Another cold and crazy year at the MENA Cristals in Lebanon. I was fortunate to be staying at the Intercontinental Mzaar this time and that meant no more nightmarish midnight drives down the mountain.
I really had a blast this year although strongly missed getting drunk with Iain from Campaign ME. Hopefully I’ll see him at the Lynx next month.
This year the organisers decided to hold the Closing Award Ceremony and Gala Dinner at MusicHall Beirut, which turned out to be a great venue for the awards, but not so much for the After Party. I remember the same thing happening at MusicHall Dubai for the Effies; there’s no room to bloody dance!! So either get rid of tables or move the After Party to somewhere celebration suitable.
And the WiFi. Again, this year we were plagued with bad signal and useless passwords. There were only a handful of people tweeting while seminars preached the importance of Social Media. Organisers, please sort that out!!
Here are some of the highlights of the festival and all the winners. Enjoy!!
CONFERENCES
Most Insightful:
Stephanie Hospital, IAB Europe, “Mobile Disruption”
Most Interesting:
Dorota Smaggia, Unruly, “Seven Steps to Social Video Success”
Most Interactive:
Menna Ibrahim & Tarek Haddad, JWT MEA, “Your Consumer Needs You… Not!”
Special Mention:
Andrew Lazzaro, OMD Worldwide, “Emerging Talent #Winning”
TWEETS
Funny:
Chaos ensues as guy loses mobile. Probably the most exciting thing that’s happened this morning. #MenaCristal #Lost http://t.co/ZLRnoaT0MR
— adbasha (@adbasha) February 5, 2014
Big Data is like sex. Everyone talks about it but very few experience it. Nice kickoff by @babgi #MenaCristal
— adbasha (@adbasha) February 5, 2014
@Lipsie With that introductory sex quote, I’d say he shot it quite well #MenaCristal #BigData
— adbasha (@adbasha) February 5, 2014
So Kate winslet was in the loo when she got her golden globe…. I’m staying in there all night. #menacristal #awardceremonynight
— Adonis Ben-Brahim H. (@Lipsie) February 6, 2014
Insightful:
The Internet of Things & wearable devices are happening. Will the second or third screen even be on your wrist or on your eyes? #MenaCristal
— Digital Republic (@DigRepublic) February 5, 2014
Believe and live. Respond and be more on. Involve with love. Champion (loudly) with amp #winning #menacristal #lastwords from Andrew Lazzaro
— Digital Republic (@DigRepublic) February 5, 2014
10 exabytes of data produced everyday. #menacristal
— Adonis Ben-Brahim H. (@Lipsie) February 5, 2014
Advertising has changed from the 30 sec slot you avoid on TV to a piece of video content you’re willing to share with friends #MenaCristal
— Digital Republic (@DigRepublic) February 5, 2014
GRAND CRISTALS & SPECIAL AWARDS
Festival Grand Cristal
Campaign: Fakka
Advertiser: Vodafone Egypt
Agency: JWT Cairo
One of the largest debated cases of the year. Vodafone Egypt deserve a lot of the credit for all these awards JWT have been reeking in… since it is now clear that Vodafone are behind the idea of the product: Micro-Recharge cards. For me, the product is more the hero rather than the campaign. The idea of its positioning and name is definitely worth something… just not too sure if it’s worth over 26 awards and a Cannes. My opinion anyway…
Film Grand Cristal
Campaign: Mobinil Reconnect
Advertiser: Mobinil Egypt
Agency: Leo Burnett Cairo
I’m actually not sure if this campaign ever ran. It’s not on any of Mobinil’s Social assets or even on Youtube. I’ve never seen it on TV, the DailyMotion link isn’t embedding here, and the bloody Vimeo videos are private. LOL. Rather suspicious in my opinion. Don’t get me wrong, I still think it’s a very cool idea but also not sure if it’s worth a Film Grand Cristal. One giant hmmmmmmmm…..
