Source: Campaign ME, April 12 – 25, 2009. Pages: 20-21.

The following is an excerpt from the above published special report by Campaign ME.

Meanwhile, the individual who helped kick-start the investigation with the publication of an anonymous letter on his site, bloganubis, from ‘John Doh’, has no regrets. ”If I had to do it all over again I would not hesitate for a nanosecond. Please remember that I only broke the code of silence by publishing the letter but it was the agencies that participated with illegitimate work that broke the laws. So don’t shoot the messenger,” says anti-copycat and anti-ghost ad campaigner, Louai Alasfahani, of Kuwait’s Paragon Advertising. “ In terms of satisfaction; on one level I am satisfied that finally after years of denial the advertising industry in this region was forced to acknowledge the existence of a problem that has reached a pandemic proportion. I see this as progress; since the first step towards solving a problem is admitting that the problem exists.”

The following is the full set of questions sent by Campaign ME (and the full answers) to Louai Alasfahani  Paragon Marketing Communications Managing Director/Chief Creative Officer and the IAA Kuwait Chapter Secretary General.

Continue reading ‘What lessons can be learned?’

Source: Campaign ME, 12 April 2009. Page: 19.

Creativity awards function like mirrors, reflecting undistorted images of its subjects. If we don’t like an ugly reflection can we blame the mirror!

 

History is there to learn from, but not to obsess over. Make mistakes. Apologize. Repeat. And grow from your passion. 

Written by Anil George, Thursday, 23 April 2009

Fortune Promoseven has just issued an official statement regarding the recent Lynx controversy, stating, “Fortune Promoseven had committed to thoroughly investigate FP7 Doha’s entries into Dubai Lynx 2009. This internal investigation has now been concluded. It seems our strict policies and procedures for awards entries were circumvented. This is clearly unacceptable to our company. As a strong demonstration of the seriousness with which we view such behaviour, it has been decided that FP7 Doha will hand back all of its awards from the Dubai Lynx festival, and FP7 Doha has also been instructed not to submit any entries to Cannes Lions 2009. Corrective actions are being taken and several staff responsible will part ways with the company. In addition, FP7 Doha is strengthening its policies and procedures to ensure compliance for all future awards entries.” The Dubai Lynx management has endorsed the action, with Philip Thomas, Chief Executive Officer, Dubai International Advertising Festival stating “We have been in communication with FP7 throughout their internal investigation, and we welcome this action. Promoseven’s decision to have FP7 Doha return all awards – including bona-fide winners – shows real intent. Dubai Lynx is about lifting creativity for clients in the region and this action sends a signal to the market that this is what the focus of Lynx will be in the future. We will announce changes to the 2010 entry criteria shortly”.

Source: http://adnationme.com/news/latest-stories/fp7-doha-to-hand-back-lynx-2009-awards.html

Related link: http://campaignme.wordpress.com/2009/04/23/fp7-doha-announces-action-over-lynx-scam-scandal/