The 12th edition of the most prestigious advertising accolade in Bangladesh- COMMWARD: Excellence in Creative Communication honored 127 creative campaigns through an auspicious award gala at InterContinental Dhaka. A flagship initiative of Bangladesh Brand Forum, COMMWARD was presented in collaboration with Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity.
The award ceremony was attended by more than 700 communication and marketing enthusiasts. The awards were given across 25 categories, in four ranks –Bronze, Silver, Gold & Grand Prix.
This year, a staggering number of 1379 nominations were submitted for the award. The campaigns launched and ran during the period of June 01, 2022, to May 31, 2023, were eligible for nomination in COMMWARD 2023. Among these, only 40% of nominations got shortlisted, and 127 were selected as the ultimate winners after being rigorously judged by 268 jurors split into 14 shortlisting and 11 grand jury panels. 11 jury presidents further scrutinized the winning campaigns to ensure the proper ranks.
The 12th edition of COMMWARD had 05 Grand Prix winners, 19 Gold winners, 39 Silver winners and 64 Bronze winners.
In the opening speech, Shariful Islam, Founder and Managing Director of Bangladesh Brand Forum, said, “Creative communication has been going through a transformative phase since the dynamic advancement of artificial intelligence occurred some time ago. In this crucial yet critical time, some great experiments of communication have emerged in the scenario. We have gathered here today to bridge the past and the future. The accolades presented today will remain a testament to our collective efforts to accept innovations and apply them for greater purposes ahead.”
This year, in collaboration with COMMWARD, FCB Bitopi launched ‘Reza Ali Independent Spirit Award’ in memory of Reza Ali, the Founder of FCB Bitopi and one of the pioneers of advertising in Bangladesh. This accolade celebrates independent, powerful and creative pursuits.
The auspicious Commward 2023 gala also presented a Special Recognition to the veteran Bangladeshi actor, stage director, and theatre producer Ramendu Majumdar with the Outstanding Lifetime Achievement Award for his visionary leadership, unwavering commitment, and transformative contributions to our industry.
Additionally, a special recognition was presented to Adcomm Ltd. for accomplishing a remarkable Golden Jubilee and serving relentlessly with groundbreaking advertising campaigns.
12th COMMWARD was preceded by the 12th edition of Communication Summit, under the theme” Creativity in the Age of Disruption”.
The summit hosted an engaging agenda comprising 03 Keynote Sessions taken by renowned global experts, 04 pertinent Panel Discussions, 03 Insight Sessions and 01 Case Study. The summit featured timely and effective issues like “Customer-Centric Advertising: Aligning the Creatives to Deliver Personalized Experiences in New Media Age, AI in the Creative Industries: Opportunities and Pitfalls, Shaping the Future of Media Consumption: Trends, Technologies, and Audience Engagement,” in the intensive insight sessions.
Moreover, the panel discussions were decorated with discussion generative.
topics such as “The Client Brief: Do we take proper care of Creative Fetus, How to Overcome Creative Constipation and Crafting Genuine Messages in a World of Delusion,” to bring forward different angles and aspects for the attendees to perceive.
The main attraction of the event, however remained with the three exclusive keynote sessions conducted by globally reputed speakers like Partha Sinha, President, The Times of India Group; President, The Advertising Club, India; President, Response, Bennett Coleman & Co. Ltd.; Executive Committee Member, International Advertising Association IAA; Kainaz Karmakar, Chief Creative Officer, Ogilvy India; and Ali Shahbaz, Chief Creative Officer, M&C Saatchi Group Singapore; Director, World Toilet Organisation. The experts sharing their diverse experiences and knowledge with the Bangladeshi creative industry professionals at the event created a new arena for our local creative industry to develop and deliver more engaging communications in the upcoming days. Additionally, Kaniska Chakraborty, a renowned Brand & Communication Professional conducted the summit.
In the first Keynote Session of the event, Partha Sinha addressed the value of accolades like Commward. He mentioned, “With the rapid advancement of AI, the gap between Western and Eastern methods and processes of creative communication has lessened. We are striving towards a global and unipolar practice of communication. And we must not forget, since the end of Covid, how we effectively overcame the challenges through constant innovation. Now is the time of innovation. The more flexible we make ourselves with innovation, the more we evolve collectively.”
The 12th COMMWARD and Communications Summit, initiated by Bangladesh Brand Forum, were organised in collaboration with Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity and in association with The Daily Star and; Strategic Partners – Bangladesh Creative Forum (BCF) and Roaring Lions; Knowledge Partner – Marketing Society of Bangladesh (MSB); Hospitality Partner – InterContinental Dhaka; Technology Partner – aamra Technologies Ltd.; PR Partner – Backpage PR.