Friday, March 2, 2018

On the Pikasso d'Or this year

So the Pikasso d'Or ceremony came and went, this year the all-categories award went to Byblos Bank for the youth campaign. That this came on the backdrop of a very difficult financial year in Lebanon is an understatement, so the ceremony in itself taking place was a major act of tenacity and resilience.
I have heard echoes and whispers (OK fine full blown conversations!) that what distinguished the award ceremony this year was that it was influence and rigging free. Sorry I am mentioning this but as a juror at the Epica awards, which is probably the only rigging free festival as it is judged by journalists who do not have financial skin in the game, merely having a jury composed of ad agencies is itself ethically debatable.
The full list of winners is posted on the Pikasso Instagram page - and on a lighter note can you believe Al Waseet let me run this ad in 2005 for my services? (sorry for the blurring this is an enlarged version of a much smaller ad).