Advertising Festival in 19th year set to showcase best of creativity in W/Africa

The Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), the umbrella body for advertising professionals in Nigeria, has said the 19th edition of the Lagos Advertising and Ideas Festival (LAIF), will showcase best of creativity in W/Africa as entries open for participation from registered AAAN agencies.

The newly elected President of the association, Lanre Adisa, said recently that the association also onboarded Media Independent Practitioners Association of Nigeria (MIPAN) as participants in this year’s edition.

Speaking to journalists, Adisa explained that the LAIF Awards remain a platform to showcase the best of creativity not only in Nigeria but also in the West African sub-region. He emphasised the need for the industry to use the platform to celebrate ideas noting that the brands in the marketplace are products of ideas.

While commending the previous and present LAIF board members for raising the bar of creativity through the awards, he stressed that the inclusion of MIPAN in this year’s edition attests to the strength of collaboration.

He stated that the association is looking forward to a time when all the sectoral bodies in the industry would become part of LAIF Awards thereby making the marketing communications industry in Nigeria a force to be reckoned with.

Unveiling the theme for the 2024 LAIF Awards, “Staying A-LAIF”, Chairman, LAIF Management Board, Jay Chukwuemeka noted that it is exciting to note that this year’s edition builds on the idea of inclusion with a strong focus on adaptation, survival, and the celebration of the resilient spirit for which agencies and practitioners in the industry are noted for.

Chukwuemeka noted that despite the challenges confronting the industry and the nation as a whole, big agencies and smaller agencies have continued to stay alive and thrive.

He disclosed that as part of efforts to stay relevant, the board will be introducing new categories of awards this year one of which includes the LAIF Academy, a category that provides accredited AAAN agencies to participate by voting for their works through the newly introduced Agency Choice award. The LAIF Festival week is scheduled to hold between November 18, 2024, and November 24, 2024.