16-05-2025
MMA Smarties MENA 2025 winners announced
The MMA SMARTIES MENA 2025 winners were revealed at a ceremony held at Atlantis, The Palm, Dubai, recognising marketing effectiveness and innovation across the region. The annual programme honours impactful work that reflects the evolving nature of modern marketing – from AI integration and real-time engagement to storytelling and purpose-led initiatives.
More than 100 trophies were awarded across 30 categories, with a strong showing from Publicis Groupe agencies, which included Publicis ME, Leo Burnett ME, and Saatchi & Saatchi ME. Standout campaigns included Pay With Your Trend for YUM! Brands and See What They See for Landmark Group.
Pay With Your Trend by YUM! Brands and Publicis ME (UAE) was the most awarded campaign of the night, taking home four Gold trophies across the categories of Instant Impact / Promotion, Social Media Marketing, Creator / Influencer / Celebrity Marketing, and O2O / New Retail / Innovative & New Tech Sales Channels. The campaign was also named Best in Show.
See What They See by Landmark Group and Publicis ME secured two Golds in Brand Experience and Brand Purpose / Activism. Sound Affects by Sixieme Son and Saatchi & Saatchi ME also picked up Gold in Brand Purpose / Activism, and additionally received recognition across Silver and Bronze levels. Leo Burnett ME's DOSY – Fear campaign won Gold in Short or Long Form Video and Silver in Brand Purpose.
Other Gold-winning campaigns included Anghami's in-house effort Let the Song Play in Audio / Voice / Sonic Branding, and Live Loud by Coca-Cola Middle East and creative agency Grey UAE in Creative Effectiveness. Kitopi/Right Bite and Socialeyez UAE earned Gold for Burgerverse in Social Media Marketing, while Socialeyez was also awarded for Nando's PERi-PERi – 3in1 in Creator / Influencer / Celebrity Marketing.
Wavemaker MENA took Gold for Beko's Fearless in Real-Time Contextual Marketing, and OSN's Hot Ones, created with Hearts & Science UAE, won in Lead Generation / Conversions / Direct Response. Generation Future by Savola Group and OMD KSA won Gold in Cause / Charity / Non-profit Marketing.
In addition to campaign awards, the evening also recognised industry leaders and platforms driving marketing transformation. Landmark Group and Unilever were both named Advertiser of the Year, while Pizza Hut was awarded Brand of the Year. Creative Agency of the Year went to Publicis Groupe – Leo Burnett Middle East, and Media Agency of the Year was awarded to Publicis Groupe – Publicis Middle East.
The technology and innovation categories saw Smartifai named AI Marketing Enabler of the Year, Mindshare awarded AI Integrated Media Agency of the Year, and Blis and InMobi receiving accolades as AdTech Platform of the Year and AdTech Provider of the Year, respectively. Marketing Platform of the Year was awarded to ArabyAds.
Commenting on this year's awards, Melis Ertem, CEO of MMA MEA, said: 'SMARTIES MENA 2025 has showcased not just innovation, but true effectiveness. The campaigns honoured tonight didn't just make headlines, they moved the needle. The work reflects a region that's setting global standards in marketing.'
