Awards seasons usually invite the same kind of commentary. The industry talks about momentum, growth, bigger ideas, and wider reach. It’s tempting to treat the trophies as the takeaway.
This year felt different.
The work that rose to the top didn’t focus on chasing more. It showed judgement.
Yes, Cicero & Bernay was recognised across PRCA MENA, Campaign Middle East, and the MENA Digital Awards, ultimately taking home Agency of the Year 2025. What matters, however, is what those accolades signal.
Right now, communication work is being pulled in two directions at once. On one hand, brands have an unprecedented ability to produce more, in more formats, and at a faster pace. On the other, there’s a very real limit to how much people can absorb. Consumers aren’t short on content. They’re short on bandwidth.
Most messages don’t fail because they’re poorly made. They fail because they arrive with the same urgency, cadence, and volume as everything else. In an overcrowded marketplace, the advantage isn’t creativity or speed. It’s judgement. It’s editorial judgement, specifically knowing what to amplify and what to leave alone.
That pressure is reshaping what “good” communication actually means.
It’s also why I’ve become increasingly wary of how we talk about technology, particularly AI. Too often, “we used AI” becomes the pitch, and the work turns into a demonstration of the tool rather than a clear idea. At its best, AI is simply a way of packaging an insight. More often, it enables us to produce more without necessarily adding meaning.
One project we worked on with Campaign Middle East made that distinction very clear. The concept involved AI-driven personalities helping tell the story of Nissan’s Kicks through a competition tailored for university students. On the surface, it could easily be reduced to novelty: AI influencers, tech-led storytelling, the future arriving right on time.
What made the campaign work, however, was restraint. We made one deliberate amplification choice and resisted the urge to multiply the idea into endless variations, even though the tools made that easy. The objective wasn’t to dominate attention. It was to earn it.
We then returned to something that still carries weight in a way most formats don’t: a human conversation. A real interview. The AI layer helped draw people in, but credibility came from the people behind the work. A team spent hours shaping personas, refining intonation, and writing dialogue with regional nuance in mind. Details mattered, like getting the Khaleeji humour just right and nailing the difference between sounding clever and sounding true.
That level of resonance doesn’t come from adding more content. It comes from listening.
This, I believe, is where the industry is heading, regardless of hype cycles or new formats. The next phase of communication won’t be won by whoever produces the most content or adopts the newest tool first. It will favour those who stay true to their core under pressure.
The work that cuts through feels intentional. Considered. Properly thought through.
That’s why this season stood out to me. The glitz will always have its moment, but it was reassuring to see craft and discipline celebrated. It suggests there’s still space for work that respects its audience even when the surrounding environment rewards noise.
As we look ahead, we don’t plan to approach awards the way traditional agencies do. The work will continue to evolve, and we’ll stay deliberate about what we put forward, and when.
By Ahmad Itani, Founder and CEO of Cicero & Bernay.
