Communicate | Dec 2010 by MediaquestCorp.

The marketing and advertising resource • December 2010 • Issue N° 72 • www.communicate.ae All change: Alex Saber among many with new titles in Publicis Page 14 media shops

Logo nation: The UAE is looking for a new brand. And it wants Page 44 your help

Noor Takaful’s Mohammed Imran Khan helps us take a full look at the market Page 48

Awards Effie lifting Winners and judges at the 2010 GEMAS Effie Awards say the celebration of marketing effectiveness shows a coming together of creativity and results-driven strategies. Plus, a (Page 38) winners’ showcase.

Opinion Works of genius This month’s Communiquestion asks the industry to name the best ads ever made. There are some familiar favorites, and some forgotten gems. You’ll be tripping down memory lane one moment and running for (Page 20) YouTube the next.

Digital Ladies’ club Arab women are active online, and Abu Dhabi Media Company has the stats to prove it. We see why portals such as ADMC’s anaZahra.com could be a way to mainline content and advertising to the most elusive (Page 54) of segments.

Campaign Dirty work

and the

Winner is…

Which ads picked up the most awards in 2010? (Page 70) Registered in Dubai Media City. Cover Image: Getty/Gallo Images Egypt.................... E£ 10 Jordan.................... JD 4 Kuwait................. KD 1.2

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A MediaquestCorp publication Lebanon.........L£ 5 000 Morocco.............DH 22 Oman................ OR 1.5

Qatar.................... QR 15 Saudi Arabia......... SR 15 Switzerland........... SFR 8

Syria................... S£ 100 Tunisia................. TD 2.5 U.A.E....................DH 15

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December 2010 | Letter from the editor

Runaway winners I

n December, as the nights draw in and the year nears its end, it’s time to reflect on what we’ve achieved – or failed to. My new year’s resolution, back at the start of 2010, was to run 10 kilometers in less than an hour. Although I’m built more for comfort than speed, I hoped that was an attainable goal. I’d shed some fat, and become a better person.* I did not succeed. However, I did manage to run less than 10km in an hour. That’s not as impressive, especially for a fit, young, athletic and driven person. But it’s impressive for me. Since I started hitting the track in – ahem – October, I’ve managed to build up my endurance from 15 minutes tops to a full sweep of the minute hand. Now I just need to cover more ground. Currently I can make it round the local 1.5km running track four times. The problem is that the sites of Al Barsha 2 Pond Park get awfully repetitive: the same play area, the same basketball court, the same bat (seriously, bats chase you. It’s unnerving). Each time I pass the start, I remember one school sports day when I was entered (there really wasn’t a voluntary element) for the 1,500m and got lapped by a

lot of my peers, a lot of times. They stood and waited and drank water and pointed and laughed as I limped miserably home. I didn’t win anything at sports day. And I won’t win anything for my running now. We don’t get awards for doing the same thing again and again. But it makes us stronger, leaner, and altogether fitter as we keep going. This month marks the end of a second tough year for the industry, and we’re still slogging along. Take another deep breath, focus on the horizon, and begin another round. Stay positive. Sure it’s tough, but to celebrate the good times, this issue of Communicate lauds the people who – unlike me at sports day – have won prizes. On page 38, we have a report on the GEMAS Effies Awards. Started by our sister publication GMR back in 2003, they have evolved to become the benchmark for celebrating effectiveness in marketing. And the people we’ve spoken to say the judges gave a good tip of the hat to creativity too. It’s creativity that’s the main focus of the MENA Cristals, the Dubai Lynx, and the Cannes Lions, and in our cover story on page 26 we’ve tallied up the trophies ads picked up at those shows and

worked out the most awarded campaigns of 2010. The creatives behind the best work are, like top runners, well prepared, in good shape, driven, and ahead of the competition; they didn’t win by doing the same thing again and again. They are the sprint finishers who saw a gap and went for it. But those moments of glory are backed by lots of hard work, commitment, and hard slog. Whether we’re sprinters or joggers, the work we do, no matter how laborious it seems, makes us stronger. We’re all in this for the long run, and as an industry we’re getting fitter and fitter. The fittest are winning prizes for it too. *Although it wasn’t my aim, an interest in running would also make me a prime target for marketers, as our story on page 56 finds. I can testify to this: Nike has taken 20 dirhams off me for a pink sweat band that makes me look like I’m on my way to a 1980s roller disco, and I’m now pining for hydrating energy drinks and eyeing up heart-rate monitors. Austyn Allison, managing editor editor@communicate.vg

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Contents | december 2010

Contents

COVER: Top ads of 2010 26 32 34

The prize is right: We see who won Lynxes, Lions and Cristals and work out the most awarded ads of 2010 Top shops: Which are the most awarded regional agencies Show your workings: The rankings tables, and how we found our winner

SHORTS 8

NEWS 14 16 18

A walk in the park: Communicate avoids the faster rides at Ferrari world. But would recommend them to a braver visitor The Flip side: Cisco launches simple pocket camcorder is launched in Middle East. But who will use it?

38 42 44 46 54 56 60

Marketing. Effie one’s a winner: Last month’s GEMAS Effies Awards show creativity and effectiveness can work hand-in-hand Marketing. Effie lifting: Some of the work that carried off prizes National identity: The UAE is looking for a country brand, and it wants you do design it Research. Seeing the big picture: Arabian Eye photo agency polls users, finds dissatisfaction Digital. Holding the purse strings: Arab women are waiting to be marketed to Marketing. Best foot forward: Why marathon runners are worth chasing Digital. All together now: Brands begin to mimic Groupon by cashing in on

DEPARTMENTS

Public relations. Apco Worldwide buys Jiwin Media. Promotions galore as Publicis shuffles media management Marketing. British economy set to profit from royal wedding

THE COMMUNIQUESTION

FEATURES

48 64 68

We ask the industry: What’s your favorite ad of all time?

Q&A. Under cover. Noor Takaful’s Mohammed Imran Khan on why it’s sensible to tread Takaful-y Media Work. Ferrari World gets with the program, Batelco dreams big, and Lifebuoy screens a dirty movie Work. Selections from the regional and international creative scenes The Dish. Tweets, tires and Sachin Tendulkar

DECEMBER 2010 Published by: Medialeader FZ/MediaquestCorp Medialeader, P O Box 72184, Dubai Media City, Al Thuraya Tower 2, Office 2402, Dubai, Tel: (971) 4 391 0760

CO-CEO Alexandre Hawari CO-CEO Julien Hawari Managing Director Ayman Haydar CFO Abdul Rahman Siddiqui General Manager Simon O’Herlihy creative DIRECTOR Aziz Kamel Distribution & Subscription Director JP Nair, jp@mediaquestcorp.com Marketing Manager Joumana Haddad, joumana@mediaquestcorp.com KSA GM Tarek Abu Hamzy, tarekah@mediaquestcorp.com, Tel: +966 1 4194061 Lebanon GM Nathalie Bontems, nathalie@mediaquestcorp.com, Tel: +961 1 492801 North Africa GM Adil Abdel Wahab, adel@medialeader.biz, Tel: +213 661 562 660 France Sales Director

Manuel Dias, dias@arabies.com, Tel: +33 1 4766 46 00

Founder Yasser Hawari Managing Director Julien Hawari Managing editor Austyn Allison creative DIRECTOR Aziz Kamel senior journalist Rania Habib ART DIRECTOR Sheela Jeevan senior sub editor Elizabeth McGlynn sub editor Salil Kumar Agency map research Sahar Rafique, Neena Mathew ART CONTRIBUTORS Jean-Christophe Nys, Aya Farhat External Affairs Manuel

