The jury of the Okaz Creative Advertisement Awards competition met Monday to select this year's winners in 11 categories. (From left to right) Dr. Rami Damanhori (member), Abubakir Omar Balfaqih (member), Saleh Al-Turki (chairman), Kathryn Blee Carlyle (member), Atef A. Nassef (member) and Abdullah Bankhar (secretary general). Insets Gregory Titeca (member), Santosh Padhi (member) (Okaz photos)JEDDAH: The members of the jury of the Okaz Creative Advertisement Awards competition met Monday to choose the winning submissions in 11 categories.Two members participated online from their home countries. Winners will be announced Wednesday at the Jeddah Hilton in the presence of Prince Misha'l Bin Majed, Governor of Jeddah. Dr. Saleh Al-Turki, Chairman of the Jury Committee, said that the submissions were better than those in last year's competition, but “we are committed to protecting the value of the prize by only giving it to those who deserve it.” He said that last year the committee was criticized for been tough in its judgments, but he explained “we are following international standards that all well-known advertising companies are keen to follow when designing ads for their clients”. This year the jury has decided to raise the number of awards for the Saudi Talents category from three to five in order to encourage young Saudi advertisers. Rami Damanhori, a jury member, said “we take into consideration if the winning texts are appropriate to the community's culture, as well as their innovation and simplicity.” He said that the average person in the Kingdom receives approximately 2,000 ad messages a day and that only a few of them remain in the memory for long. Memorable ads cannot be created without innovation and simplicity, he added.
