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After the Sursock Museum in 2023, the 28th edition of the Pikasso d’Or was celebrated in another symbolically rich and heritage-filled venue by the advertising company Pikasso: the Maison Corm, an architectural gem nearly a century old that served as the headquarters for Ford in the 1930s and now houses the Charles Corm Foundation. As usual, dozens of advertisers and creatives gathered to celebrate creativity and honor the winners of the best advertising campaigns for the year 2023 in Lebanon and Iraq.
In his welcome message, Antonio Vincenti, founder and CEO of Pikasso, aware that 2024 will be a challenging year for the advertising sector, called for caution so that municipalities do not exponentially increase taxes and rental rates for billboards. “Today, dialogue with local authorities to determine new rates has become more important than ever, as the role of these authorities, representing the state, is also to preserve private companies through reasonable rates in line with economic reality. We hope that municipalities will not get caught up in the game of inflation,” he stated. The advertising sector had a bad year in 2023 in terms of advertising investments, but despite this, municipalities tend to apply rates similar to pre-crisis rates while the advertising market does not follow. Advertising investments barely reached $8 million in 2023, whereas they peaked at $40 million before the economic crisis.
Vincenti regretted that investments in digital advertising (30% of the market in Lebanon) benefit multinational companies based abroad, which are not subject to any local taxes or duties. “What needs to be done to continue investing in advertising budgets within the country? The answer is the development of an effective plan to maintain the attractiveness of the outdoor advertising sector with rates that keep it competitive.” He continued, “Facing the changing challenges of the advertising sector, our company wishes, through the Pikasso d’Or Awards, to contribute to preserving Lebanon as one of the most important advertising creativity centers in the Middle East.”
After this insightful introduction, the award ceremony began. For Lebanon, 22 agencies participated by presenting 66 campaigns comprising 147 visuals. Thirteen campaigns were awarded in 5 categories, in addition to the Grand Prize, which honors the best campaign across all categories.
In the premier category, the 4×3 format, the Kefraya campaign designed by the agency Phenomena won the Pikasso d’Or. The Lux campaign developed by the agency PIMO won the Pikasso d’Or in the Large Formats category. Roadster Diner took home the Pikasso d’Or in the Mall category, and Almaza won the first prize in the Digital category. Finally, Rebirth Beirut received gold in the Public Interest Campaigns category. Lux won the Grand Prize with a powerful, subtle, and elegant visual. In its campaign, which also included graffiti drawn by talented artists in Beirut, Amman and Baghdad, the Unilever brand takes a stand against sexism and empowers women. By cleverly hiding some letters, the slogan in Arabic “discrimination against women” was transformed into an encouraging message “the power of women to stand out.”
The Pikasso d’Or also selects the best campaigns in six other countries where the group is present: Iraq, Jordan, Algeria, Mali, and for the first time, Senegal and Ivory Coast.