Dias, Maguy Panagga, Catherine Dobarro, Randa Khoury, Lila Schoepf, Laurent Bernard PRINTERS Raidy Printing Group ADVERTISING The Gulf MEDIALEADER, PO Box 72184, Dubai Media City, AlThuraya Tower 2, Office 2402, Dubai, Tel: (971) 4 391 0760, Fax: (971) 4 390 8737, sales@mediaquestcorp.com Lebanon Walid Ramadan, walid@mediaquestcorp.com, Tel: (961) 339 9087 Kingdom of Saudi Arabia Tarek Abu Hamzy, tarekah@mediaquestcorp.com, Tel: (966) 1 419 40 61, Ghassan A. Rbeiz, ghassan@mediaquestcorp.com, Fax: (966) 1 419 41 32, P.O.Box: 14303, Riyadh 11424, Europe S.C.C Arabies, 18, rue de Varize, 75016 Paris, France, Tel: (33) 01 47 664600, Fax: (33) 01 43 807362, Lebanon MEDIALEADER Beirut, Lebanon, Tel: (961) 1 202 369, Fax: (961) 1 202 369 WEBSITE www.communicate.ae

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DECEMBER 2010 | shorts

Land of the Ferrari and the home of the brave The world’s biggest indoor theme park treads a fine line between the exclusivity of sports cars and the everyman attraction of roller coasters by Rania Habib

urtle at 240kmh to 52 meters in the air in less than five seconds? Um, no thanks. Communicate decided to pass on Ferrari World’s most (in)-famous attraction at its opening in October, opting for a wait-and-watch approach instead. What we saw, however, was the Formula Rossa ride take off, then stop. A malfunction. The ride was subsequently closed for the night. We were happy with our decision; and while it’s too bad the world’s first Ferrari theme park suffered a glitch on its first day, we were glad our scaredy cat attitude was vindicated. But these things happen at all theme parks, so we’re not holding it against Ferrari World. Located on Abu Dhabi’s Yas Island, the world’s largest indoor theme park gives Ferrari owners, lovers, and everyone with a taste of its trademark power and aesthetics. With crazy roller coasters, a magnificent G-force contraption that blasts

through the park’s signature red roof before dropping passengers from 62 meters, a junior training camp where kids can engage with the various aspects of owning a Ferrari, “4-D” adventures, car simulators, and a drive around the Italian coast, Ferrari World really does have something for everyone (even scaredy cats). Restaurants, galleries boasting vintage Ferraris (got 7 million euros to spare?), and a theater screening films about the car allow those with weak stomachs to keep lunch down. But isn’t being accessible to everyone the opposite of what Ferrari is about? The brand, famous for its never-has-and-never-will advertising principle and its exclusivity, has obviously reached out to Joe Public. In a previous interview with Communicate, Pietro Innocenti, general manager of Ferrari for the MENA region, said the luxury car manufacturer lives by the words of its founder,

Enzo Ferrari, who used to say, “We will always produce one car less than the market demands.” (See “Good old values,” page 16, Communicate, Sept. 2010.) So how is opening up a fully branded theme park in line with the company’s ethos? Stefano Lai, director of communications for Ferrari, says a theme park that is open to the general public does not devalue the brand. Quite the opposite. “Ferrari World respects the Ferrari brand,” says Lai. “What could bring down the value of the brand is something that spoils it, doesn’t add value, or doesn’t respect the brand. This park has been designed in conjunction with Ferrari, and we’ve worked with our partners to transmit the experience and essence of Ferrari.” Lai says while Ferrari is known for exclusive, high-tech cars, it is also a brand that has a huge follow-

ing. “Ferrari is loved and known all around the world,” he says. “We have millions of fans who follow our Formula One team, millions of fans who love our cars, even if they can’t afford them. They love the car, they love the technology, and they love the style, so why not give the possibility to all these people to enjoy it? These people are important to us because they are part of the family of our brand ambassadors, so we give them the possibility to experience the Ferrari spirit. This is open to everyone who loves the brand.” Communicate is impressed with what’s underneath the giant red roof of Ferrari World. It offers an entertaining, and at times stomach-churning, experience. It reflects as much class as a theme park possibly could. The park is swanky, but may we suggest yellow-and-red branded sick bags for those brave enough to try the Formula Rossa.

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DECEMBER 2010 | shorts

In the frame

The man behind the Flip pocket camcorder is ready for his close-up by Austyn Allison

Johnathan Kaplan. Senior vice-president of Cisco Consumer Products

ast month, Flip said it was launching in the Middle East. Not the Dubaibased digital shop Flip Media, but the brand of pocket video cameras founded in 2001 in California and bought out a year-and-a-half ago by international IT company Cisco. At the Dubai launch, Communicate asked the camera’s inventor, and now senior vice-president of Cisco Consumer Products, Jonathan Kaplan, how he got the idea for the camcorder. “It was a simple idea, which was to try and democratize video,” says Kaplan. Playing to the stereotype of the Silicon Valley entrepreneur, he had already built two successful startups – Family Wonder, which he sold to Sega, and GeoWorks, which built operating systems for telephones. “At the time people didn’t embrace video at all,” he says. “They had purchased these big, bulky camcorders, and they would keep them in their closets. The batteries would be dead, and they would have these tapes that weren’t being used by anyone. “We needed to make the product easy to use, extremely small, extremely high quality, and extremely affordable. We put an engineering team on those tasks, and each time they came back with a product it had too many

features and too many functions, and it did too many things.” Eventually the Flip, as it exists now, was born. There are several versions, but the Mino HD (which is smaller and lighter than most phones and capable of recording high-definition video) that Communicate played with has very basic controls. The user can choose whether it beeps or not, and whether a light shines when recording. In operation, there is an on switch, a record switch, up and down buttons (to control the digital zoom in video mode, and volume during playback), a play and an erase button, and left and right buttons for navigating through clips. It’s fairly Luddite-proof. The name Flip comes from the USB port that pops out of the top of the camera to plug directly into your computer. You can use built-in software to put your blockbuster on YouTube, Facebook, or Twitter. But surely our phones, which we carry with us all the time, can do all a Flip can, and more. We ask Kaplan why someone would use a Flip rather than their iPhone. “The answer to that is: Try it and you’ll know,” he says. Sure enough, perhaps because the gizmo’s primary – and only – purpose is to be used as a video camera, it’s

more conducive to pointing and shooting than a phone, or even a pocket stills camera. The brand has taken this long to arrive in the Middle East because until Cisco bought the company, Flip only employed around 100 people, and markets such as the USA, the UK, and Australia were more profitable. But now the camera is here, Kaplan says, Cisco will be on a marketing drive. “[We’ll market it] the same way we always market Flip,” he says. “Lots of word-of-mouth, lots of great merchandising with our retail partners, lots of advertising… You’ll see lots of social networking.” With a young population that likes its gadgets, combined with an expat community that likes to send snapshots home, the Middle East should lap up the camera, says Kaplan. And communications professionals can use it too. “Marketers are using it for everything,” he says. “Some big firms are stamping their logo on it and sending it to their best customers, and other, little companies are using it to create video presentations for their clients.” It may be basic, but it’s fun and easy. So expect to see more videos – of varying degrees of professionalism – on a screen near you soon.

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DECEMBER 2010 | Regional news

Apco Worldwide buys JiWin

 I MEDIA Mindshare retains BIC

US-based consultancy takes over Dubai PR firm

DONE DEAL. (From left) Sbieh; Tecom CEO, Abdullatif Al Mulla; Kraus; and Apco regional director, Cleopatra Kitti Dubai. Last month, Dubai-based JiWin Public Relations announced it has been acquired by Apco Worldwide, an independent communications agency based in Washington, DC. Apco first entered the regional market with its own office three years ago. It began working with JiWin a year later. Speaking to Communicate, Apco’s founder and CEO, Margery Kraus, says, “We liked each other so much we decided that there was creative value in putting the teams together and going forward together, and giving JiWin a global platform and giving Apco much broader opportunities in the region.” Apco bought the company from its previous owner, Tecom Investments, the subsidiary of Dubai Holding that runs free zones such as Dubai Media City and Dubai Internet City. Kraus won’t reveal the value of the deal.

