Kalpesh Patankar, the Executive Creative Director of Y&R Dubai, is a Juror in the Radio Lions category.
Being A Juror
Every year at Cannes Lions is special because the advertising industry is always evolving. As a jury member in the past, and this year, we get to see firsthand global work and trends. It is an immense learning experience for anyone from our business. You always leave Cannes wiser, and I am looking forward to that.
MENA @Cannes Lions
I would say that we been performing well since the last six or seven years and growing strongly at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The MENA region is unique because of it has so many different cultures. The work we see often has a strong cultural insight, with innovative answers to briefs. We see beautiful design and craft, and even TV and video content has its own special language and flavor. I am hoping to see work that is innovative, has standout character reflecting our region and is truly award winning. I am sure that there will be a fairly good showing this year for MENA.
Expectations
Every year we win as a region, and when we do this, we gain invaluable experience to equip us better for the future. I expect to see more awards from this region this year. Some of the hot contenders include work from Coca-Cola like ‘Dark Iftar’, du films along with American Garden – The World Expiration Date. These are some that I think should do well. From the different market viewpoint, I am hopeful about UAE, Egypt, Lebanon, Qatar and Jordan to do well – these are home to some of the most talented creative people in the region.
