Dubai Lynx organizers withdraw Agency of the Year award

The organizers of the Dubai Lynx awards have announced the withdrawal of the Agency of the Year recognition given to FP7 Doha this year. The move follows the controversy over FP7 Doha’s campaigns for its clients Samsung, Higeen Mouthwash and Nissan, which Philips Thomas, CEO, Cannes festival has said violates the entry requirements for the Dubai Lynx awards.

An official communiqué from the Dubai Lynx organizers on the withdrawal states that investigations after this year's award show had revealed numerous examples of work from FP7 Doha that did not meet the Dubai Lynx entry criteria and states that consequently the 18 submissions and the associated seven awards were withdrawn. Those awards included one gold print campaign, one gold TV/Cinema campaign, three silver print campaigns, one silver outdoor campaign and one bronze TV/Cinema campaign. Also, ten pieces which were shortlisted in the print and outdoor categories were also disqualified.

"Even before the awards night we had withdrawn a number of pieces of work from the competition but subsequently our investigation has found other pieces that were presented to the jury that infringed our requirement that all work presented must represent the client who approved it. Our rules are very clear with regards to this, and we have no hesitation in withdrawing these awards," said Philip Thomas, Dubai Lynx CEO.

He further added, "The Dubai Lynx Awards exist to celebrate and raise the creative bar of genuine work of the region. Activities like this show a disregard not only for the awards but more importantly for the juries who work so hard judging the event. Due to the scale of withdrawals we feel it inappropriate to honour FP7 Doha as Agency of the Year and so will be withdrawing the prize. I hope that this swift action makes clear our determination to build an award with true integrity for the region.”