Apco’s annual turnover is in excess of $100 million, and the agency – which was founded in 1984 and is largely employee-owned and independent of any holding company – had around 500 people on its books before the acquisition. JiWin employs around 35 people, and its managing director, Mamoon Sbeih, says it will now be hiring five more. Kraus says the existing management will stay in place and the company will continue to be called JiWin, “at least for now.” Asked if this will change, she says, “We’ll see what makes sense. We’re very practical. This is a very friendly arrangement and we’re trying to think about what’s best. But JiWin has a lot of brand equity and we want to take advantage of that.” While JiWin represents many Dubai Holding companies in the UAE, Apco is likely to bring some big names in from abroad. JiWin is already partner-

ing with its new owner on a growing Johnson & Johnson account, and Apco is the agency of record of silicon giant Dow Corning. Sbeih says JiWin is looking to expand into Abu Dhabi. “We believe there is a great need for the services and offering that Apco has, and our experience and knowledge of this market will help a lot, especially with the culture.” Apco has traditionally been strong in public affairs, but Kraus is keen to emphasize that the agency is broader than that today. “In addition to traditional PR, we really are helping companies and organizations deal with the whole range of external stakeholders,” she says. “So it’s PR, public affairs, a little bit of investment-related activities, dealing with NGOs… It’s a broad range of how an entity interacts and communicates with all its stakeholder audiences.”

A press release from the agency says that in his new role Keller will manage the agency’s main business hub and will oversee the agency’s international

and regional client relationships. Both promotions follow the recent restructuring of MCN, a holding firm majority owned by the Interpublic Group.

 I AGENCIES Hasbani and Keller promoted at Weber Shandwick Dubai. The Middle East Communications Group (MCN) has announced two management changes in its PR company, Weber Shandwick MENA. Ziad Hasbani (pictured, far right), previously managing director for the UAE, has been promoted to CEO of Weber Shandwick MENA. Andreas Keller (pictured, right), previously regional PR director for Weber Shandwick MENA, has become managing director of Weber Shandwick Dubai.

Dubai. Media agency Mindshare Bahrain has retained the buying and planning account for Bahrain International Circuit (BIC) following a competitive pitch. The account, which comprised online and mainstream media buying and planning, will cover BIC marketing activities in the Gulf. BIC, which will host the first race of the 2011 F1 Grand Prix next March, has hosted the race every year since the circuit was opened in 2004. Joy Kotran, marketing manger of BIC, says in a statement, “We have chosen to retain Mindshare for another two years as they have shown commitment, passion, and in-depth knowledge of our business, showcasing creativity that portrays BIC as a market leader in Bahrain.” Johnny Khazzoum, managing director of Mindshare Bahrain, says, “At times retaining an account is much more challenging than winning a new account. Keeping BIC’s business with Mindshare proves the client’s confidence in our business planning model.” I public relations 60 MEPRA Awards entries shortlisted Dubai. Out of 86 best practice entries for the Middle East Public Relations Association (MEPRA) Awards, judges have shortlisted 60, the association says. Judging took three days, and a further two days of judging (there are 22 judges involved overall, split into five teams) will decide the winners in each of the categories, as well as the team and individual entries, all of which will be announced on Dec. 1. “As with our inaugural 2009 awards, the high number of submissions shows strong commitment within the profession and industry to showcase best practice and celebrate PR excellence,” says Rebecca Hill, MEPRA’s executive director. “By providing an opportunity for peer review the MEPRA Awards are a valuable platform from which to observe and benchmark individual and team efforts with competitors and colleagues in the industry.”

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OMD Effie 2010 Communicate.pdf 11/23/2010 8:28:12 PM

CMY

When we say our insights and ideas are designed to deliver results, don’t just take our word for it. The judges at the 2010 Gemas Effie MENA Awards presented six trophies to our clients, including three Gold, two Silver and one Bronze. Speaking of effectiveness, that’s a 20% improvement on last year’s result and the leading performance once again.

OMD UAE - Middle East HQ Dubai Media City, Bldg 1, No. 409, PO Box 34404, Dubai, United Arab Emirates Tel: +971 4 390 4321 . Fax: +971 4 391 8066 info@omd-mena.com . www.omd.com

Global Media Agency of the Year (Adweek, 2008 and 2009) Most Creative Media Agency (Gunn Report for Media, 2004-2009) Media Agency of the Year (MENA Cristal Festival, 2010) Most Awarded Media Agency (Gemas Effie MENA, 2009 and 2010)

DECEMBER 2010 | Regional news

Management changes at Publicis Groupe’s media agencies

Very Briefs Dow Jones signs exclusive agreement with Media Intelligence for management and marketing of Dow Jones Factiva in MENA region Effective Measure launches new online audience intelligence tool

New York Times chairman congratulates Northwestern University in Qatar students on newspaper launch Royal Jet offers space in Abu Dhabi airport’s VIP terminal

CHANGING TITLES. (From left) Saber, Readman, Jabbour, Daouk, El Zein Dubai. Holding company Publicis Groupe is shaking up its media operations in the region, with some renaming and new management. Publicis Groupe Media (PGM) is changing its name to VivaKi, and the management of both VivaKi and the two media agencies it holds, Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) and Zenith, is also changing. Mike Readman, formerly both country chairman for VivaKi and CEO of SMG MENA, will step down at the end of this year. No announcement has been made about where he will go. Alex Saber, currently chief operating officer for VivaKi, will become VivaKi chairman for the MENA region.

Jack Klues, VivaKi’s global managing director, says, “Alex has been instrumental in driving growth through new business and new markets. His leadership, along with that of SMG and Zenith Optimedia, will continue to be a collaborative force that will further shape and drive the media landscape to the benefit of our clients.” At SMG MENA, Philip Jabbour, currently executive vice-president of business development for the Europe, Middle East and Africa region, will become CEO of SMG MENA. Tarek Daouk, the executive vice-president of SMG MENA, will become the region’s chief innovation and integration officer, a newly created role. Readman says, “Philip and Tarek are an unstoppable talent pairing that

will drive SMG’s human experience agenda through to its core. In their capable hands… and fearless focus on clients … I am confident we will see continued growth in this dynamic and critical region.” Meanwhile, Firas El Zein, the regional managing director for Zenith MENA, has been promoted to CEO of that company. Readman says of El Zein, “This appointment is perfect recognition of Firas’ driving role in the recent transformation of Zenith into a serious player on the MENA stage. I am proud of this company, the ZO [Zenith Optimedia] team, and the role I have had in this success story.” The promotions will take effect from Jan. 1, 2011.

Branding agency TMH to help Aido.com launch online store Siegel+Gale branding agency partners with du on Anayou project Landmark Group unveils Shukran customer loyalty program in the UAE Aldar appoints branding agency Wolff Olins Waseet.net enters a co-marketing agreement with Google Toby Mills appointed digital media director at Omnia Connect Yahoo Maktoob launches revamped Helwa women’s portal

Rolling Stone ME launches First Arab Social Media Forum to take place in Amman on Dec. 11 Go to our Web site for the full stories: www.communicate.ae  I agencies Pirana hires Menacom’s Saeed Dubai. Dubai-based ad agency Pirana Advertising has appointed Syed Anwar Saeed as director of business management. Saeed will head Pirana’s Dubai client portfolio across the region.

Saeed previously spent seven years at WPP’s Menacom holding group, where he was regional account director with Y&R and Intermarkets. He has also worked with creative agency BBDO and media agency OMD, and with Dubai daily newspaper Khaleej Times.

