media update’s Aisling McCarthy caught up with Alush to pick his brain on the upcoming Loerie Awards, and the advertising industry as a whole.

Alush started out his digital career almost accidentally. He originally went for an interview at McCann as an offline copywriter and ended up being hired as a digital copywriter. This resulted in a prominent career in advertising, distinguished by an in-depth knowledge of the digital world.

Alush now works as the VP creative director at Leo Burnett in Israel and remains one of the most admired and decorated creatives in the country.

He has accolades from Cannes Lions Festival, New York Festival, One Show, Clio Awards and the Webby Awards under his belt, and will serve on the Loeries jury for the Integrated Campaign category. Alush will be responsible for finding the best campaign that works across a minimum of three different mediums.

What do you think marks an exceptional entry in the Integrated Campaign category?

A campaign that can take a simple and sharp idea and stretch it to all outputs, platforms and levels.

Several years ago, [a good campaign would just have to] put the message on every platform. But today, the best integrated campaigns are those that put the message on every platform, but also bring a different angle – and more layers – to each platform.

There are not many of these exceptional campaigns and it is very, very complex to do.

Why do you think it is important to have award shows, such as the Loeries?

At the end of the day, there is no other objective measure [besides] award shows in order to determine the quality of work.

We are all competitive people, and we all want to excel in what we do. It doesn’t matter if you are a lawyer, plumber, gardener or advertiser – in the end, you want to be the best.

Advertising festivals make you taper all the time, ask questions, evolve and want to be in the best place there is.

Without these awards, the entire industry would have been dormant, and eventually the solutions we would bring to our clients would have been stopped in the same place.

I believe these competitions are a kind of engine for our industry action.

What do you think separates the advertising industry in the Middle East from the rest of the world?

Advertising is a mirror image of the society in which it operates. As a result, it is clear that there is a difference between advertising in the Middle East and advertising elsewhere in the world.

The Middle Eastern ad industry has a lot of humour, noise and everything needs to be immediate – like ASAP.

Want to stay up to date with the latest news? Subscribe to our newsletter.

Have you got the Loeries fever yet? Find out more insights about the awards, and the advertising industry as a whole, in our article, #Loeries2018: Meet jury president Sebastian Padila.