Till Hohmann, executive creative director at Memac Ogilvy Dubai, was appointed as a judge at the 42nd edition of the German Art Director’s Club award in Berlin, the agency says.
 
The judging process took place during the second week of April, followed by a public exhibition which will run for five days. The show will feature more than 9,000 entries this year.
Notable figures present at the event included club members such as German advertising veteran Michael Conrad and German designer Karl Lagerfeld. The club selects its members in lieu of an application process.

Hohmann praised Dubai’s status as a global hub for adding a cross-cultural element to his agency’s work, and for causing an influx of talent into the region. “I’m sure that the number of creatives from the region asked to judge award shows abroad will increase rapidly in the near future,” says Hohmann in the statement.
 
The Ogilvy creative credited the Dubai Lynx awards with serving to increase awareness of the regional advertising scene, expressing surprise at positive reactions in Berlin to Dubai’s ad landscape. “Someone is paying attention,” Hohmann, who judged 600 entries in two categories at the event, tells Communicate.
 
Regional work still has a way to go, however. The differences between the Director’s Club awards and Dubai Lynx involve more than simple cosmetics, with a public exhibition that showcases all the entries – “one year’s worth of creative work,” says Hohmann. But with an additional perk. “You see good work, and really good work.”
 
Still, the lack of maturity in the region’s efforts so far hasn’t dampened Hohmann’s enthusiasm. The Middle Eastern scene remains “more hectic, less organized but with lots of opportunity,” says Hohmann, as opposed to stagnant developed markets, where “defending what you’ve got, not attacking new things” is the maxim of agencies.
 
Which doesn’t mean regional agencies don’t have a thing or two to learn from their counterparts abroad. “We’re not that connected here,” says Hohmann, criticizing the lack of a community presence to the region’s advertising scene. He attributes the situation to expatriate professionals being forced to leave the country after departing their existing agencies. “Regional labor laws are, in a way, inhibitive,” he says.
 
Another issue is one of image, with Dubai’s architectural ambitions making headlines, as opposed to its growing advertising scene, with a perception of the city as a “holiday destination,” says Hohmann.
 
But that’s where he comes in. “Call me an ambassador,” he says.