Featuring advertisements from 40 countries, the annual "The Night of the AdEaters" event was hosted in the elegant Palais Unesco in Beirut, Lebanon on November 8th and 9th. The 34th year of this French festival, Lebanese mover and shakers in the media industry were out in full force.

With over 500 ads, attendees were in for a full night of entertainment. Presented by IBL bank, it was sponsored by Skyy Vodka, Impact BBDO and Middle East Airlines, among others. Guests were given an array of samples, including Cosmaline hair products, petite bottles of Persil, even Sugar Daddy cupcakes. Luckily, Dunkin Donuts was on hand to ensure everyone stayed caffeinated during the six hour event.

Some creative highlights of the festival included ads by Audi, Guinness, McDonalds and Volkswagen.

McDonald's United Arab Emirates campaign, by Leo Burnett, is below.

There were quite a few advertisements that focused on social issues, including a moving international spot supporting the freedom of journalists; an international campaign against texting and driving; a sobering Finnish advertisement against alcohol abuse and a witty New Zealand advertisement supporting equal pay for men and women. The anti-texting and driving campaign was quite creative and used only emojis to illustrate its point.

One hilarious clip that made the cut? Our favorite German supermarket ad by EDEKA.

Other themes included:

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  • Zombies
  • Celebrities (David Bowie, Uma Thurman, David Beckham)
  • And a combination of the above: dead celebrities (Amy Winehouse, Audrey Hepburn)
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One of the few media advertisements, National Geographic showcased a powerful ad, positioning the brand as the 'real' reality television. The Sarahan Africa setting, wild animals and epic photography helped their message along

United Kingdom debuted many amusing ads including a spooky Dirt Devil spot; a funny (and visually-appealing) H & M ad featuring David Beckham that was directed by Guy Ritchie and a Cadbury milk saga, among others. One highlight of the UK's ads? The repetitive Lynx body spray advertisements that depicted the bonuses of being an astronaut.

The best bit of these annoyingly infectious adverts? The Darth Vader-eqsue breathing at the end.

A few advertisements disappointed, including Oreo's United States campaign that featured childish music and a lame attempt at cartooning.