‘What I learnt at The Loeries’

A juror at The Loeries in South Africa, Impact BBDO’s Fadi Yaish came away from the festival with the view that awards shows must elevate both the region and its people

Afew months ago, all I knew about The Loeries was that it was an award show tucked away in South Africa. Boy, was I wrong.

I travelled to the Loeries to fulfil my duties as a jury member without any expectations worth mentioning. Yet, I was more inspired more by this one show than all the others I have either attended or judged. During my stay in Durban I realised that if advertising festival organisers want to truly elevate a region, they can. If they want to have fair judging based solely on the merit of great ideas and effectiveness, they can.

This is when I made a mental note – to share my learnings here with everyone back home.

If we are to enter an award show only to celebrate creativity and reward great ideas, then what is really the difference between a regional show and an international one? Why do we need the Dubai Lynx, the Mena Cristals, Adfest, The Loeries and the Effies when international shows such as Cannes, the Clios, LIA, D&AD, One Show, New York Festivals, Cresta and PIAF serve the same purpose? These were questions I never asked myself before I saw what a regional show can be. Again, this is my point of view but I guess a lot of people would agree.

At the Loeries I realised that it is not enough for a regional show to elevate the industry by only pushing its professionals. Or even inspire them with seminars. Because this is what many international shows offer, notwithstanding the convenience of location. It is only when regional shows truly focus on the younger generation of future profes- sionals as much as industry professionals that the industry can prosper as a whole.

For instance, The Loeries awards five full scholarships to students who are faced with financial difficulties. They also give students free space amid the exhibition to showcase their work. This is a priceless opportunity for students, as they can both receive constructive advice and possible career opportunities.

But that’s not all. During the two- night ceremony, over half of night one was dedicated to rewarding competition within every advertising and design school. This is followed by three main prizes for schools. I must admit, during all of this there were many industry professionals counting sheep. But we all must remember that what really matters at the end is that for us it just a trophy on a shelf. But for them, it is a window.

How much do we need to push our region from the roots up? The answer to this question is not found in boxes that need ticking. But it’s a collective responsibility that falls on all our shoulders. It should be our prerogative as professional leaders and agencies to ensure that a part of the money that we spend on awards festivals goes towards nurturing new talent. Not only to help the generations to come but also to help ourselves. Case in point: Barcelona’s La Masia academy.

If you ask me ‘what is the biggest lesson from the Loeries?’ I would say a regional show must be built with just one goal in mind – to elevate the region and its people. It’s not just another award show, there are many of those.

In addition, the show is set up in such a way that both regional clients and agencies are equally engaged. In fact, the clients themselves launch programmes to push and help young talent in the region. To illustrate, I was invited to an event hosted by Unilever where they were awarding young creatives who had won a film competition to promote South Africa.

Simple gestures by the organisers also stood out, like the free market day at a park where the entire time was spent with no speakers or seminars. Just an open free market where local people come together with their kiosks of food, beverages, music and the works. All designed to bring the industry together.

I was happy to see long tables, which at first I thought were individual tables reserved by a single agency or network. Until I discovered that these were people from all around the region, from different agencies and networks – just sitting together to talk and mingle as one.

Here’s to seeing more and more long tables.