Here are links to see them (since I am not allowed to embed them here grrrrrrrrrr):
Mobinil Reconnect – Abd El Wahab
Mobinil Reconnect – Ibrahim
Mobinil Reconnect – Shimaa
Print Craft Grand Cristal
Campaign: Every Signature Makes It Harder
Advertiser: Amnesty International
Agency: JWT Doha
These are just plain awesome. I think it’s a great idea and wonderfully crafted. Well done!!
Production Grand Cristal
Campaign: Home is a Quest
Advertiser: Khalil Warde SAL
Agency: Leo Burnett Beirut & OneSize
Really colourful, detailed animations. Great collaboration by Leo Burnett and OneSize. I would have changed the tone of the Voice Over Artist who felt a little robotic in comparison with the incredible imagery and peaceful sound. Maybe a female voice would have been sweeter sounding.
Warde “Home Is A Quest” DIRECTOR’S CUT from Onesize on Vimeo.
PR Grand Cristal
Campaign: Volunteers Don’t Seek Recognition
Advertiser: Offre Joie
Agency: Leo Burnett Beirut
Not sure how eligible this campaign is since it ran in 2012. I’m guessing it was one of those campaigns that picked up momentum and that’s why it was eligible at the Cristals.
Media Grand Cristal
Campaign: Hello Tomorrow
Advertiser: Emirates Airline
Agency: Starcom MediaVest Group, UAE
One of the biggest media campaigns in the world… and zero embeddable case studies. Lovely!!
See the case study here
Promo & Direct Grand Cristal
Campaign: Kinoukuniya Books Bookends
Advertiser: Kinoukuniya Books
Agency: JWT Dubai
Just bloody brilliant. Basha!!
Advertisers Grand Cristal
Campaign: AN-NAHAR 80 years
Advertiser: AN-NAHAR
Agency: Impact BBDO, Lebanon
Very very very smart in-your-face idea. Bravo!!
MENA Leadership Council Grand Cristal
Campaign: Adham’s Mom
Advertiser: Vodafone Egypt
Agency: JWT Cairo, Egypt
Not sure what the hell this award is. Perhaps it should be renamed “Network Agency we decided to screw so we’re giving them this to not hate us – award”
I guess you get what you paid for…
ALL THE OTHER WINNERS HERE
Film Cristal Prize List
Radio Cristal Prize List
RANKINGS
CREATIVE RANKING OF THE FESTIVAL
1 – Impact BBDO Beirut
2 – Leo Burnett Beirut
3 – JWT Qatar
4 – Impact BBDO Dubai
5 – Leo Burnett Cairo
6 – Impact BBDO KSA
7 – Leo Burnett Dubai
8 – DDB Dubai
9 – JWT Dubai
10 – JWT Cairo
INTEGRATED ADVERTISING AGENCY OF THE YEAR
1 – Leo Burnett Beirut
2 – Impact BBDO Beirut
3 – JWT Dubai
4 – Impact BBDO Dubai
5 – Leo Burnett Dubai
6 – Leo Burnett Cairo
7 – JWT Qatar
8 – JWT Cairo
9 – JWT Riyadh
10 – Drive Dentsu Jeddah
NETWORK OF THE YEAR
1 – Leo Burnett
2 – JWT
3 – Impact BBDO
4 – Drive Dentsu
5 – DDB
6 – FP7
MEDIA AGENCY OF THE YEAR
1 – Starcom Dubai
2 – OMD UAE
3 – Initiative Dubai
4 – Mindshare Dubai
5 – Mindshare Beirut
6 – Mindshare Tunis
7 – PHP Dubai
MEDIA NETWORK OF THE YEAR
1 – Starcom
2 – OMD
3 – Initiative
4 – Mindshare
RANKING SCALE
Festival Grand Cristal = 15 points
Grand Cristal = 10 points
Cristal (Gold) = 7 points
Sapphire Cristal (Silver) = 5 points
Emerald Cristal (Bronze) = 3 points
Shortlist entry = 1 point