Steve Babaeko, seasoned copywriter and CEO of X3M Ideas alongside Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde, a renowned Nollywood actress and producer and Anant Singh, a South African film producer with over 50 films have been scheduled to speak to “The Authentic African Story” at the 2019 Cannes Lions.
The trio speaking opportunity comes up on Thursday 20th April 2019 at 16.15hours at Debussy Theatre, palaise Des Festestival, Cannes, France on the theme The Authentic African Story.
Babaeko, who broke this on his verified facebook account on Thursday 11-April-2019 said, “As an experienced marketing communications professional, I have utilized varying storytelling techniques to deliver winning campaigns for my clients’ world class brands. Hence, I will be joining Omotola Jalade-Ekeinde and Anant Singh at Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity 2019 to discuss The Authentic African Story. See details below and I’d be glad if you can join us this June in the South of France.”
The Cannes Lion has been the home to the entire creative marketing community since its first outing in 1954. Communication proessional has described Cannes Lions as the global benchmark for effective communications.
According to Per Pedersen, Global Creative Chairman, Grey, “Cannes Lions is the only global event that covers every aspect of how the industry is evolving. There’s nothing else that comes even close.”
That’s because we believe in the power of creativity: for business, for change and for good. The link between creativity and business results is consistently backed up by research and proved time and again by the world’s biggest brands, he said.
Every year, Cannes Lions explores the value of creativity in branded communication: from product and service development to the creative strategy, execution and impact.
Anant
A South African film producer, he has produced over 50 film. Most his of films are south African. He has been nominated for a prime time Emmy. He was an activist in the apartheid. He has a good relationship with nelson Mandela and won the film rights to his book Long Walk To Freedom. He also was a producer of movie yesterday which was South Africa’s first Oscar nominated movie.
Steve
Babaeko attended the Federal School of Arts and Science in Suleja, Niger State for his A-levels, and Ahmadu Bello University, Zaria for his first degree in Theatre Arts though he said he had always wanted to be in advertising. He did his mandatory National Youth Service (NYSC) at NTA Kaduna.
He began his career in 1995 with MC&A Saatchi & Saatchi where he worked for five years; then to Prima Garnet Ogilvy, where he also worked for another five years; and 141 Worldwide, where he worked for seven years as creative director. He left in 2012 to set up X3M Ideas.
Babaeko is currently the Publicity Secretary of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Nigeria (AAAN), Associate member of Advertising Practitioners Council of Nigeria (APCON), and current Chairman of the Lagos Advertising & Ideas Festival (LAIF).
In August 2012, Babaeko founded X3M Ideas as “a full fledged advertising company” He also founded X3M Music, a record label, which has Praiz and Simi as its prominent stars. He says he founded X3M Ideas with “a pretty small team of about 8 persons” after he turned 40 and “started seeing the world from a totally different perspective.”The company, which now has a staff of over a hundred people, moved to its purpose-built office complex in Lagos in 2016.
In 2016 and 2017, Babaeko was a jury member of the New York Advertising Festival, described as “one of the oldest advertising festivals in the world.” He has also been invited as a Jury member to the 2018 event.
He was also a judge on the 2017 The Loerie Awards.
Omotola
Omotola Jalade Ekeinde MFR born Omotola Jalade, 7 February 1978) is a Nigerian actress, singer, philanthropist and former model. Since her Nollywood film debut in 1995, the leading actress has appeared in 300 films, selling millions of video copies. After receiving numerous high-profile awards, launching a music career, and amassing an enviable fan base, the press has revered the Screen Nation “Best Actress” as the “African Magic”. She is the first African celebrity to receive over 1 million likes on her Facebook page. She currently has a total of 3 million followers on Facebook.
Beyond her show business accomplishments, she is also applauded for her remarkable humanitarian efforts. Omotola is one of the pioneers of the video film era of Nigerian cinema, becoming the most watched actress in Africa. In 2013, she was honoured in Time magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the world alongside Michelle Obama, Beyoncé and Kate Middleton.
In early 2013, Omotola made her US television debut in VH1’s scripted series, Hit the Floor. On 2 November 2013, she spoke at the 2013 edition of the WISE Summit, held in Doha, Qatar.
In 2014, she was honoured by the Nigerian government as a Member of the Order of the Federal Republic, MFR for her contributions to Nigerian cinema.
The 2019 festival kicks off on June 17the and closes on Junbe 21st 2019.