In a press release, Imran Irshad, CEO of Pirana Advertising (which created the above ad), says, “Anwar Saeed came to our attention because of his strong execution skills, his ability to lead top performing teams, and his exceptional track record in creating winning opportunities.”

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DECEMBER 2010 | INTERNATIONAL news

Royal wedding promises to be boon to British economy The announcement last month of a royal engagement, followed by a royal wedding, will provide a muchneeded boost for the UK economy, with souvenir cups, T-shirts and even thimbles available on eBay within hours of the announcement that the Queen’s grandson, Prince William, will marry long-term girlfriend Kate Middleton next year. Retail analyst firm Verdict believes the wedding could bring in an extra $984 million to the UK economy next year, of which $343 million would come from travel and tourism, and the other $641 million from retail. The event could also help the country’s morale just as it starts to  I marketing

Tourism and merchandise sales estimated to bring $984 million to UK

feel the full pinch of deep government cuts. Or, the lavish display could be an inflammatory focal point for protests and demonstrations. Verdict consulting director Neil Saunders says, “We believe that in

merchandise sales alone, the engagement could be worth between $20 and $30 million. “The benefit of the wedding itself is much bigger. If, as expected, it is a big set-piece event, merchandise

“We are confident that Crunchy Nut cereal’s international popularity will continue in the US.”

 I agencies McCann nabs Mother’s Karlsson to lead creative in New York, London

lean into the future and had a big conceptual vision about how brand experience needs to be created in today’s technology world.”

In a year that has seen countless creative agency leaders make bold career moves, this one will go down as the most surprising of all. Nick Brien, McCann Worldgroup’s new CEO, has persuaded creative star Linus Karlsson (pictured, above) to leave the highly successful New York office of independent shop Mother to help turn around Interpublic Group of Cos.’ largest – and arguably most challenged – agency network. In an unusual arrangement, Karlsson, effective Feb. 2011, will serve as the chairman and chief creative officer of not one, but two key McCann Erickson hubs, New York and London. The news came days after Ad Age sibling Creativity first reported Karlsson’s exit from the shop he cofounded – prompting the breakup of a 20-year creative partnership with Paul Malmstrom. According to Brien, Karlsson fits the bill for what he was looking for in a new creative leader for McCann: “Someone who could

BlackBerry hunts for new US creative shop BlackBerry parent Research in Motion and Publicis Groupe’s Leo Burnett are parting ways as the smartphone maker reaches out to creative agencies at various holding companies to work on the company’s nearly $200 million advertising account, industry executives say. “We have decided not to participate in BlackBerry’s US creative review, as we are instead moving forward with and growing our Samsung client partnership,” representatives for Leo Burnett say in a statement. RIM did not immediately return a request for comment. The search for new creative resources isn’t expected to affect RIM’s relationship with its lead media shop, Publicis’ Starcom, or other agencies on its roster, such as independent 72andSunny. According to Kantar Media, RIM spent $183 million on US media for the first nine months of 2010 – a big jump from the $111 million it spent for all of 2009. While the Canadian firm still leads in US smartphone market share, RIM has been steadily ceding percentage points over the past year to Apple and, especially now, Google’s Android.

 I print

Kellogg introduces Crunchy Nut to US Kellogg Co. is banking on a British import to help lift its sagging cereal sales in the US with the introduction next year of Crunchy Nut, a sweettasting brand that’s been sold in the UK since 1980. The January launch – expected to be accompanied by a big advertising campaign – comes at a tumultuous time for the cereal giant and within a category that has of late shown lackluster innovation. Kellogg’s share gap has been narrowing with No. 2 General Mills and the company recently lowered profit forecasts, citing weaker performance in core cereal markets, competitive pressure, and lingering impact of the recall this past summer of some brands due to odd smells. “Crunchy Nut’s unique honeyand-nut flavor has made it one of the top cereal brands in the UK since its debut in 1980,” Mike Morrissey, Kellogg’s manager of brand PR, says in a statement.

UK publishers struggle to figure out what men want UK magazine publishers have struggled to come up with a formula that speaks directly to the new generation of male readers since the heyday of “lad’s mag” titles such as FHM ended years ago. Bauer Media’s answer is Gaz7etta, a new weekly glossy that debuts with a six-page celebration of Saatchi & Saatchi’s 40th birthday, portraying the story of the rise of brothers Maurice and Charles Saatchi as an insight into “The Real Mad Men.” To reduce risk in a tough market, Gaz7etta is starting with a pilot issue and no firm date for going weekly.

Paul Keenan, chief executive of Bauer Media UK, whose interests comprise print, radio, TV, and digital, says, “We’ve done a lot of launching over the years, and one issue is that traditionally you spend heavily at the point of maximum vulnerability, when the team and the audience are still in the process of being formed.”

sales could easily top $40 million, while food and grocery retailers could cash in to the tune of $570 million, as consumers buy extra treats to celebrate the occasion, as well as champagne and wine to toast the happy couple.” Meanwhile the public-relations machine has gone into overdrive as agencies send out press releases promoting their clients as the go-to provider for royal wedding outfits, cakes, jewelry, honeymoon venues, and anything else that might help fill the column inches the British public will devour between now and the nuptials, scheduled for spring next year.

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DECEMBER 2010 | OPINION

The Communiquestion

No.1 spot

We ask the industry: What’s your favorite ad of all time? Tony Orsten CEO, twofour54 Without question, it’s the Guinness ad with the surfing horses. It was so visually breathtaking, and genuinely held all the values and aspirations of the Guinness brand, and the actual glass of beer that the whole ad represents. A total and complete triumph. Monica Mogab Arabian Peninsula brand PR group manager, Procter & Gamble My favorite ad at the moment is the Old Spice “Smell like a man, man” campaign, which features the quicktalking, charming, magnetic actor Isaiah Mustafa. I love this advertisement because it builds on an insight about men using women’s fragrances, and demonstrates how an old brand associated with our grandfathers can be reinvented using modern media. On top of that, the creativity of the ad really resonates with the target audience through the use of a highly engaging yet relatively unknown talent who has great appeal. This led to a viral movement on social media sites such as Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube. In addition, the PR behind

the campaign was extremely successful with Mustafa appearing on nearly all major talk shows, relaying the brand’s key messages. This is a wonderful example of the power of wordof-mouth behind a big idea. Hubert Boulos Regional managing director, MAC DDB My all-time favorite ad is most probably the Budweiser “Wassup?” campaign from DDB, which won a Grand Prix at the Cannes Lions in 2000. Why? “True… true.” Raja Trad CEO, Leo Burnett Group MENA It is very difficult to have one answer to this question. There are some ads that register in the minds of so many people. To name a few, I would say the TVC for Macintosh, in 1984, which was aired only once. What also comes to mind is the whole series of ads for Hamlet cigars. Add to it the TVC done for Aerolineas Argentinas, which was a winner at Cannes, and has the perfect balance of realism and surrealism… and

