With Unilever Sri Lanka as its driving force and the global mileage facilitated by SriLankan Airlines, the festival promises to be a remarkable milestone for Sri Lanka, making this event highly anticipated and significant for the local advertising and creative community, as it has been a while since an international-scale learning festival of this magnitude was held in the country.
The Four A's Advertising Festival happening at Taj Samudra Colombo on May 30 to 31, along with its accompanying awards, adds to the anticipation and importance of this event, given that the recognition of creative excellence within the Sri Lankan advertising community has come about after some time.
The two-day learning festival is designed to serve as a source of new ideas, innovation, and inspiration.
Through engaging learning sessions, workshops & panel discussions, participants will have the opportunity to interact with top-tier professionals spanning the entire spectrum of creativity.
This exposure to diverse perspectives and expertise is bound to ignite new ideas and approaches within the local industry.
The speakers for The Four A's Advertising Festival include Ajay Vikram - Chief Creative Officer at Publicis Groupe South-East Asia, Asheen Naidu - Executive Creative Director at TBWA Singapore, Assam Khalid - Independent Creative and Strategy Consultant at Vexology Advertising Dubai, Guan Hin Tay - Creative Chairman at BBDO Singapore, Mahesh Ambaliya - Senior Creative Director at VMLY&R Mumbai, Mandie Van Der Merwe - Chief Creative Officer at Saatchi & Saatchi Sydney, Michaela Futcher - Managing Director / Head of Strategy at Media Arts Lab APAC, Singapore, Psembi Kinstan - Group Executive Creative Director at DDB Group Melbourne, Surjo Dutt - Chief Creative Officer at Dentsu Creative India, West and South Regions, and Zehra Zaidi, Group Executive Creative Director at Ogilvy, Pakistan.
These top-tier creative talents bring their experience and expertise to the festival, which would inspire and elevate the standards of advertising creativity in Sri Lanka.
“This is a big moment for Sri Lanka. The objective of this festival is to raise the bar for creative learning and recognition while establishing the country as a hub for creative excellence in the Asia-Pacific region,” Alann Lopez, the President of The Four A's, said.
Central to the festival's mission are The Four A's Awards, which underscore the commitment to recognising creative excellence within the Sri Lankan advertising community after many years.
With a focus on recognising excellence in creativity, The Four A's Awards aim to inspire and motivate practitioners, ultimately fostering a culture of continuous improvement and creative innovation.
“With the advertising industry experiencing rapid changes globally with Gen AI and facing serious economic challenges locally, giving local staff international-quality training opportunities is almost impossible.
The Four A's Advertising Festival seeks to help solve this problem by bringing world-class training to Sri Lankan advertising and marketing professionals,” Dilshara Jayamanna, the Board Director of The Four A’s and Co-Festival Director, said.
The impact of this event extends far beyond its immediate scope, with lasting benefits expected to resonate throughout the Sri Lankan advertising landscape.
Through enhanced learning opportunities, networking avenues, and prestigious accolades, The Four A's Advertising Festival is poised to propel the industry towards greater heights of recognition and success on both national and international stages.
“Sri Lanka is ready to step in to the spotlight. So, this festival isn't just about creativity; we want to set new standards for learning while recognizing work that celebrates our cultural nuances.
This would be a platform to inspire work that shines brightly on the global stage” Selonica Perumal, the Vice President of The Four A's and Co-Festival Director, added.