Jolbors is an event for the creative and marketing industry of Central Asia. The festival brings together both those already working in the industry and those just taking their first steps.
This year has been special not only for the industry in Uzbekistan but also for the festival itself: Jolbors has grown from a Central Asian to an international event. For the first time, two awards were presented — Central Asia and International.
In addition to lectures, the program included panel discussions, workshops, intimate discussions (particularly on strategy and creativity), and an awards ceremony for the agencies that presented their cases in the competition program.
The festival opened with a welcoming speech from co-founder Sabina Reinhold, followed by lectures. Then, a panel discussion on the partnership between a brand and an agency took place. The audience had the opportunity to ask questions and participate in the discussion.
On the second day, discussions with separate groups of speakers took place, demonstration of competition cases and the award ceremony for the winners were held.
The audience learned how the idea to change the city's visual identity turned out to be successful, how Messi's action influenced the entire creative concept of the FIFA promo, how Aviasales maintains its status as one of the brightest players in SMM, and why social projects can be funny, paid, and resonate with a wide audience.
The highlights of the speakers' presentations, which particularly resonated with the audience, were also separately noted.
"Creating creative advertising is like washing a pig: it's unclear where this process begins, where the middle is, and where it ends."
Evgeny Primachenko, Creative Director at Wieden+Kennedy (Amsterdam), presented cases that could have turned into failures, but it was precisely the difficulties that made the final result stronger.
"If you don't know what to say, sing," he remarked, telling the story about filming the FIFA ad with Messi. The footballer appeared in only a few scenes, and the script had to be rewritten from scratch. To make the story work, Primachenko wrote and sang a football opera to the tune of "Figaro."
"In our era, I think we must err even more proudly than we did before," emphasized Evgeny.
When a brand "appropriates" history
Farhad Kuchkarov — co-founder of the Jolbors festival, Director of Strategy and Development at Depot (Russia, Uzbekistan) — spoke about how advertising seeks a cultural code. He noted that even familiar things can become iconic: a flatbread — a brand, a lyagan — an advertising medium, and Andijan ice cream — an example of locality turning into a brand. As illustrations, he also cited examples from sports and art.
The festival program was packed: special attention was given to mistakes, the ability to maintain flexibility for both creatives and advertisers—depending on stressful situations, regional specifics, and unforeseen circumstances.
Jolbors in numbers
2 days, 16 speakers from 14 countries — South Korea, South Africa, France, Kazakhstan, Netherlands (Amsterdam), Germany, Belgium, Russia, Sri Lanka, Bulgaria, Italy, Spain, and Romania.
The festival exceeded all expectations in its scale.
