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The 44th edition of The Loeries Awards has come to an end and what a triumph for the Middle East it’s been. The UAE won six of eight Grands Prix given, of which IMPACT BBDO scooped three.
At a spectacular location on the Cape Town Waterfront, the 2022 Loeries award show saw on Friday October 7 an even more spectacular performance by UAE agencies. And what a night it was! The region had plenty of reasons to celebrate specially that this year’s theme was #CreateMagic.
“This was truly a year of breaking boundaries and creating magic,” says Loeries CEO, Preetesh Sewraj, “Not only did we unite the creative community in the biggest gathering of its kind, across Africa and the Middle East, but we also awarded a record number of eight Grand Prix awards that truly embody the spirit of creative excellence.”
A total of 231 Loeries were awarded; 27 Golds; 48 silvers, 94 Bronzes, 18 Craft Golds and 36 Craft Certificates.
Sewraj stressed the importance of the advertising industry during his speech, “Your creativity has the power to change lives. During the Covid pandemic, consumers wouldn’t know where to get vaccinated or how to source products if it wasn’t for the advertising industry. You really made a difference.”
The biggest awards of the night, Network of the Year and Agency of the Year, were both won by IMPACT BBDO. Impact BBDO reclaimed its Agency of the Year crown, dethroning South Africa’s Joe Public United, the Loeries’ Agency of the Year for the last four years.
The agency had an impressive haul of a record-setting 3 Grands Prix, 6 Golds, 4 Silvers or Craft Certificates, and 5 Bronzes.
“This Agency of the year Award means everything to us. Receiving this accolade from peers who testified that we are the best in the region is amazing. It means that we’re relevant in the region and that creativity is still the most important thing. Every single person on the team helped us get the validation that has come through tonight,” commented Ali Rez, Chief Creative Officer at Impact BBDO, in Dubai and winner of Agency of the year Award.
A total of 8 Grands Prix were given at the show this year, and the UAE took home 6 of them: 3 were earned by IMPACT BBDO, and one by Saatchi & Saatchi MEA; one by M&C Saatchi, and one by Serviceplan ME.
With seven campaigns entered and 23 trophies & finalists, the UAE Government Media Office is set to be named Best Performing Brand in 2022 and ranked as No.1 in the Middle East in the forthcoming Loeries Rankings. “This is largely thanks to the campaign for Empty Plates,” explains Khaled AlSheehi, Executive Director Marketing and Communication at UAE Government Media Ofiice.
The campaign bagged one Grand Prix, two gold and four silver trophies.
“To win this Grand Prix at the Loeries is an amazing recognition. It’s the inspiration for every marketer, that even the government sector can embrace and push creativity with their campaign and that creativity is not only for classical and commercial brands,” added AlShehhi.
“This campaign is the result of a great partnership with Publicis Groupe - Saatchi & Saatchi MEA, who pushed the creative needle and made things happen, despite limited time and resources. Deeply grateful to the team there, truly enjoyed working with them from brief to execution. Their passion was palpable,” Al Shehhi noted on his linkedIn page. “I came back from Cape Town with 12 trophies in total (1 Grand Prix, 2 Gold, 5 Silver, 4 Bronze), great memories and a profound sense of pride in the way our creativity is progressing across the globe. After yet another spectacular and most enjoyable Loeries Creative Week, I must congratulate not only all our champions and all the winners, but also Preetesh Sewraj and his team for a fantastic work. Thank you for the invitation to be part of the juries and attend the festival in Cape Town, with its excellent program of activities. Can’t wait for next year’s edition.”
The following are the Grand Prix won by UAE agencies:
“The Elections Edition” by IMPACT BBDO for AnNahar – Integrated, and PR & Media
“The Wider Web” by IMPACT BBDO for Etisalat – Design for Digital
“Empty Plates” by Saatchi & Saatchi MEA for UAE Gov Media Office – Live Events
“Not Procrastination” by Serviceplan Middle East for TECOM Group – Print Crafts
“As Good As The Original” by M&C Saatchi for Burger King – Film
