Amidst the ashes and aftermath of the shocking decision by Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, Egypt and The United Arab Emirates to sever diplomatic ties with Qatar, including closing airports and limiting airspace available to the gulf state, Qatar Airways gave a  sphynx-like response with a minute-long Ad entitled: "No Borders, Only Horizons"..-pep boy

The United States, United Kingdom and Australia were 3 of the countries competing for the Lions award for achievement in advertising and brand communication at last week’s 61st annual Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity. The week-long event handed out Grand Prix, Gold, Silver and Bronze trophies to companies and professionals across 18 creative communications categories that include: Cyber, Innovation, Creative Effectiveness, Direct, Film, Outdoor, PR, Press, Product Design, Promo and Activation, Titanium and Integration, Branded Content and Entertainment, and Radio.

Although the Brits didn’t total as many trophies as the Yanks, 126 and 184 respectively, they did win the most Grand Prix Lions which is the highly sought-after award of the Festival. The Brits walked away with 5 Grand Prix, including the coveted Titanium and Integration category which was a shared win with Japan. The U.K. won the highest number of Grand Prix lions at Cannes this year, surpassing creative power players like Sweden, the Netherlands and Brazil. Australia and the U.S. each collected 2 Grand Prix awards for Creative Effectiveness, Outdoor, Cyber and PR.

The Harvey Nichols department store Christmas ad campaign, “Sorry I Spent It on Myself,” which encourages shoppers to spend on themselves as opposed to family and friends, was named the best TV ad in the world, and garnered 4 out of 5 Grand Prix for Britain in the Titanium and Integration, Press, Film, and Promo and Activation categories. The creative work was the output of London-based agency adam&eveDDB, which was also named Agency of the Year after winning 22 awards. “This year has seen a resurgence of U.K. creativity in Cannes,” said James Murphy, chief executive of adam&eveDDB.

This Christmas gift giving ad campaign was the gift that kept on giving for Britain at Cannes.

Designed to create responsive action and build brand relationship, this British Airways Ad, The Magic of Flying, also garnered a Grand Prix for Britain in the Direct category. To raise awareness of the scope in BA’s routes and destinations, creatives at OgilvyOne implemented a billboard to react to BA planes flying overhead.

The 61st annual Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity received a total of 37,427 creative entries from 97 countries, including Ghana, Albania and San Marino who were all first time participants at Cannes. -pep boy

Cannes Lions entries have reached an all-time high with a total of 37,427 entries submitted from a record 97 countries across 17 awards categories – Branded Content & Entertainment (1,179 entries), Creative Effectiveness (80), Cyber (3,660), Design (2,624) Direct (2,676), Film (2,838), Film Craft (2,073), Innovation (206), Media (3,127), Mobile (1,187), Outdoor (5,660), PR (1,850), Press (5,007), Product Design (194), Promo & Activation (3,241), Radio (1,448) and Titanium & Integrated Lions (378). -pep boy

The $35 billion merger, announced in July 2013, between communications giants Omnicom and Publicis Groupe, which would have generated over $500 million in savings, has been called off. Omnicom and Publicis released a joint statement citing that the slow pace of progress in finalizing the merger was the reason behind the unilateral agreement to discontinue the deal. Chairman and CEO of Publicis Groupe, Maurice Levy, also stated that Omnicom's proposal lacked the equality of the management teams, contrary to the specified terms of the initial agreement.

In a CNBC interview conducted in 2013, John Wren, CEO of Omnicom group expressed that the merger would create the resources and assets needed to compete in a rapidly changing market. Levy also commented that the merger would be an excellent combination for clients and a major means of competing against the internet giants. Internet companies, such as Google and YouTube, are now setting the pace for the communications industry.

The merger between Omincom and Publicis would have replaced their competitive rival, WPP, as the industry leader. It's estimated that Omnicom's and Publicis' combined annual revenues in 2013 equate to $24.1 billion which would have surpassed WPP's $17.2 billion. In response to news of the severed deal, Martin Sorrel, CEO of WPP, says, "John and Maurice wanted it as an opportunity to knock WPP off its perch." -pep boy.

The ballots are still being counted, but there is no doubt as to who will be moving the world's largest Democracy and Asia's third-biggest economy forward. Narendra Modi has effectively used his successful track record as Chief Minister of the Indian state of Gujarat, alongside a well orchestrated marketing and communications campaign to secure a victory to carry out, as Prime Minister, the largest political mandate India has seen in over thirty years.

Prashant Kishor's, Citizens for Accountable Governance (CAG), has been key to Modi's marketing and communication strategy. Kishor is noted as being Modi's most trusted strategist. The campaign's digital and social media strategy is managed by Hiren Joshi, who answers questions on Modi's behalf on social media.  Television, print and radio ads are managed by London-based Lawyer, Manoj Ladwa, while communications agency Madison takes care of media planning. 

Executive Chairman and Creative Director at Ogilvy & Mather-South Asia, Piyush Pandey, is credited with producing the creative advertising campaign centered around the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its victorious candidate Narendra Modi. -pep boy

Marketers and companies within the travel industry are rapidly implementing strategies to gain the loyalty of the Millennial Traveler: 18 to 30 year old business travelers who are expected to be the largest segment of the travel market by the end of the decade.

Lee McCabe, global head of travel at Facebook, states that, "Millennial Travelers want spontaneity and they want to be connected, and with Facebook, they can see which hotels their friends have stayed and liked. The face of travel has moved from having one person as an expert to having your friends as the experts. Airlines and hotels have to understand and move with the Millennial generation and technology."

McCabe emphasizes that the travel industry is targeting young travelers at the places they are going, the websites they are visiting and the devices they are using on a daily basis. "Companies now have smartphone only rates to target Millennial Travelers on their smartphones," McCabe commented. Founder of cool hunting, Josh Rubin, says that, "The Millennial Traveler travels differently, they have a sense of entitlement, they are ready for something new and they are very open to a company that can mirror that."

The Marriot International hotel has already implemented plans for the AC Hotels by Marriot to target the younger and technologically aware Millennial Traveler and their growing purchasing power. By 2020, the younger, more racially and gender diverse Millennial Traveler will account for over 20 percent of business flights, a segment usually dominated by  middle-aged men.

Personally, I think the companies that are able to integrate and create a synergy between technology, social utilities and concepts to offer an efficient and memorable user experience from booking to checking in and checking out will be the ones that will stand out and appeal to Millennials. They will be the more likeable, shareable and talked-about companies on social media, which will have an influence on their bottom line-pep boy

Companies have invested an estimated $400 million in advertising during the current general elections in India, compared to $80 million spent during the previous elections held in 2009- pep boy

Advertising has drastically changed from simply being about brand communication to product or brand experience.  Technology in its digital format has both caused and enabled that paradigm shift. -pep boy

The rebranding of global agency Draftfcb as FCB (Foote, Cone & Belding) uses a color scheme to represent the countries worldwide where the brand operates. Global CEO Carter Murray states that the new identity stresses the integrated nature of the brand. FCB operates in 90 countries globally, and has been established for over 140 years. -pep boy

These are the brands of our lives and the companies that own them. Starring Nestle, Kraft, Coca Cola, PepsiCo....-pep boy