B2B initiative for ItsHerWay.com that received honours in the Film craft and Moving image categories.
Here’s the complete list of the regional award winners:
Independent Agency of the Year 2025: Bigtime Creative Shop.
Active Journalism
AnNahar Newspaper
Agency: Impact BBDO Dubai
Awards: Grand Prix – Moving Image
Obsession
Riyadh Season
Agency: BigTime Creative Shop
Awards: Gold – x2 Moving Image; Digital; Film Craft
Bronze – Film Craft
Everything or Nothing
Riyadh Season
Agency: BigTime Creative Shop
Awards: Gold – Film Craft
Silver – Moving Image; Film Craft
Bronze – Film Craft
The 4th Judge
The Ring
Agency: BigTime Creative Shop
Awards: Gold – Creative Use of AI
Silver – Technology and the Future; Digital Craft; The #OMG Award
Strangers
King Faisal Specialist Hospital & Research Centre
Agency: Publicis Middle East
Awards: Gold – Film Craft
Silver – Moving Image; Digital; Healthcare
Bronze – x2 Film Craft
Shield The Protest
Courageous Conversation Global Foundation
Agency: Horizon FCB Dubai
Awards: Gold – The #OMG Award
Silver – Ambient & Experiential; Technology and The Future; Cultural Impact; The ‘Wish We’d Thought of That’ Award; The Media Magic Award
The Needed Space
ItsHerWay.com
Agency: Saatchi & Saatchi Middle East
Silver – x2 Film Craft
Bronze – Moving image
Call of the Kings
Riyadh Season
Agency: BigTime Creative Shop
Award: Silver – Film Craft
Touching Hands
Riyadh Season
Agency: BigTime Creative Shop
Award: Bronze – Film Craft
Overall, MENA agencies earned recognition in more than a dozen categories at the 2025 Cresta Awards.