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DECEMBER 2010 | OPINION

the story is very engaging. There are more ads that the industry will remember, but the question is limiting, and I would stop at naming the above three. Zoya Sakr Editor-in-chief, anaZahra.com My favorite ad is the Old Spice ad, because it generated a unique buzz. It’s the most popular interactive campaign in history, as it got 1.4 billion impressions for the brand. It was so smartly done. They got women and men to have a conversation. They created a response campaign where they shot 186 videos answering fans’ and celebrities’ questions, which were gathered from Facebook and Twitter. Then they posted the answers on YouTube. Yousef Tuqan Tuqan CEO, Flip Media When I think of the millions of ads I have seen, it’s hard to judge which one would be my favorite, as how much I like it does not have an influence on how it has changed my behavior. However, I think the most effective ad I have seen is the “Rear passenger seat belt” ad by Saatchi & Saatchi, to encourage seatbelt usage in the rear seat. It’s shocking and horrible, but I have never ridden in a car without making everyone put on their rear seat belts since, and I am sure it has saved a few lives. Fadi Chamat General manager, Abu Dhabi, PHD Pioneering My vote goes to the Nike guerrilla campaign against adidas years ago. Adidas had paid a large sum of money to sponsor the 2002 Boston Marathon, and while Nike had a very low budget, it was able to hijack the event

to its benefit, by supplying runners with spray-painted swooshes that commemorated the day of the race, but not the race itself. The result? On the day of the race, thousands of runners painted the swoosh on their faces, which dwarfed the adidas branding across the race. In my book, that’s really clever, and a perfect example of competitive advertising. Sawsan Ghanem Managing director, Active Public Relations One of my favorite ads would have to be the British Electricity Board’s Creature Comfort ads. I found that the series of ads succeeded in hitting on two key touch points: the visual and the emotional. As a viewer, I would find myself laughing, identifying with the creatures and characters at the start of the ads, as they were so human-like, and I could almost immediately think of people 100 percent like them. You found yourself immediately identifying with them and their need for heat during the cold months, and totally buying into the British Electricity Board. It was such a clever use of vox pops of real people talking about their real needs. Azhar Siddiqui General manager, Magna This is a tough one because there is no one favorite ad of all time that I can point to. However, there are a few campaigns that I can never forget for their sense of humor, their ability to entertain and get the message across, and some for their sheer emotional connection. Budweiser: Its Wassup campaign has to be the most memorable one for me. Axe: Its ads are funny, witty, and certainly get a man to seriously start considering using it. And Cadbury: For its ability to emotionally touch the hearts of millions of people and put a smile on their face.

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OPINION | DECEMBER 2010

Hermann Behrens CEO, The Brand Union Middle East My favorite ads are the BMW ads created by TBWA Hunt Lascaris. There were two: One was an advert showing a close-up of a little white mouse running on a wheel, and as the camera pulls back it exposes a steering wheel of a car. It talks about the new fingertouch power steering, and then reveals the BMW logo and “Sheer Driving Pleasure.” I like the mystery created and the clever way of showing how effective the power steering is. The other advert starts with a close-up of a mercury shape on a curvaceous surface. There is low, ambient, sensual lighting, and as the classical music starts, the mercury shape glides slowly across the surface with beautiful form and curves, just like a car would go around mountain curves. The camera pulls back and reveals the shape of a beautiful woman’s body, and the mercury shape comes to a standstill in her belly button and transforms into the logo of BMW. “Sheer Driving Pleasure.” This was a production masterpiece, and used something that most men are interested in to demonstrate the point: Sheer driving pleasure. Maged Nassar Writer, Elephant Cairo My favorite ad is the one for the Buenos Aires Film Festival with the clowns. The concept: If it’s not for you, it’s not for you.

David Porter Media director, Unilever MENA Dumb Animals by Yellowhammer Advertising (UK), c.1985 Advertiser: Greenpeace (later Lynx). Budget: Tea and biscuits for the crew. Cast: Some of the world’s finest catwalk talent. Director: Iconic British photographer David Bailey. Music: Vangelis Papathanassiou (of “Chariots of Fire” fame). Scene: Model struts down the runway, slips nonchalantly out of her fur coat, allowing it to drag along the floor, whereupon it spatters the catwalk and onlookers with the blood of the creatures that were sacrificed to make it. Endline: “It takes up to 40 dumb animals to make a fur coat. But only one to wear it.” Awards: Gazillions. Impact: A permanent shift in British popular culture. Twenty-five years on, try wearing fur on the London Underground if you doubt it. And if you enjoy being sneered at. I had absolutely nothing to do with its making, but it made me proud to go to work every day, knowing what my colleagues were capable of. Thanks, Jeremy and Alan. Akram Miknas Chairman, Middle East Communication Networks My favorite ad of all times is Coke’s The Real Thing.

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DECEMBER 2010 | OPINION

Dimitri Metaxas Regional executive director, digital, OMG MENA The Guinness “Good things come to those who wait” series of ads, especially Surfer, which ran in the UK in the 1990s. Each tells a story – emotive, poetic, slick direction, and just plain cool. I was the target group for the ads and they definitely worked. Marwan Qutub CEO and co-founder, 3Points Advertising It has to be “Aqim Salatak.” I’ve never witnessed an ad that influenced behavior in the Middle East with the same impact as this series of public service announcements to encourage the youth to perform their prayers. It’s a change of behavior for a good cause. Add to that it’s a 3Points creative work and definitely the one we are proud of most. “Aqim Salatak” paved the way for us to deliver many public service announcements promoting love, respect, appreciation, anti-corruption, anti-smoking, and anti-drug and alcohol use; and now many follow our footsteps. Ramzi Raad Chairman and CEO, TBWA/Raad My favorite ad of all time is Apple’s “1984.” This spot is so old it probably ran before many of Communicate’s readers were even born. But it’s great fun to remind ourselves that on January 22, 1984, during the Super Bowl, a 60-second commercial to launch Apple Computer’s Macintosh was aired, and this TVC never aired again. “The commercial changed advertising. The product changed the ad business. The technology changed the world.” So said Advertising Age in its special feature

entitled “10 Years After 1984,” which appeared in the January 10, 1994 issue. The 29-year-old Steve Jobs’ brief to his advertising agency Chiat Day (which has since become TBWA/ Chiat Day) was to create an ad that stops the world in its tracks and note that something incredibly important has just happened. The agency delivered a creative and media-buying achievement in the form of a teaser spot with the pretension of a serious film that cost $400,000 to produce and $500,000 to air, in its single paid airing. “1984” turned the Super Bowl from an American football game into advertising’s super event, and ushered in the era of advertising as news. The three major American TV networks replayed it – the same day – as a story on their evening news bulletins. It continues to be shown on TVs all around the world every time this exciting campaign story gets retold. At TBWA/Raad we continue to show “1984” as the typical example on our “Disruption” philosophy, every time we present the credentials of TBWA/Worldwide. Mounir Harfouche CEO, Lowe MENA It’s a classic, and has always resonated with me: Do you remember the “Think Different” campaign that was launched by Apple in 1997? This genius idea managed to re-establish Apple’s counter-culture image that it had lost during the ’90s. This was done via an inspiring execution that reinvented Apple as a way of thinking, a cult brand. This execution inspires millions of people to this day. A single television commercial made Apple one of the most valuable brands in the world. The most amazing thing is the fact that what Apple did was practice the philosophy it was promoting – the power of thinking differently.

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OPINION | DECEMBER 2010

Yves-Michel Gabay General manager, MEC MENA I have a lot of favorite ads because I’m quite old. The man with the Hathaway Shirt (1950s – Ogilvy) because of the eye patch the man was wearing. VW Beatle – Think small (DDB). This was the best of the car manufacturers’ ads, and they are still doing well. Apple – 1984. It changed the world of computers. All the Perrier ones: a fabulous saga since they started advertising. The French ones: Club Med – Dormir, Manger, etcetera. The only campaign that really incited me to go on holiday. Cachou Lajaunie was the first very short (three-second) TVC, which created such a big impact with a very small budget and simple creative ideas. Hamlet cigars in the UK. The full saga was excellent. Marlboro’s cowboy. And so on… Yoann El Jaouhari Sales and marketing director, JC Decaux Middle East The Oslo Piercing Studio Campaign. It’s a very clever twist on its environment. You can understand the product and even feel the intrusion from the advert. It’s engaging. Also, Volvo’s “Safety Pin.” The very simple image speaks for itself. It’s straight to the point and works everywhere around the world. Kamal Dimachkie Managing director, UAE, Kuwait and Lower Gulf, Leo Burnett My favorite ad of all time is Apple’s “1984.” Rare are the moments in life when the stars are so wonderfully aligned that we experience a momentous event that gets etched in our minds.

