NY Festivals Advertising Awards Highlight Nigerian Creatives

The New York Festivals (NYF) Advertising Awards may not be the biggest or best known awards show, but being based in the melting pot of the U.S. gives it access to creative work from all over the globe. This year, the awards show is reaching across the Atlantic and into the heart of Africa to showcase work and interviews with creatives from Nigeria. The initiative, launched by Lauren Murray, associate executive director of NYF’s Advertising Awards, provides an opportunity for the organization to shine the spotlight on emerging and established talent. NYF’s ambassadors will be showcased via the awards’ platforms during the competition and serve on the 2022 grand jury. “NYFA’s Ambassadors will be our eyes and ears within the representative’s country. Working together with our team, they will introduce us to local creatives and agencies, and will be sharing exceptional creative work represented by their country,” said Murray in a statement, adding that the work will be shared through video interviews and social media posts. The New York Festivals made the decision to feature the creative of other countries because, while it’s in New York, it is an international competition. “New York is a cultural hub for the world,” Scott Rose, executive director of the New York Festivals Advertising Awards told Adweek. “We started trying to celebrate the people behind the work as much as we are trying to celebrate the work that gets awarded by our juries…If we can create some content together and bring in interesting voices, it's a win for all of us, and we get to showcase really interesting creatives.” The first ambassador To kick off the ambassador program, New York Festivals turned to Dotun Bello, senior copywriter for TBWA\Chiat\Day as its first ambassador. Bello, a native of Lagos, Nigeria, approached Murray and the NYF about highlighting his home country, since it’s a region that isn’t often considered in international festivals. “I am someone that moved to the U.S. from Lagos and I find that it's super difficult to speak to advertising from smaller markets because there isn't an understanding [of that market],” Bello told Adweek, adding that the creatives in Nigeria don’t have the awareness to send out their work to international journalists and awards shows. But Bello believes that the quality of the work from Nigeria is just as good as in any other region of the world, it’s just different in its approach. Bello said that Nigerian work is big on insights and the work can often be based in parables. He gave one example for telecom brand Airtel from Lagos agency Noah’s Ark that utilized the concept of a rainmaker—a person who can predict and control when it rains—to get across the idea that your smartphone network can predict the weather better than an actual rainmaker. “It’s about the local insights and how they can still be applied at the regional level, but they don't necessarily translate to our conversation [in the U.S.]… I feel like for markets like India, Brazil and Nigeria, a lot of times the beauty is in the idea and then they find a simple way to pass it across,” said Bello. Bello is now based in Brooklyn, but he began his advertising career in Lagos before making his way to the U.S. in 2015. He has created campaigns for brands including Guinness, Bharti-Airtel, BMW, Xfinity, Louis XIII, Samsung and YouTube among others. He is thrilled to be the first ambassador for the NYF program and feature the work from a smaller advertising community like Lagos. “It's probably the most important thing I've done,” said Bello. “It means a lot to finally be able to create a bridge where I can start to shine a light. There is nothing more beautiful than being able to represent the place you come from.” As part of the creative ambassador program’s “New for 2022” feature, Bello is interviewed by NYF executive jury president, Fede Garcia, global chief creative officer at BCW. Future interviews will shine the spotlight on Lagos creatives and emerging global talent. The New York Festivals Advertising Awards competition receives entries from more than 60 countries, judged by more than 400 members of NYF’s executive jury and grand jury. The jury panel selection is currently in progress and the executive jury sessions will convene in June. “We're always trying to get bias and lack of cultural understanding out of the jury rooms so that the work can be looked at on a fair playing field,” said Rose, adding that having the work from Lagos on display will bring a greater cultural comprehension. The deadline to enter the 2022 New York Festivals Advertising Awards is April 1. For more information on categories, rules and regulations or to enter, visit here. How Adebayo Owosina left DDB Nigeria to Create his Dream Agency

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New York Festivals Advertising Awards Will Shine a Spotlight on Nigerian Creatives

Inaugural Creative Ambassador Program names TBWA’s Dotun Bello as first ambassador

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Kyle O’Brien