10 April 2008
A million fakes and a couple of genuine winners

Dave King, Executive Creative Director at AIM Proximity Auckland, describes his time as a juror at the 2008 Dubai Lynx Awards.

A million fake watches, a bar full of dodgy women and some very nice ideas. Definitely not what I expected to find at this year’s Dubai Lynx advertising festival.

To be honest, when Terry Savage, Chairman of Cannes Lions asked me if I wanted to judge Cannes’ sister show, the Lynx Awards, I had to admit I’d never heard of ‘em. “The major show for the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) mate. It’s a cracker!” he said. And after guaranteeing he’d show me a great time, I eagerly agreed. Thank God I did.

Judging international shows is always rewarding. As well as getting you thinking about what it is that differentiates really good work from great work, it also gets you debating the same with a bunch of world class creatives. And, I have to say, the interactive and direct panel I was on was one of the best I’ve had the pleasure of being with, not only while judging, but also while enjoying the many delights of Dubai. Being the perfect size, just 9 people, our panel debated and argued and discussed but always respected what the others had to say. More importantly, we were also able to be flexible and widen the goal posts when we needed to. Let me explain.

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