Middle East Special: Graham Fink on Dubai Lynx

Graham Fink, CCO of Ogilvy & Mather China, has been chosen to lead six juries at this year’s Dubai Lynx International Festival of Creativity. He tells shots why he’s a fan of regional festivals and how he’s getting ready for little sleep and big egos.

What attracted you to heading the juries at Dubai Lynx?

When I was asked to do it by Terry Savage [chairman of Lions Festivals, who joint organise Dubai Lynx], around nine months ago now, I immediately said yes. It seemed like an exciting thing to do. I had seen some nice work from that region whilst being President at AdFest and this seemed like a great opportunity to discover and learn more.

Why do you think regional festivals are important and why should companies etc. invest in entering them rather than Cannes?

Winning Lions at Cannes is very hard. And one of the problems with big international awards is that sometimes the more local ideas are not properly understood. I remember a number of great ads done in the UK that were overlooked by the Cannes juries as they simply didn’t get the backstory or the local nuance of language. Regional festivals are different and it’s a great way to encourage creatives as they possibly stand a better chance to get their work recognised. It will still be tough though and we must maintain a high standard.

You’re chairing six juries, which seems like a lot. How will you divide your time between them and are you expecting to get much sleep?

Terry told me it was going to be relaxing! He knows how to get the people he wants. I’m sure it will be a lot of work and you do get tired after concentrating so hard for long periods of time, but it is something that myself – and I’m sure the jury members – have done a number of times before. We are used to having to choose from lots of ideas and I find I can judge work very quickly. As always, the really great ideas stand head and shoulders above the rest.

Working in China has given me the experience to not worry too much about sleep. And of course we have to find time to go out and explore too.

What’s your approach to managing the different personalities on juries?

I’ve always found this one of the most interesting bits. We all know there are some big personalities in our business, big egos, too and a few are total fucking pains in the backside. But when everyone gets together it makes for a lot of fun. It’s important to get everyone’s point of view and my job is to bring out the voices from the quieter ones in the room. 

What will you look for in the entries?

I always look for the same thing. Something that I wish I had done. And something I could never have done.

After that, the work has got to be relevant and needs to stand out, it must be worth remembering – and of course you have to care about it. I find that so many pieces of work these days are made just because a client has put a brief in. But do you really care about it? Would you take time out of your busy day to engage with a brand for five to ten minutes? In most cases we kid ourselves that people are really interested in what we have to say.

Hopefully [the juries] will be weeding out all the rubbish and the great pretenders.

Are you familiar with much work from the MENA region? What do you think of the quality?

I have seen a few things from MENA that I like from other shows. In terms of quality though, it is a little bit like China. Some interesting ideas are let down by bad craftsmanship. Quite a lot of the work is very rational, too. There is nothing necessarily wrong with that if you can make it exciting or art direct it in an interesting way, but unfortunately most of the time it isn’t.

Are there many similarities between MENA and Asia as advertising territories?

There are a great deal of rules and regulations, and also religions come into play. Then you have to take into account humour, social nuances and cultural differences. This is something I found out the hard way when I came to China. But for all this there are the basic human truths and needs. We all tend to like going on holiday (apart from people like Tony Kaye). Getting a pay rise. Going out for a meal with friends and sharing stories. Something I’ve often found looking at work in China is that even if you don’t speak the language, there is something about the tone and the body language that touches you. You can feel if something is good or not. Hopefully I can draw on this experience.

Last year there were no Grands Prix or even golds awarded in several categories. Is it healthy for juries to withhold top honours?

Very much so. What is the point of giving an award to something if it doesn’t deserve it? It just makes a mockery of the festival and devalues the award itself. It also makes the jury look bad. I know that awards festivals like to give out the accolades, but in my book, only ever give an award if it really deserves it.

Is there pressure on awards juries to ‘find’ winners?

Yes, of course. As just mentioned. But it will be my job to take that pressure off.

Can people from overseas judge regional awards with the same insight as locals who might better understand the cultures of the markets?

Again, the great thing about local and regional shows is that the cultural and local insights are often better understood. And the jury is made up of people predominantly in the region. But it’s also good to have a few people from overseas who can come at an idea completely fresh. They are seeing it often for the first time and that is a good thing. If something gets shortlisted, that is when the discussions can take place and it’s important that local people explain the backstory.

Have you been to Dubai before? What are you looking forward to about your visit outside of the festival?

I visited Dubai a few years back when working on a freelance project. I found it fascinating. I think it’s always good to get out of your hotel room and explore the local culture and of course take a lot of photographs. I’m really looking forward to the trip.