Advertising festival Dubai Lynx has begun. Presented by the Cannes Lions International Advertising Festival and regional partners, this is the second year for festival whose attendance has seen a marked increase. Bob Isherwood, ex-Worldwide Creative Director of Saatchi and Saatchi, kicked off the event with a speech titled, “The ore that gold comes from.” No idea where he took that title, but according to reports, Isherwood was well received. They festival also named their advertising person of the year: Tanvir Kanji, head of Inca Tanvir, an independent integrated communications company.
Also, the first twenty-one students have been selected from 8 countries in the Middle East for Leo Burnett’s Dubai Lynx Academy. The academy, which launched this year is an industry initiative to support the future of advertising. The students come from Egypt, India, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Syria and the UAE and three of these people will be offered an internship with Leo Burnett.
Raja Trad, CEO of Leo Burnett Middle East added: “In these difficult economic times our focus can become otherwise distracted but we must continue to invest in the future of the industry and make sure there is no dearth of talent in the years to come.”
Isn’t that the truth?