The Dubai Lynx has removed all of FP7 Doha’s winning work for Samsung from its website following a request by the Korean electronics company.
The move has been made in response to the religious fall-out in Lebanon caused by an FP7 Doha ad featuring Jesus taking a photograph of a group of nuns with the new Samsung SL310W.
The ad has been depicted as an attack “against Christian symbols” by certain factions in Lebanon and is causing significant damage to Samsung’s image in the Levant.
FP7 Doha’s Samsung work is currently under investigation by the Dubai Lynx, as is its work for clients Higeen Mouthwash and Nissan. FP7 is also undertaking its own internal ‘fact-finding mission’.
Steve Lane, festival director of the Dubai Lynx, said the presence of the ads on the Lynx website had been fanning the flames of the controversy in Lebanon.
A decision on whether FP7 Doha will be stripped of its awards is expected early next week. If the decisions go against the agency, it could be stripped of its Agency of the Year title. Other FP7 Doha ads have also been removed from the website.
Update: In a statement released by Samsung in Lebanon, the company has categorically distanced itself from the ad.
“The company did not commission, develop or approve the publishing of the religiously insensitive advertisements,” said the statement. “This advertising campaign was produced and submitted by marketing agency, FP7 Doha, without the knowledge or consent of Samsung Electronics.”
Sunny Hwang, president of Samsung Electronics Levant, added: “At no time was Samsung Electronics aware of these advertisements and the company has not approved or commissioned FP7 to create any advertising campaigns. Samsung has the utmost respect for all cultures and religions and would never produce or approve the use of such culturally insensitive advertisements.”
Phillip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, the organisers of the Dubai Lynx, said: “We accept all entries to the Dubai Lynx Awards in good faith and trust the agencies competing to be honest and accurate with their submissions and details of client sign off. It appears in this case that FP7 Doha has knowingly tried to mislead ourselves and our jury regarding work they claimed to have created on behalf of Samsung Electronics, which in reality the client had never seen or approved.
“We have openly stated that any submissions to the awards found to be in breach of our entry criteria will be withdrawn and that will be the case here. We will be vigilant in checking all winning entries meet the criteria in all ways, and if they are found wanting then we will act.”
Campaign Magazine Middle East 
Media people (campaign, communicate, mediaweekme, tom roy) why don’t you ask Mr. Steve Lane what he is ding about the others now!!!! read below
way to go Jhon Doh or shall i say Jhon Dubai now!!!
now you ruin everyone else in advertising. but are you aware that you are ruining everyone and the whole industry EBEN YOUR OWN AGENCY NOW. but at the end that what it is, as i said before it is not FP7 Doha only but because they are on the top, we all wanted to hunt them down.
but what does lynx have to say about this now. the other agencies or they just wanted to Crucify FP7 Doha to save the water of their face and think people would be satisfied when justice prevail and we hunt down
FP7 Doha. they are mistaken if this is the message they want to deliver to the region, what applied on FP7 has to be applied to everyone now.
how could i forget this one Mr. Lynx. the GREAT PRINT GRAND PRIX WINNER. that is on its own a piece of art to make it to the grand prix.
17) first Hamdallh the creative director of Leo Burnett Cairo – brave man he is –
claimed during the Lynx debate while Lynx staff are watching and just before the awards ceremony that “Heinz didn’t commission or even like his Heinz Campaign (which won the GP later on)” well this is an honest man at least he admit it and get rewarded for it.
the equity of heinz ketchup is that ” it is thick ketchup..etc” all the campaigns in the world have been done around this single minded and focused proposition, however leo burnett wanted to change that in an awards campaign. and you know what. the client approved it just for the sake of the awards ONLY, at the end it is only one insertion, or was it more with on wrong equity. what a great piece! and a great reward! way to go lynx!
I Have to agree the competition was a bit unbalanced…but
I havent read or heard anybody appreciating ideas ? I’ve never heard this happen before in Cannes or Clio ? Why is happening in our region ? Really ? are we doomed to fight amongst ourselves instead of patting each other on the back ? isnt our reputation as arabs already down the drain ? do we really have to do this ? Anubis….really dont know who you are but if you really cared, loved and appreciated good ads you wouldnt have posted all this…
Correct me if i’m wrong. I’ve been working in dubai for a couple of years now. Dubai has always had the best scam ads in the region. All the big agencies also had a budget like Fp7. And the invention of blog existed back then. yet no one ever uttered a word about scam, Clients pigs and whatnot. Why now ?
Sadly I fear that it won’t be the scam that makes international headlines but in fact the war we now have on our hands thanks to a pair of apparently unemployed bitter eight year olds, Anubis and Jhon Doh. Way to represent the region guys.
🙂
It’s too silly to know that how could such an AD been awarded not even after carefully vetting for its contents (which is very sensitive)???
The rules of awards are changing here in Dubai. Money plays… U got money and name – everything is possible???
am really ashamed to be part of the middle east advertising….. guys more that 2 ads done by FP7 Doha were done by someone else and still they got awarded….
and on top of that, i still see defensive comments… no more comments…. i suggest they stop the lynx……
[…] Samsung ‘Jesus’ ads removed from Lynx website […]
Douche, why shoot the messenger? Didn’t John Doh state facts with supporting evidence? The fact that the Dubai Lynx actually withdrew several awards from FP7 proves he was right.
Anubis was not the only blog that posted these facts (check this blog for confirmation). if posting facts is a sign of immaturity then…”No Comment”.
As for your accusation of unemployment, rest assured that I am employed (by Paragon Marketing Communications Full Time) as Managing Director & Chief Creative Officer, I still serve on the board of the IAA Kuwait Chapter, I have been judging the Summit International Awards for the past five years, I have work published in nine international books on graphic design (one more still in the press), I have my modest collection of creative trophies (48 for real work), and I have been an advertising practitioner in this region for the past 19 years, my blog is a partner site with the author of the worlds first (and only) book on copy cat ad, so you really need to put more efforts into discrediting me, good luck.
How did the ad get awarded in the first place? The awards certainly must be looked at and this certainly needs to be addressed as its appaling that this was even considered for an award.
Everyone involved in this ad must relook at the ethics of advertising.
If the intention was to run a controversial campaign to get a high awareness, this certainly has been done in bad taste.
Very interesting… thanks.