Leo Burnett showcases the world's best creativity during annual Cannes Lions Predictions Event

The best creative work from around the world was showcased recently by one of the region’s leading creative agencies – Leo Burnett – at its third annual Cannes Prediction Night.

The event, which has now become one of the main highlights on Leo Burnett Dubai’s annual creative agenda, is devoted to showcasing the best and most innovative contemporary work from the world’s advertising community.

This year the Jumeirah Beach Hotel’s Meyana Auditorium buzzed once again with creative energy, as it welcomed upto 100 participants made up of Leo Burnett employees, clients and members of the local media, who were invited to judge and select the 20 adverts which they believed would be the most likely winners at the Cannes Lions 55th International Advertising Festival – the world’s global meeting place for communication creativity.

Raja Trad, CEO of the Leo Burnett Group of Companies, Middle East and North Africa highlighted the impact that the event has on the agency’s work; ‘Imagination and creativity are the fundamental drivers of the entire global communications industry. In holding such an event, we are applying our own blend of these elements, while providing insights into the best creative output being made in the world today – allowing us to explore creativity as an agency in an entertaining and enjoyable setting.’

The annual Cannes Predictions reel is made up of advertisements representing a wide variety of categories. In so doing, Leo Burnett seeks to introduce the best creative work to its employees and stakeholders, to showcase how the approaches to- and the influences on- ideas and innovation can change across geographies.

Kamal Dimachkie, Managing Director of Leo Burnett Dubai and Kuwait, added that hosting such events as the Cannes Predictions exercise have a positive impact on the nature of the communications industry locally; ‘We are rightly proud of our Cannes Predictions Night as it opens up channels for creating dialogue between all stakeholders in the industry locally, who have the opportunity to share their individual thoughts and ideas about what it is that makes a good advert great.

‘Collectively we are committed to refining and polishing our creative product by encouraging the flow of ideas and innovation; and this exercise provides a pleasurable and novel way of benchmarking on- and inspiring- creativity in the Middle East,’ he added.

The rules for the event were simple. Attendees watched 50 commercials that came from creative agencies around the globe, and were asked to select the 20 adverts that they think would be awarded a Lion by the Cannes jury during the prestigious annual event, that will this year be held from the 15th – 21st June. The attendee that guesses the most correct answers will be announced the winner following the conclusion of the Cannes Lions 2008. The event was launched in 1987 by Leo Burnett Worldwide, and has been held ever since in a number of markets around the world in the weeks leading up to the festival.