MENA agencies recorded a strong showing at the 2026 London International Awards (LIA), collecting 14 honours across multiple categories. Impact BBDO led the regional performance with eight wins, including the inaugural Grand LIA.
The region’s total comprised one Grand LIA, three Golds, five Silvers and five Bronzes. The recognised work represented clients including AnNahar, flynas, Puma, The Ring, Saudia Airlines, IKEA and Google Gemini.
Impact BBDO Leads Regional Winners
Impact BBDO emerged as the most awarded MENA agency at this year’s LIA, securing eight honours across its work for AnNahar and Google Gemini.
Its campaign The Untaught History Edition, created for AnNahar, received the inaugural Grand LIA in Democracy and Human Rights, along with three Golds and three Silvers. The agency also earned a Bronze in Production & Post for its Google Gemini campaign.
VML Riyadh followed with two honours for Seat With A View for flynas, receiving a Silver in Digital for Travel & Leisure and a Bronze in Creative Use of Data for Data-Led Creativity.
LEO UAE, BigTime Creative Shop, Saatchi & Saatchi ME and Memac Ogilvy UAE each secured one award.
Regional Campaigns Recognised at LIA 2026
Seven campaigns from the region received honours at the 2026 LIA Awards.
Impact BBDO’s The Untaught History Edition for AnNahar was the biggest regional winner, collecting seven awards — one Grand LIA, three Golds and three Silvers.
The campaign won the inaugural Grand LIA in Democracy and Human Rights. Its Gold wins came in Creativity in Media: Use of Print, Democracy and Human Rights: Countering Disinformation, and Democracy and Human Rights: Transparency & Accountability.
The campaign also secured Silvers in Creative Use of Data: Data Collection and Research, Creativity in PR: Public and Political Affairs, and Democracy and Human Rights: Youth Engagement & Future Voices.
VML Riyadh’s Seat With A View for flynas earned two honours, including a Silver in Digital: Travel & Leisure and a Bronze in Creative Use of Data: Data-Led Creativity.
Leak For Real, created by LEO UAE for Puma, received a Silver in Sports: Digital & Social.
The remaining campaigns each earned one honour. BigTime Creative Shop’s The Legacy Continues for The Ring won a Bronze in Production & Post: 2D Animation, while Saatchi & Saatchi ME’s Let It Fly for Saudia Airlines received a Bronze in Design: Direct Marketing.
Memac Ogilvy UAE’s IKEA Phone Sleep Collection earned a Bronze in Non-Traditional: Retail. Impact BBDO’s Google Gemini work, “Music Class”, “Class”, “Corridor”, also took a Bronze in Production & Post: Performance/Casting Series.
The Untaught History Edition
Impact BBDO and AnNahar’s The Untaught History Edition became the standout MENA campaign at LIA 2026.
The campaign focused on Lebanon’s fragmented understanding of modern history, where political and social divisions have contributed to different interpretations of the country’s past being taught in schools.
For Independence Day, AnNahar drew on more than 80 years of newspaper archives to revisit significant historical events that were absent from school textbooks. The material was brought together in a special newspaper edition and distributed to schools, giving the publication’s archive a wider educational purpose.
The campaign’s seven LIA honours included the Grand LIA, three Golds and three Silvers across categories covering print, disinformation, transparency, data, public affairs and youth engagement.
Seat With A View
VML Riyadh’s Seat With A View for flynas was recognised with a Silver in Digital: Travel & Leisure and a Bronze in Creative Use of Data: Data-Led Creativity.
The campaign introduced ‘Find My View’, an AI-powered seat-selection experience designed to let passengers choose the view they wanted to see during their flight rather than selecting only a seat number.
The experience was positioned as the world’s first intelligent, AI-driven seat selector, giving flynas passengers the option to select their preferred view before travelling.
Leak For Real
LEO UAE’s Leak For Real for Puma earned a Silver in Sports: Digital & Social.
The campaign was developed around the leak of Puma’s new Al Hilal FC jersey ahead of its anticipated launch in Saudi football. Rather than attempting to contain the conversation, Puma turned the leak into the centre of its campaign.
The brand introduced fake versions of the kit designed to resemble the original leaked designs and placed them within conversations on X. Ghost accounts, influencer messages and social posts were used to fuel speculation and encourage fans to debate and share the content.
The Legacy Continues
BigTime Creative Shop’s The Legacy Continues for The Ring received a Bronze in Production & Post: 2D Animation.
Created to mark The Ring’s 104-year history, the film takes audiences through a fictional museum featuring memorabilia connected to boxing’s past. It then moves through different periods of the sport using multiple animation techniques.
The film features iconic boxing figures including Sugar Ray Robinson, Mike Tyson, Manny Pacquiao, Anthony Joshua, Canelo Álvarez, Katie Taylor, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk. Michael Buffer provides the narration, with the campaign presenting The Ring’s archive as an evolving record of boxing history.
Let It Fly
Saatchi & Saatchi ME’s Let It Fly for Saudia Airlines won a Bronze in Design: Direct Marketing.
The initiative connected travel with Saudi culture by rewarding customers who purchased products from local businesses and craftspeople.
As part of the programme, travellers received collectible luggage stickers inspired by Saudi cities, traditional crafts and cultural heritage. Purchases at participating stores earned stickers, with every SAR 50 spent providing one sticker and each sticker adding 0.5kg of baggage allowance, up to 1.5kg per bag.
The campaign encouraged visitors to take locally sourced cultural products home while addressing concerns around baggage limits.
IKEA Phone Sleep Collection
Memac Ogilvy UAE’s IKEA Phone Sleep Collection for IKEA received a Bronze in Non-Traditional: Retail.
The campaign introduced miniature IKEA-inspired beds designed specifically for smartphones, encouraging people to put their devices to sleep at night.
The concept used IKEA’s familiar bedroom products and visual language to promote healthier nighttime habits, with the collection encouraging users to give their phones a place to rest before heading to bed themselves.
Google Gemini “Music Class”, “Class”, “Corridor”
Impact BBDO’s “Music Class”, “Class”, “Corridor” for Google Gemini won a Bronze in Production & Post: Performance/Casting Series.
The campaign highlighted Google Gemini’s offer of a full year of unlimited prompts and access to Google’s leading tools for students at no cost.
The creative work used scenarios where limits on free AI tools interrupt students’ creative processes before contrasting them with the continued capabilities offered through Gemini AI Pro. The 360-degree campaign was designed to encourage students across MENA to take advantage of the offer.
Read more: du Tech and Rilian Partner to Advance Sovereign AI-Driven Cybersecurity in the UAE
