Ihaveanidea, Advertising’s Intellectual Archive, closed off the 7th edition of Portfolio Night, a global movement that made its way to the Middle East for the first time with the aim of bridging the gap between young creative talent and the advertising industry. PN7 was hosted by Memac Ogilvy in three of its strategic markets in the region: Beirut, Dubai and Tunis, and marks the first time such an initiative has been undertaken.
In the UAE, dozens of students and young designers flocked to the Ritz Carlton to take part in the largest simultaneous advertising portfolio review ever held in the region. The event featured a uniquely designed portfolio review process in a “speed-dating” setting during which each student spent 45 minutes of quality time with at least 3 of the advertising industry’s top creative directors.
”Ihaveanidea is pleased to have Memac Ogilvy as the Portfolio Night 7 Host in the Middle East. Portfolio Night Hosts are integral in bringing this monumental industry event to their city. They are the local partners in charge of the colossal task of making this event happen each year and are the center of Portfolio Night in their city. Without them on the ground spearheading Portfolio Night in their city we really couldn’t make this event happen” says Ignacio Oreamuno, president of ihaveanidea.
Commenting on the event was Edmond Moutran, CEO of Memac Ogilvy MENA who praised all the agencies that took part in this initiative, “I would like to thank all the creative directors for taking the time to guide and nurture these fresh young talents who will represent our industry in the future; this is the very first time advertising agencies have aligned as such and hopefully will not be the last time we take on such efforts to reach and coach individuals looking to enter the ad industry.”
“We had the chance to see some great work today and we hope that the young talents who were brave and open enough to show their work to the most senior references in the advertising industry will feel empowered to continue and pursue a career in advertising,” noted Ossama El Kaoukji, chief creative officer, Memac Ogilvy.
Portfolio Night 7 enabled hundreds of industry professionals to mentor aspiring creatives in cities like Amsterdam, Bangkok, Barcelona, Beirut, Boston, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Dubai, Hamburg, Johannesburg, Lisbon, London, Los Angeles, Melbourne, Mexico City, Milan, Miami, Montreal, Mumbai, New York, Paris, Quebec City, Sao Paulo, San Francisco, Santiago, Shanghai, Stockholm, Sydney, Tokyo, Toronto, Tunis and Vancouver.