The “1984” ad is one such milestone in our industry’s creative history. It has perfect, once-in-a-lifetime timing and an extremely provocative premise. It’s wonderfully lateral, grandly produced, and daringly avant-garde. Gets my vote. Elie Haber Managing director, Mindshare I have no one single favorite but many, including Pepsi versus Coke and the Melody Aflam series of ads. If I’m pushed to name a favorite it will be the one of the kid using Coke cans to get Pepsi at the vending machine. I believe Pepsi has always taken more risks, acted fast, and was always developing new ideas. Creativity will ultimately determine the winner in such a saturated carbonated soft drinks category, and this ad is a true example of a simple but creative idea. Don’t get me wrong; I love Coke as well. Jaikumar Menon Vice-president, MCN Media The “Think Small” VW Beetle ad by DDB (1959). Its fame and popularity is reflected in the fact that it was ranked number 1 in Ad Age’s list of top 100 campaigns of the 20th century. This ad surely changed the course of advertising. Imagine selling a “tiny and ugly” car at a time when competing automakers were selling ever bigger cars and the country (USA) itself was in a “think big” mood. A great idea executed through brilliant use of white space. Simplicity, contrarian thinking, courage, and sheer genius.

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ÂŠ Corbis

DECEMBER 2010 | Cover Story

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Cover Story | DECEMBER 2010

2010’s most awarded We tally up campaign wins in this year’s awards shows and see how they compare

t wasn’t a year wrought with scandal, but 2010 was nonetheless interesting for the regional advertising industry. After the 2009 advertising awards season was marred with ghost ads and scam ads, the 2010 advertising awards season saw some funny, engaging, non-traditional, and effective advertising in the region. While Egypt seemed to be the dominant force this year, there was healthy competition from

by Rania Habib

the rest of the region – from Lebanon, the UAE, and even Tunisia. Communicate has compiled the Top 10 Most Awarded Campaigns of this year by looking at how regional advertising did at the Dubai Lynx Awards, the MENA Cristal Awards, and the Cannes Lions Awards. See page 35 for an explanation of how we scored each campaign.

There was a clear winner with Leo Burnett’s “Mother of all Foreign Films” for Melody Aflam; the campaign catered to almost everyone’s sense of humor, even though it was a localised, culturally specific campaign. The rest of the top 10 is an eclectic mix of funny, creative, and engaging campaigns. Here’s to an even more interesting awards season in 2011.

Arabic Films, The Mother of all Foreign Films Melody Entertainment Leo Burnett Cairo Mohamed Hamdallah Executive creative director Leo Burnett Cairo When we were first given this brief, the first thing that came to mind was to make fun of Arabic films. It’s easy to make fun of Arabic films when you’re used to watching American movies, but what help would that be? It is important for us that the work we do has a positive impact on our viewers – who are Arabs – so we decided to look at the problem from another perspective. The thing that Egyptians have that the West doesn’t is our incredible sense of humor; an Egyptian can make fun of anything in good spirit – even if it’s a flawless Hollywood picture. We then needed to understand that the Arabic films

we were promoting (even though they might not be to our taste) made many generations happy, so we had to give them the respect they deserved, and we had to be proud of them. That led us to our selling line: “Aflam arabi – omm elagnaby,” which means, “Arabic films – the mother of all foreign films.” We wanted to remind everyone that we are a great people and not ashamed of who we are, and we really believed that when we were working on this project. The last thing on our minds was winning awards; that was just a bonus. But because it won awards, this campaign gave everyone in the industry a taste – for the first time, we believe – of authentic Arabic humor and advertising. It wasn’t a foreign ad translated into Arabic. We just hope that this inspires every talented creative in the region to embrace our culture and make something beautiful and Arabic out of it. Om elagnaby.

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DECEMBER 2010 | Cover Story

Ehkineh Interruptions Alfa Leo Burnett Beirut Bechara Mouzannar Executive creative director Leo Burnett MENA What was the best part about working on this campaign? Imagining and planning the whole process of guerrilla advertising on a traditional media such as radio. And the worst part? The fear that the guerrilla process would not go as planned, or would stop at some point in time. That did not happen, yet the anxiety was there. I’d like to dedicate this award to... The innovative team at Leo Burnett Beirut that wrote and acted this campaign, and hijacked the nation’s radio waves. Also Aline Karam (our Alfa client) and her team, who were prepared to grab the opportunity (rather than taking the risk) of using traditional media in an unconventional way in order to communicate a specific product benefit. Ticket Stamp Promotion Berlitz Memac Ogilvy & Mather, Dubai Ramzi Moutran Creative director Memac Ogilvy & Mather, Dubai What was the best part about working on this campaign? Winning such recognition for such a simple but effective campaign. And the worst part? There was none. I’d like to dedicate this award to... All the people who think only large investments are needed to make award-winning work. Small can be so big. Boga Cidre Société Frigorifique et Brasserie de Tunis (SFBT) Memac Ogilvy Label Tunisia, Tunis Nicolas Courant Creative director Memac Ogilvy Label Tunisia What was the best part about working on this campaign? In a way, we were charting a new course for advertising in Tunisia; going out with a viral in Tunisia was completely new. We were delighted to see the strong reception of the audience. And the worst part? The biggest challenge was to manage people’s expectations: the client, staff, consumers, and the media. I’d like to dedicate this award to... Our actress. She’s the one who made it seem real.

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DECEMBER 2010 | Cover Story

89 Fans from ‘89 The Coca-Cola Company Elephant, Cairo Ali Ali Creative director Elephant Cairo What was the best part about working on this campaign? For the first time in our careers, it didn’t feel like we were making an ad. It’s the closest we’ve ever been to producing a film, a true documentary, where nothing was staged. And the worst part? Not knowing how it would turn out. And at times, not even knowing what it was we were filming. We lacked a format – a familiar structure – around which to work, which is why it turned out so nicely. We also had a very small budget to work with, because Coca-Cola hadn’t planned this project in their annual spending. We had a friend’s old 16mm camera, and since we couldn’t afford any locations, we had to shoot each fan in his home. I’d like to dedicate this award to… CocaCola, for believing in the idea. And to the fans, for making it happen. Le Mall launch Le Mall, JWT Beirut Iyad Zahlan Executive creative director JWT Beirut What was the best part about working on this campaign? The fact that the Le Mall launch campaign was initially a pitch presentation. Its success is quite dear to our hearts. Moreover, seeing it all come to life and unfold after months of hard work was quite rewarding. But if I were to single out one thing, it would be the people’s response and reaction to the campaign: it was phenomenal. And the worst part? Creating and implementing big campaigns is always quite an endeavor, and we all know it has its ups and downs. Luckily only the sweet memories remain. I’d like to dedicate this award to… Everyone who contributed to its success. Lika Gum Sima Food Industries Elephant, Cairo Ali Ali Creative director Elephant Cairo What was the best part about working on this campaign? Having to produce this campaign on a shoestring budget. We shot the entire thing at my sister’s house. And the worst part? Having to produce this campaign on a shoestring budget. I think if we had the financial means to get this shot in the right locations, with the right photographer, it could have landed a Silver, or maybe even a Gold Lion at Cannes. I’d like to dedicate this award to... My sister, Sally, for helping us out and letting us destroy her house on the shoot.

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Cover Story | DECEMBER 2010

Safe & Style Volvo/Massimo Dutti Memac Ogilvy & Mather, Dubai Ramzi Moutran Creative director Memac Ogilvy & Mather, Dubai What was the best part about working on this campaign? The simplicity and power of the campaign idea. Making a relatively boring but necessary contribution to the automotive industry both exciting and fashionable, and making it more noticeable. In a time where everything is changing, something that remains constant is noticeable. That was the heart of the campaign. And the worst part? The most intricate part of the campaign involved coordinating and liaising with all parties to ensure that we faithfully and carefully represented their perspective. I’d like to dedicate this award to… Clients who are willing to push the work as much as the agency is. Keep up the good fight; we need more of you.

