Leo Burnett’s Murtaza Tajbhoy invited to serve on jury at Spikes Asia

Leo Burnett’s Head of Brand Planning, Murtaza A. Tajbhoy has been selected to serve on the Creative Effectiveness jury at the prestigious Spikes Asia Festival of Creativity to be held in Singapore in September. 

A collaboration between the Lions Festival and Haymarket, Spikes Asia is the region’s oldest awards show that recognises excellence in the creative communications industry. The festival is set to take place in Singapore this year from 21-23 September.

Spikes Asia has announced a line-up of 98 jury members who will participate in this year’s festival. Murtaza has been selected to serve on the jury for ‘Creative Effectiveness’. He will serve in a jury chaired by industry leader James Hurman (Founder of Previously Unavailable, New Zealand) and will join some of the industry’s best strategists and marketing specialists such as Rachelle Berges, Regional Head of Media & Connections, Consumer Division, Johnson & Johnson, Asia Pacific and Jos Ortega, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Havas Worldwide, The Philippines. 

Murtaza is the only Sri Lankan to be selected by the festival to serve on a jury at Spikes Asia this year. Selections to serve on the jury follow a stringent process and require the candidates to have demonstrated visible contributions towards creating award winning work. They must be professionals with experience and expertise and should have enjoyed an illustrious career in the industry.  

Commenting on Murtaza’s appointment, Ranil de Silva – Managing Director, Leo Burnett Sri Lanka, said: “I am extremely pleased that Murtaza was selected for this very important role and responsibility. It is a tribute to his professional success and the value he has consistently added to campaigns which were fresh and innovative as well as successful. It is also a special honour for both Murtaza and Leo Burnett in Sri Lanka, as he is the only Sri Lankan selected to serve in a jury at this year’s Spikes Asia festival of creativity. My team and I are very proud of Murtaza’s achievement of being selected to be a juror at Spikes Asia. It is a rare honour, as Spikes Asia is widely recognised as the region’s oldest and most revered creative festival and awards show.” 

The Spikes Asia Festival of creativity provides an important platform for the region’s finest creative thinkers to come together and learn, network and share their ideas. The festival also offers an engaging programme of seminars and workshops that focus on developing creativity and enhancing learning in the industry. Additionally, the festival hosts exhibitions of the finest creative work in the Asia-Pacific region and rewards the very best work at the highly anticipated Spikes Asia awards ceremony. 

Murtaza had this to say about his selection to serve on the Spikes Asia Creative Effectiveness jury: “It is with a sense of immense pride that I travel to Singapore to sit amongst Asia’s best strategic thinkers and leaders. To be immersed in the region’s best examples of how creativity drives effectiveness. And to bring back this learning to Sri Lanka.”

This year Leo Burnett Sri Lanka celebrates its 17th anniversary in Sri Lanka. Over the years, the agency has built many powerful brands and meaningful partnerships with its clients, whilst delivering gratifying results and gaining industry recognition in Sri Lanka, the region and globally. The company handles a diverse portfolio of clients; it is one of the world’s largest agency networks and is a member of the Publicis Groupe, the world’s fourth largest communications company.