The Lagos International Advertising Festival (LAIF) has appointed Esosa Osagiede, Group Creative Director at Insight Publicis, as overall Jury President for its 2026 edition, unveiling the first set of judges who will assess entries competing for recognition across Nigeria’s advertising industry.
Osagiede will also lead the Radio LAIF jury, while Promise Oduh, Chief Operating Officer for French West and Central Africa at mediaReach OMD Nigeria, has been named Jury President for the Media LAIF category.
The initial appointments bring together professionals from different areas of advertising and marketing communications as the festival prepares for its November programme. Brandspur Brand News understands that the organisers are beginning to establish the judging structure ahead of further announcements on the competition and festival activities.
Other professionals named to the category juries include Ayoade Aderoju, Director of Brand Management and Strategy at X3M Ideas, who will judge the Digital LAIF category, and Onyebuchi Ugwumbah, Creative Director at MTN Nigeria, who has been appointed to the Design LAIF jury.
The first batch also includes Olufunke Fajusigbe, Ayodeji Tobun, Managing Director of ibst_media, and Gabriel Olonisakin, Creative Director at Noah’s Ark. Their participation adds experience spanning creative development, media, brand strategy, digital communications and design to the festival’s judging process.
The 2026 edition will run from November 23 to 28 under the theme Glitch to Great. The theme centres on the idea of transforming disruption and unexpected challenges into creative opportunities, reflecting an advertising industry adapting to technological change and shifting consumer behaviour.
LAIF is a platform for recognising creative work across Nigeria’s advertising and marketing communications sector. Its awards bring agencies, brands and industry professionals into competition across multiple disciplines, making the selection of jurors an important part of establishing the expertise behind the evaluation process.
The festival’s programme is expected to culminate in the Nominees Party and LAIF Awards Gala, where winning entries will be recognised across the different categories.
With the first jury appointments announced, attention will turn to further details about the 2026 competition, including additional judges and information on entry dates. The composition of the judging panels will be central to the festival as agencies and creative teams prepare work for consideration.
