Bahrain, May 11, 2010: Eight top Creative Directors from leading advertising agencies across the Island will participate in the Kingdom's inaugural Portfolio Night. The event, hosted by Memac Ogilvy & Mather Bahrain, will take place on May 20, 2010 and is designed to give students and young aspiring creatives the platform to break into the advertising industry.

At the event, the young creatives will get an opportunity to showcase their work to three Creative Directors, in separate 15 minute sessions, to gain valuable pointers and different feedback.

The list of creative heavyweights who are taking part in the inaugural event include Gareth Gwynne, Creative Director, Memac Ogilvy; Steven Allen, Creative Director, Gulf Marcom; Liam Farrell, Founding Partner/Executive Creative Director, Unisono; Fadi Mohd Mazen A Yaish, Creative Director, FP7; Rakesh Baraily, Creative Director, Jawad Group; Scott Abbott, Creative Director, Intermarkets; David Jeffrey, Creative Director, Madina and Elie Hawa, Creative Director, TBWA/RAAD/Al Moayyed.

"Portfolio Night 8 will be a great platform for young creative talent to exchange ideas, gain knowledge and learn from the best in the industry. We are delighted that all the leading Creative Directors across the Island will be able to attend the event. This interaction will help students and budding professionals channel their fresh ideas, innovative thinking and contribute to the evolving advertising landscape in Bahrain," said Ghassan Boujacli, Managing Director, Memac Ogilvy & Mather Bahrain.

Khamis Al Muqla, IAA Bahrain Chapter President said, "Attracting, encouraging and supporting young talent to join the advertising profession is one of IAA's main objectives. Portfolio Night is a strong global initiative supporting young designers and the IAA Bahrain Chapter is delighted that Memac Ogilvy has brought this event to Bahrain. Young designers living in Bahrain can benefit from meeting the best Creative Directors in the Kingdom and learning from their years of experience. This event is well-timed as it fits with Tamkeen's strategy to create an environment for 'creative thinking' in Bahrain."

Key universities from across Bahrain have been approached by Memac Ogilvy to encourage their young creative talent to register for the event. These include University College of Bahrain, University of Bahrain, Bahrain Training Institute, Royal University for Women, Bahrain Institute of Banking & Finance (BIBF) and AIESEC.

Limited seats are available for young local Arabic and non Arabic speaking students, who are enrolled in advertising programmes, plus recent graduates and up-and-coming creatives. The event is free of charge and will be held at Waterlemon, Al A'Aali Mall, Seef, starting at 5.30pm on May 20, 2010.

Young creatives wishing to attend should log onto www.portfolionight.com or contact Memac Ogilvy & Mather Bahrain on memacogilvy.pn8@ogilvy.com

For the first time this year, Portfolio Night will take place in Bahrain, Kuwait, Cairo and Jeddah. Beirut, Dubai and Tunisia will host the event for the second consecutive year. One the same evening, events will take place in more than 40 cities around the world.

Portfolio Night 8 is organised by ihaveanidea, the world's first and largest community of the international advertising industry. Ogilvy and Mather Worldwide is one of the global partners and will host 16 of the Portfolio Night events globally.

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For further information, please contact
Pooja Sharma, Memac Ogilvy Bahrain
Tel: 1756 1723
Email: pooja.sharma@ogilvy.com

© Press Release 2010