Abu Dhabi Film Festival awards advertising campaign for its 4th edition to JWT

The Abu Dhabi Film Festival (formerly the Middle East International Film Festival) announced today that it has selected JWT to develop its new advertising campaign for the 4th edition of the Festival, which will take place October 14-23, 2010.

The Festival recently launched its new name and brand, which, its management explained, was inspired by a drive to emphasise the Festival’s link to its home and to recognise Abu Dhabi’s role in boosting a regional upswing in filmmaking and creative enterprise.

“We are proud of our new name, which came naturally out of a strengthened mission to nurture a rich film culture in the UAE, as well as regionally and internationally. We chose JWT because their pitch showed a full understanding of where we are and where we want to take our Festival. We are confident that they are ideally positioned to capture and convey the bold spirit of the festival,”

said Huda Al Shamsi, Director of Marketing and Sponsorship.

To align with the Festival’s new brand strategy and raise its profile, the advertising agency review was launched on 30 June 2010. Five agencies were invited to pitch for the 2010 campaign. After considering all proposals, Festival management confirmed its partnership with JWT on 3 August 2010.

JWT is part of WPP, one of the world’s leading communications services groups. The agency looks back on more than 20 years of experience in the region and employs 80% Arab talent. As part of the largest MENA agency network, it counts multinational companies Nestle, UL, HSBC, J&J, Kraft and Nokia among its clients.