…X3M Ideas Named Agency of the Year
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| L-R: The President, Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Steve Babaeko; the Chief Executive Officer, TreeWater Retreats Limited, Julia Oku-Jacks; the Chairman, Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) Awards Management Board, Lanre Adisa and Vice-Chairman, LAIF Management Board, Temitope Jemerigbe during the 2021 LAIF Awards held in Lagos on Saturday. |
The award ceremony which was held on Saturday, November 20,
2021, at the Landmark Event Centre, Victoria Island, Lagos saw the Steve
Babaeko-led X3M Marketing Ideas Limited emerge as the topmost ranked agency
with 9 Gold, 16 Silver, and 8 Bronze. The Agency was also named the 2021 Agency
of the Year.
Dentsu MCGarryBowen came second on the medals table carting
home 2 Gold, 14 Silver, and 12 Bronze while Insight Publicis and Noah’s Ark
emerged third and fourth respectively. Insight Publicis won 3 Gold, 5 Silver,
and 4 Bronze while Noah’s Ark Communications won 4 Gold, 6 Silver, and 6
Bronze.
Delivering his remarks at the event, the Special Guest of
Honour, the Governor of Lagos State, Mr. Babajide Sanwo-Olu who was represented
by the Commissioner for Establishment, Training, and Pensions, Lagos State,
Mrs. Ajibola Ponle, commended the organizers for consistently making the event
a reality.
While assuring AAAN of his administration’s commitment and
support toward the success of the industry, Sanwo-Olu noted that the
advertising industry, by their creative works, has contributed immensely in
putting not only Lagos state but Nigeria on the global map.
In his welcome remarks, the President of the Association of
Advertising Agencies of Nigeria(AAAN), Mr. Steve Babaeko, noted that the LAIF
Awards remain the biggest platform to recognize and reward creativity in
Nigeria.
Also speaking at the occasion, Chairman of the LAIF Awards
Management Board, Mr. Lanre Adisa, explained that the 2021 edition of the award
which is the 16th edition of the Festival received over 350 entries from a
total of 21 Agencies.
Adisa noted that despite the challenging period occasioned
by the impact of the COVID-19 virus, many creative agencies demonstrated a
great spirit of resilience by churning out works that could compete favourably
with works from their counterparts in other countries or continents.
The highpoint of the event came when Noah’s Ark
Communications Limited and Ogilvy Nigeria won the Authentic Africa Story and
Viewers’ Choice Award categories respectively.
While Noah’s Ark Communications won the category with the
Airtel Nigeria’s ‘Rainmaker’ ad, Ogilvy Nigeria was crowned for its
Cadbury’s ‘Hot Chocolate Indulgence’
campaign.
Another key highlight of the event was the induction of a
renowned and celebrated amazon in the advertising industry, Julia Oku-Jacks,
into the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF) Awards Hall of Fame.
Two viral content creators and a non-governmental
organization namely, Ikorodu Bois, Josh2 Funny , and Slum2School were equally
given special awards and recognitions for their contribution in advancing the
cause of creativity.