Sticky Posters Emirates Environmental Group (EEG) Wunderman Dubai Pooja Chandani Creative director Wunderman What was the best part about working on this campaign? Sticky Posters gave us the results on the spot; that was the best part. We could see the effectiveness of the campaign right there. And the worst part? When you get such fantastic results and even win awards for it, there can’t be anything bad about the campaign, can there? I’d like to dedicate this award to… Our EEG client, Habiba Al Marashi. It was her support that helped us make this campaign a huge success. Stop the Suffering Pert Plus Leo Burnett Beirut Bechara Mouzannar Regional executive creative director Leo Burnett MENA What was the best part about working on this campaign? Areej Mahmoud (associate creative director): Coming up with the idea was fun, but the characters were the most fun. Drawing them, imagining their stories, creating personalities, and then when they started to move, to bring the idea to life – it was magic. Seeing how the whole campaign worked together was extremely rewarding. A n d t h e w o r s t p a r t ? Ya s m i n a B a z (associate creative director): All the bad hair days. I’d like to dedicate this award to… All the families of the hairs who fell in the making of this commercial. God bless them.

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DECEMBER 2010 | Cover Story

Highest-ranked agencies Which of the region’s ad shops have accumulated the most metal over the past year? by Rania Habib

he year’s top campaign may have beaten others by a mile, but Melody Entertainment’s “Arabic films – the mother of all foreign films” couldn’t put Leo Burnett Cairo in the top spot for Most Awarded Agency. While JWT Dubai’s individual campaigns didn’t make as big an impact on the advertising world as the Melody Aflam campaign did, they did put the agency at the head of our table.

With 22 awards from the Dubai Lynx and the MENA Cristals, JWT Dubai is the regional agency with the most awards in 2010, having done work for clients including Aldar Properties, Virgin, Johnson & Johnson, The Times newspaper, and Nestle. Leo Burnett Beirut beat its Egyptian counterpart to land second place, with its guerrilla radio campaign for Alfa, ite overly-dramatic TV ad for Pert Plus, and its print ads for

Exotica winning several gongs at all three of the award shows we looked at. JWT Beirut came third, helped by its campaign for the launch of Le Mall. Overall, the networked agencies took the top spots in Communicate’s top 10 most awarded agencies, but there was room for one little agency from Egypt, which made a big impact in 2010: Elephant Cairo is number 10 after winning awards for its Lika Gum and Coca-Cola campaigns.

Agency scores – based on awards at the Lynx, Lions and Cristals (see page 35) RATING

AGENCY

SCORE

JWT Dubai

Leo Burnett Beirut

JWT Beirut

Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai

Leo Burnett Cairo

Leo Burnett Dubai

TBWA/Raad Dubai

SMG Dubai

Wunderman Dubai

Elephant Cairo

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Pablo Picasso Spanish painter. Founder of Cubism.

Whatâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s an IDEA without PASSION? Picasso once said that every act of creation begins with an act of destruction. That passion for discontinuity is what creativity is all about. It is also our foundation for the art of brand building.

leo burnett mena

Passionate Brand Builders Beirut

Dubai

Jeddah

Riyadh

Kuwait

Cairo

Casablanca

Amman

Boga Cidre

Memac Ogilvy Label Tunisia

Coca-Cola

Elephant Cairo

Le Mall Launch

JWT Beirut

Lika Gum

Elephant Cairo

Safe & Style - Volvo/Massimo Dutti

Memac Ogilvy & Mather

Sticky Posters - EEG

Wunderman Dubai

Stop the suffering

Leo Burnett Beirut

Always - Check Check

Leo Burnett Beirut Leo Burnett Dubai Wunderman Dubai

Aldar Properties

JWT Dubai

Audio books - Virgin

JWT Dubai

Be a man - Birell

SMG Dubai

Doritos - Guess the mystery flavor

OMD KSA

22 10

9 1

The Valuable Dumspter - Take my junk

Confessions of corporate spies - GM

SCORE

Memac Ogilvy & Mather

LIONS BRONZE (2)

Leo Burnett Beirut

Berlitz

LIONS SILVER (4)

Alfa - Ehkineh

LIONS GOLD (6)

Leo Burnett Cairo

CRISTAL (2)

Melody Aflam

GRAND CRISTAL (4)

Agency

LYNX BRONZE (1)

campaign/client

LYNX SILVER (2)

LYNX GP (4)

Top-scoring campaigns

LYNX GOLD (3)

DECEMBER 2010 | Cover Story

7 4 1

6 1

1 1

Eat off the floor - DAC

TBWA/Raad Dubai

Fatafeat TV - Dish

Leo Burnett Beirut

Key in the ignition - Mercedes

JWT Beirut

Meet Dubai - Emirates Airlines

Leo Burnett Dubai

Papers worldwide - Neenah Paper

Y&R Dubai

Stress Ball - FOCP

JWT Dubai

Audi Q7

Impact BBDO Beirut

Dubai Metro

Saatchi & Saatchi

Reach dental floss - J&J

JWT Dubai

The Times Newspaper

JWT Dubai

Touchsmart - HP

OMD Dubai

Ahlan MSN - Microsoft MEA

Wunderman Dubai

Dustvertising - BP Castrol

Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai

Maxfresh Toothpaste

Y&R Dubai

Nestle - Kit Kat Chunky

JWT Dubai

Polo - Nestle

JWT Dubai

Save Christmas - Acres Holding

JWT Beirut

Six Stars - Aircon Maintenance

Grey Dubai

Sonic Power 360 Tooth Brush - Colgate Palmolive

Y&R Dubai

The Fridge

TBWA/Raad Dubai

Emirates Take off Mercedes

Impact BBDO

A real 3D experience - A&H

JWT Beirut

Be Heard - du

Leo Burnett Dubai

Black Abaya - Henkel

OMD Dubai

6 1

1 1

6 6

5 1

4 2

4 4 4 1 1

4 4 3 3

Distronic Plus - Mercedes

Impact BBDO Dubai

Exotica Valentine’s

Leo Burnett Beirut

Hotspots Instore - The Economist

Memac Ogilvy & Mather Dubai

Scatter your senses - Skittles

Impact BBDO Dubai

Chili’s

Memac Ogilvy

Toblerone

Memac Ogilvy

Spread the word - AD Awards

Zed Communications

Majid Magazine

ADMC

3 1

3 3 3

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SCORE

LIONS BRONZE (2)

LIONS SILVER (4)

LIONS GOLD (6)

CRISTAL (2)

GRAND CRISTAL (4)

LYNX BRONZE (1)

LYNX SILVER (2)

LYNX GP (4)

(Numbers indicate the number of awards won in each category)

LYNX GOLD (3)

Cover Story | DECEMBER 2010

campaign/client

Agency

Little red riding hood - World Black Belts center

Memac Ogilvy dubai

Le Mall Ramadan

JWT Beirut

Car wars: double agents - GM

SMG Dubai

A little push - Jamjoom

TBWA/Raad

A smarties world - Nestle

JWT Dubai

Airfree Air Purifiers

Brandcom ME

Aveo 5 - Totally street

SMG Dubai

Bandana Crowd Pleaser - Mobily

OMD KSA

BETA - escaping dog etc.

