ADFEST has appointed Ali Rez, Regional Creative Director at Impact BBDO Middle East and Pakistan, as Jury President of Design Lotus and Print Craft Lotus at ADFEST 2019.
After moving to the Middle East in 2010 from the USA, Rez quickly became one of the most prolific award winners in the region. He worked at Grey Middle East, Saatchi & Saatchi Pakistan and FP7 McCann Dubai before joining Impact BBDO Dubai, raising the agency’s profile with provocative campaigns like ‘The Bridal Uniform’ for UN Women and ‘Not A Bug Splat’ for FFR.
“Ali has managed global brands across the Middle East, Africa and South Asia and he’s worked everywhere from Beijing and San Francisco to Lahore and Dubai. He brings a unique global perspective to his role as Jury President – not to mention the fact that Impact BBDO’s Middle East & Pakistan offices are behind some of the world’s most awarded campaigns of 2018. We’re looking forward to welcoming Ali to Thailand next March,” says Jimmy Lam, President of ADFEST.
Rez led BBDO to be named Campaign Asia’s Agency of the Year twice in a row, has lectured at Oxford University, exhibited at major museums such as Tate UK, spoken at TEDx, captained a cricket team in California, and travelled to 120 countries. He originally embarked on a Physics degree before realising he was much better suited to work in advertising, spending the first decade of his career in San Francisco. Ali has won more than 300 international awards and has been ranked amongst the Top 15 Creative Directors in the world by The Directory Big Won Rankings.
He says: “I’m honoured to accept this judging role at ADFEST. It’s a festival that shares my belief that the best ideas are usually shaped by local culture, and I’m eager to see the work that is raising creative standards across Asia and the Middle East.”
ADFEST 2019 will be held at PEACH Royal Cliff Hotels Group, Pattaya, Thailand from Wednesday 20th March to Saturday 23rd March 2019. The Call To Entries for the ADFEST 2019 Lotus Awards will open soon. For the latest news and announcements, visit www.ADFEST.com
