Yemisi Izuora
Leading telecommunications services provider, Airtel Nigeria, got a standing ovation at the 2018 Africa Cristal Awards after receiving the biggest award of the event (grand prix) and three other accolades in the telecoms category for its SmartRecharge campaign.
Airtel’s SmartRecharge campaign themed Prayer Warrior (Amin) won the grand prix, grand Cristal and a gold medal while Monitoring Spirit (Whatchu Doing?) bagged a Silver award.
According to the Chief Commercial Officer of Airtel Nigeria, Ahmad Mohkles, the awards reflect Airtel’s passion to connect with its major stakeholders in an emotional, tasteful, creative and innovative manner.
“As a key stakeholder in the society, we keep looking for innovative and creative ways to celebrate our customers, join in their successes and victories as well as empower them to fulfil their dreams and realize their full potentials.
“Airtel will continue to inspire narrative that will enthrone customers as kings just as we will continue to offer innovative and bespoke value offerings that will make life simpler, better and more enjoyable for telecoms consumers in Nigeria,” he said.
The Airtel SmartRecharge campaign relived love and child-mother bond through a storytelling approach. In the Ad, Iya Rainbow discovered that her son, Segun had sent her a Christmas hamper overflowing with goodies that gladdened her heart.
Knowing that her phone had been recently recharged with Airtel SmartRecharge – albeit secretly by her son – she called him at the earliest sign of daybreak and pours her heartfelt prayers on him, never minding the ordeal this puts on Segun from dawn to dusk.
The African Cristal Festival rewards the best advertising campaigns created and broadcasted over the African continent, on any media. More than 400 professionals of the integrated marketing communications and the media were present at this year’s festival which was held in Marrakech, Morocco from 2 to 5 May 2018.
At the last edition of the event, Airtel Nigeria won three awards. The telco’s television commercial, ‘Data is life’, created to drive its mobile Internet value offering, placed Nigeria on the continental creativity and innovation map with the haul of three awards in the categories of African Cristal Awards film for the ‘Moments’ TVC and two regional categories of Nigerian Cristal Awards: film — ‘Moments’ and Integrated.
The 2018 jury include: Michael Zylstra, Chief Strategy Officer Ssa, Dentsu Aegis Network, South Africa; Steve Babaeko, CEO & Chief Creative Officer, X3M Ideas, Nigeria; Ilham Bensouda, Chief Strategy Officer For Ssa, Mim, Morocco, South Africa; Pascal Lacase, Creative Director, Maurice Publicité Ogilvy & Mather, Mauritius; Alex Barry, CEO, Agence 6ème Sens, Côte D’ivoire; Ali El Forkani, Senior Strategic Planner, Tribal Ddb & Rapp, Morocco; Vincent Saccomanno, Ceo, Dagobert, France; Terence Calasans, Managing Director & Executive Creative Director, Mccann Conakry, Guinea And Elke Cathrall, Director Africa, IPG Mediabrands, South Africa.