Can Saatchi & Saatchi revive its fortunes?

Saatchi & Saatchi must be letting out a huge sigh of relief. The once prominent creative agency had almost disappeared off the Middle East’s agency map, but now it’s been given the chance to revive its fortunes thanks to its first major account win in ages – the Dubai Metro.

The securing of the brief follows months of turbulence and an internal restructure that has seen a string of newcomers walk through its doors and regional creative director Ed Jones depart. The changes have been implemented for obvious reasons. It needs to improve.

Saatchi & Saatchi remains a shadow of its former self. The heady days of 2007, when it was named the inaugural Dubai Lynx advertising agency of the year, are hard to recollect.

Is Dubai Metro the boost needed to turn the agency around?

Why can’t adland play nicely?

As the bluster of last week’s Dubai Lynx dies down (or heats up depending on your opinion) one lasting impression from the night itself was of certain attendees choosing to leave the event rather than cheer on their peers/rivals. Of course no one likes to lose, and one of the inevitable aspects of awards is that work that didn’t get recognised took as much time, effort and determination as work that did. But that, as they say, is just the way the cookie crumbles.

Even taking into account the natural competitiveness that such occasions throw up, was it too much to expect that on one of the few nights the region’s industry gets together to celebrate as one, people might have been able to grin and bear it?

The nature of the Lynx awards ceremony itself might be partly to blame. At other awards nights elsewhere in the world, after the prize giving is over the party kicks in until the wee hours with agencies, win or lose, thrown together on a dancefloor at the actual awards’ venue. So what can we do to remedy the situation? Will an awards night that goes on to gather everyone together afterwards be the solution, or would that just end in more tears before bedtime?