AdWar is an ad-making competition organized by the IBA Marketing Club. It partners with one particular company so that the teams make the advert in accordance to that particular company's requirements. It started in 2010 by partnering with the Cupola Company for its brand KFC. In 2011 it partnered with Unilever for its brand Cornetto. Then, in 2012, it partnered with Engro's brand Omore and in 2014 with Reckitt Benckiser for Mortein. This year, in 2016, it partnered with Elmore Skin Care, a tradename of Evan and Mayer Inc. USA.

This competition was divided into different phases. The first phase was to register for the competition in teams of 3-5 upon which the teams were to receive the advertisement brief- a set of guidelines as to how to make the advertisement for Elmore Fairness Creams. Then the participants were required to send the advertisements to the AdWar organising team and, upon their consent, the respective advert was shared on the AdWar Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/iba.adwar/?fref=ts.

The grand finale was held at Ghani Tayab Auditorium, IBA Main Campus on 4th June 2016. The grand finale started by a welcome note by the Patron of IBA Marketing Club, Mr. Jami Moiz, who said that "We feel honoured that we provide a platform, where the students exhibit their skills & the brand also benefits".

This was followed by a speech by the Manager, Muhammad Umar Farooq, and then a word by the Brand Manager of Elmore Skin Care, Mr. Bilal Alvi. Bilal Alvi stated that he believes in promoting healthier rather than fairer skin, as he enumerated the objectives of Elmore's products. Mr. Bilal said, "along with Eco-Friendly practices, we strive to employ Bio-Friendly and Eco-Friendly Ingredients, focusing on the inherent goodness that Natural Ingredients have to offer." Mr. Bilal, also, addressed the issue of equating fairness and beauty to success in marriages and career and how their products aims to eliminate this idea. This competition had 9 judges who evaluated the shortlisted videos based on the content, visuals and the idea that was presented to promote Elmore Fairness Cream.

On the basis of likes received by each team, 20 inventive adverts were shortlisted which were an epitome of creativity, hard work, & exclusivity. As the advertisements served the purpose of entertainment to the audience, the judges observed and evaluated the work on the basis of their virility, content, editing and quality. The auditorium boomed with cheers as Mr. Bilal Alvi announced the names of winning candidates. Out of these 20 teams, 3 teams received the prize money as follows:

• Winner: Rs. 100,000
• First Runner-up: Rs: 50,000
• Second runner-up: Rs 30,000

After a tough competition, the team headed by Muhammad Daniyal won the first price (https://www.facebook.com/iba.adwar/videos/641000929383349/) , the team by Muhammad Rameez won the second price (https://www.facebook.com/iba.adwar/videos/644295722387203/), and the team Rising Phoenix won the third price (https://www.facebook.com/iba.adwar/videos/648379235312185/)

Later on, a vibrant panel discussion was conducted, which revolved around the topic of "How to make advertisements creative and standout in the clutter." Addressing the topic eloquently, Ms. Alia Hasan said, "It's not much about creativity and clutter, but the greater challenge is finding the correct target audience," Panelists provided their insights on the thought-provoking ideas of creativity being subjective, importance of clutter breaking, target audience, strategic creativity, role and relevancy of storytelling, emergence of holistic marketing etc. The panel discussion was moderated by Aamna Khan and Rafia Fatima. This was followed by an award distribution ceremony where the efforts & hard work of the Adwar team was appreciated. The day ended with a lunch where the participants interacted with the guests.

The guests who attended the grand finale of AdWar by Elmore were as follows:

• Ms. Shehla Shahid- Creative Director at Aureus Advertising
• Ms. Zainab Ghani- Creative Head for Digital Advertising at Mullen Lowe Rauf
• Ms. Rashna Abdi- Executive Creative Director at IAL Saatchi and Saatchi
• Ms. Haya Ali- Vice President of Envy Salon by Shagufta Ejaz
• Mr. Bilal Alvi- Brand Manager, Elmore
• Mr. Amir Haleem- CEO, Kueball
• Mr. Danish Ejaz- Director Client Services, Klaxon Advertising
• Mr. Ali Malik- Senior Manager Planning, Adcom Leo Burnett
• Mr. Munawar Jamal- Strategy Director at Blitz Advertising
• Ms Alia Hasan- Visiting Faculty Member at the Institute of Business Administration

Adwar continued its legacy to give an opportunity to marketing enthusiasts to showcase their creativity ↦ talent. The event was a huge learning opportunity for all participants & attendees & certainly IMC succeeded in setting another high precedent and benchmark for years to come.