Athar Awards 2024 celebrates Saudi creativity and culture

November 08, 2024

The second edition of Athar – Saudi Festival of Creativity, the Kingdom’s premier event for the creative marketing industry, concluded this week with the Athar Awards ceremony. This year, the awards honoured 51 exceptional achievements, celebrating the strength and growth of Saudi Arabia’s creative and communications sector. Winners across campaign, team, and individual categories were recognised, closing the two-day festival on a high note.

Ian Fairservice, Chairman of Athar Festival and Managing Partner of Motivate Media Group, said: “The Athar Awards are a cornerstone of the festival, honouring the creative brilliance that is driving Saudi Arabia’s marketing industry forward. These awards celebrate the best work to come out of the Kingdom that meets the highest standards while also pushing the boundaries of creativity and setting a new benchmark for excellence.”

Expressing his pride in the emerging Saudi talents honoured at the awards gala, Mohamed Al Ayed, Vice Chairman of Athar Festival and CEO of TRACCS, said: “Athar Awards are more than a celebration of exceptional creative work – they honour the incredible talent behind it, who have shown dedication to innovation, storytelling, and excellence. By celebrating these leaders today, our aim is to encourage and inspire the next generation of creative minds in Saudi Arabia, transforming a culture rich in creativity into a culture of creativity.”

This year’s finalists were rigorously evaluated through a multi-level judging process led by an expert panel of 80 industry professionals, representing sectors from media and technology to hospitality. The judging underscored both the originality and strategic impact of each entry, as well as the individuals propelling the industry forward.

A total of 26 gold trophies were awarded to campaigns demonstrating outstanding creativity and impact, while 25 additional entries earned silver trophies for their significant contributions. Recognising emerging talent, the festival also awarded members of the Young Talent Academy, celebrating Saudi Arabia’s future creative leaders. Certificates were also presented to participants of the Maheerah Women’s Empowerment Programme, honouring their successful completion of the accelerator programme.

Athar Award winners

Best Empowerment Campaign

Winner: SRMG Labs – Sound of the Flag
Winner: TBWA\RAAD – KFC: The Original Gamechangers
Highly Commended: VML – Hunger Station – Tip Time

Best Innovative Campaign

Winner: SRMG Labs – Sound of the Flag
Highly Commended: Webedia KSA – Moving the Nation Without Moving the Budget

Best Cultural Campaign

Winner: Burson & Royal Commission for AlUla – I Care
Highly Commended:
- MMS Communications Saudi Arabia, Leo Burnett KSA, Saatchi & Saatchi ME & Saudia – Rihla (Journey)
- VML – stc – Pay with Poetry

Best National Day Holiday Campaign

Winner: SRMG Labs – Sound of the Flag
Highly Commended:
- Dentsu MENA & Hungerstation – Fananees
- VML – stc – Baity Battle

Best Sustainability Campaign

Winner: Serviceplan – The Treeless Map
Highly Commended: VML – Nova – From This Land, For This Land

Best Environmental Campaign

Winner: Burson & Royal Commission for AlUla – I Care
Highly Commended: Serviceplan – The Treeless Map

Best Destination Campaign

Winner: MBC Media Solutions – The Weatherman روح السعودية activation with Saudi Tourism Authority
Highly Commended: MMS Communications Saudi Arabia, Leo Burnett KSA & Saudia – Driving World Cup Visitors to Saudi Arabia

Best National Development Campaign

Winner: Droga5 London & Accenture Song ME – Qiddiya – Play Life
Highly Commended: Landor – Made to Chang

Best Transformation Campaign

Winner: TBWA\RAAD – KFC: [CHICKEN]STOCK
Highly Commended: Leo Burnett – Sync – The Sync-ervention

Best Campaign for The Future of Saudi Arabia

Winner: SRMG Labs – Sound of the Flag
Highly Commended:
- Serviceplan – The Treeless Map
- SRMG Labs – Newspaper Courts

Best Business Growth Campaign

Winner: VML – Coca-Cola – I See Coke
Highly Commended: Science & Sunshine – The Lay’s Heist

Best Not for Profit Campaign

Winner: SRMG Labs – Sound of the Flag
Highly Commended:
- The Bold Group & Alwaleed Philanthropies – Atlai: The First Public AI Reporter
- Webedia KSA – Moving the Nation Without Moving the Budget

Best Partnership Campaign

Winner: VML – Coca-Cola – I See Coke
Highly Commended:
- Science & Sunshine – Lay’s x KFC Worth the Wait
- VML – AJVA Ford & HungerStation – That Affordable

Best Governmental Campaign

Winner:
- fitameen Creative Communication – Sah: The Path to Financial Empowerment
- Webedia KSA – Moving the Nation Without Moving the Budget
Highly Commended: Digitect – Safety in Simplicity by the Ministry of Interior

Media Team of the Year

Winner: Social Clinic – Social Clinic

Business Growth Team of the Year

Winner: Webedia KSA – Webedia KSA

Marketing Communications Team of the Year

Winner: ROSHN Group – ROSHN Group

Creative Leader of the Year

Winner: VML – Firas Ghannam
Highly Commended: Onsor Mosha – Abdullah Alrowis

Marketing Leader of the Year

Winner: ROSHN Group – Ghada Alrumayan
Highly Commended: Saudi Sports for All Federation – Ammar Omar Alamro

Agency Leader of the Year

Winner: VML – Camille Haddad
Highly Commended: Social Clinic – Rayyan Jamjoom

Agency Growth Person of the Year

Winner: Habbar – Alhareth Khalid Albelaihed
Highly Commended: Onsor Mosha – Yara Al-Dossary

Young Creative of the Year

Winner: Habbar – Abdullah Tariq
Highly Commended: Onsor Mosha – Alwaleed Abdulaziz Alslamah

Young Marketer of the Year

Winner: ROSHN Group – Ola Abuelberak
Highly Commended: Tajalla Creative Agency – Kholoud AlBarq

Reflecting on her experience as a jury member for the Athar Awards, Reema Al Shammasi, Vice President of Marketing and Communications at Mastercard, said: “I am delighted and proud to be a part of the Athar Awards jury panel. Coming here to discover and discuss all these creative campaigns and innovative ideas has been quite an inspirational journey. This experience has been truly enlightening, offering valuable exposure and insight into some of the Kingdom’s most creative campaigns.”

The Athar Festival brought together more than 1,700 global and regional industry leaders, with more than 100 speakers engaging in discussions on two stages. The event delivered 100 hours of content, including panel discussions, presentations, and masterclasses, promoting collaboration and knowledge-sharing within Saudi Arabia’s creative community.