Leo Burnett Beirut

Buckle up safely - GM

SMG Dubai

Capture hi-def - Samsung

SMG Dubai

Domino’s

TBWA/Raad Dubai

Dress different - Coins for Charity

Expression

Emirates LA premiere

SMG Dubai

Eviction - J&J

JWT Dubai

Fear - Tide

Leo Burnett Dubai

Front Hook Bra - K-Lynn

JWT Dubai

Galaxy falling in love again

SMG Dubai

GMC Acadia

Leo Burnett Dubai

Healer - Beiersdorf

TBWA/Raad beirut

Heinz Heritage

Leo Burnett Cairo

HSBC New branch red line

JWT BEirut

Momken Deqeqa - Vodafone Egypt

JWT Cairo

Nissan Altima

TBWA/Raad Dubai

Rev it loud - GM

SMG Dubai

Reynolds Fine Pens - Shamart

JWT Dubai

Save Zahra - Exotica

Leo Burnett Beirut

Sotuchoc - Club Chocolat

JWT Tunisia

Stick Anything - Henkel

TBWA/Egypt

2 1

The Chunky Boys - Nestlé

JWT Dubai

Visa - Bluetooth aquarium

OMD Dubai

Vows - Helen Bamber Foundation

JWT Dubai

World Gold Council - L’Or Accessories

Leo Burnett Dubai

Ziebart frying pan - window tints Randa Rubik Cube - Berlitz Be Still - ADTA Resize a room - IKEA Wolves - Harvey Nichols

Percept Gulf Wezign Tunis Memac Ogilvy dubai TBWA/Raad Memac Ogilvy Y&R Dubai

1 1 1

2 2 2 2 2 2

1 1 1

Top-ranked ads – methodology To find out which were the most awarded campaigns in 2010, we looked at three big awards shows: the Dubai Lynx, held in the UAE; the MENA Cristals (Lebanon); and the Cannes Lions (France). We tallied up the awards each campaign won. For the Lynx, we gave four points for a Grand Prix, three for a Gold, two for a Silver, and one for a Bronze. For the Lions, the Lynx’s international big brother, we doubled those scores. At the Cristals, we gave two points for a Cristal and four for a Grand Cristal.

We gave points each time a campaign took a prize. So if several executions were cited in the winning of one Cristal, Lynx, or Lion, we awarded points only once. (At the Lynx, there were occasions when single executions won Gold, and campaigns of related executions won the Gold Campaign category. In that case, we awarded three points for the Gold, and three for the Gold Campaign.) If a campaign won in more than one category (Print and Outdoor, for example) we gave points for both awards.

At the end, we tallied up each campaign’s points. You can see our list above (it doesn’t include all the campaigns we looked at). As many of the campaigns scored the same over all, we worked out our rankings in a way similar to the awards shows. So we have awarded a Grand Prix, two Golds, four Silvers, and three Bronzes. Working through 2010’s winning campaigns, we were reminded how much good work there is out there. Congratulations to all who created it.

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DECEMBER 2010 | MARKETING

Effie one’s a winner

This year’s awards demonstrated a coming together of creativity and effectiveness by Rania Habib

he year’s last big awards show in the region, the GEMAS Effie Awards, brought the season to a close last month. This was the awards’ second year in its present incarnation. Communicate’s sister title, Gulf Marketing Review, has been hosting effectiveness awards since 2003, and partnered with the New York-based Effies last year. This event saw the advertising industry elite hobnobbing with their leading clients at the Madinat Jumeirah in Dubai on November 4, before taking their seats for a night of entertainment, and later the awarding of the coveted gongs. Amsterdam-based act La Voix Magique opened the festivities with a cabaret and magic show (based on her ability to change her outfit in less than five seconds), followed by Emirati stand-up comedian Ali Al Sayed. The night’s third act was Sugar Sammy, a Montreal-based, Indo-Canadian stand-up. In a no-holds-barred performance, he poked fun at the well-known industry players on the tables nearest the stage. After dinner came the awards ceremony, which the chairman of the judging panel and

regional managing director of Mac DDB, Hubert Boulos, says reflected a “feel, do, think” approach to advertising, rather than the traditional “think, feel, do” approach. By that, he means the industry is moving toward more insightdriven advertising. “It seems the global crisis has acted as a catalyst and a wakeup call for change in this region,” said Boulos in his opening speech. “Today, the GEMAS Effies winners have all fully embraced change, and moved from a rational mind fallacy to an emotional mind reality. It has taken a lot of courage to dare abandon the old model, and a lot of creative talent to match that challenge, but it has definitely paid off. The opposition between creative awards and business-building awards has clearly come to an end.” “SOCIAL CREATIVITY.” Boulos added that the judging panel awarded what he called “social creativity” – ideas that show “true out-of-the-box thinking and creativity, that engage consumers beyond the old-style monologue and move into

a true dialogue that ultimately leads to participation, playing, and sharing.” Ian Carvalho, senior account director at TBWA/ Raad, worked on Standard Chartered Bank’s uaefoodexplorer.com with the team (pictured, above) that won the most coveted award of the night, the Grand Prix. He says he was impressed with the judging process, as the panel saw the creative solution as an important element in the effectiveness of campaigns. “I liked that part of the evaluation perspective: They didn’t only look at results, but also at the solutions,” says Carvalho. “The reason I say that is because, if we pitch ourselves against HSBC, HSBC have invested huge amounts in advertising and driving their proposition, but they weren’t even shortlisted. I’m sure that in terms of results they did well, but they were not shortlisted because there was no innovative thinking. That’s what I liked about the Effies; it was more about innovative solutions, with substantiation of results.” Fadi Yaish, creative director of FP7 Bahrain, says the agency felt “unabashed joy at being

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strong signal. The jury had no problem giving Batelco two Silvers in the same category – Telecommunication/Mobiles and Internet the most awarded network, group, agency, client” of the 2010 Effies, where FP7 Bahrain and FP7 Egypt clients Batelco, and GM and Coca-Cola collectively won five awards. Yaish also praised the judging panel for recognizing the importance of creativity. “I think there was a great influence of the ideas rather than just the numbers,” says Yaish. “I believe the jury tried to work out a perfect formula of winning hearts and market share, which is the way to go, as one should never segregate the two. … The jury had no problem giving Batelco two Silvers in the same category [Telecommunication/Mobiles and Internet]. They rewarded only the best work, even if it meant no awards at all for telecommunication giants. That takes a lot of guts and they did it. I am sure brands with huge media spend were not very happy about many of the results, and seeing some categories with unrewarded Gold, Silver, or even Bronze awards must have been quite painful – but that was an impeccable performance by the jury to raise the bar.” HEARTS, MINDS, AND MARKET SHARE. Like Carvalho, Yaish says this year’s awards proved that effectiveness and creativity can go hand-in-hand. “The fact is the majority of the campaigns that used to win at the Effies only ended up winning there; you don’t see them winning at the Lynx or the other big shows,” Yaish says. “However, Batelco’s campaigns that won for effectiveness – and won hearts, minds, and mar-

ket share – are the same campaigns that would win at the Lynx, and big shows subsequently. Frankly, this is how it should be, and that is why I love the new effectiveness category at the Cannes Lions, because it awards the effectiveness of the best creative communication solutions.” Firas Ghazal, director of planning at OMD, says the judging panel this year was more conservative and selective, which, he says, proves that awarded work was given proper assessment. OMD won big this year. The media agency’s clients racked up six awards throughout the night. Ghazal was part of the team that produced the Nivea Angelstar campaign for Beiersdorf, which won two awards: Bronze for Best Youth Marketing Campaign, and Silver in the Cosmetics and Fragrances category. “We looked at what consumers want and what consumers liked,” Ghazal says. “The essence of the campaign started with the consumers. And not only did we look at who the consumers are and what they like, but also at what they do, their passion points, their media touchpoints, their influences. The insights we found translated into a big idea, and that big idea transcended into different touchpoints. There has to be a link between insights, ideas, and execution; if any of the three didn’t work, the campaign wouldn’t have worked.” SOCIAL SELECTION. The Nivea Angelstar campaign used a range of media channels, the most

important being television and online. Online played a big part in appealing to the brand’s target demographic: teens. Social media-based campaigns made up a large number of the winning entries, even if most of the shortlisted entries were print campaigns, says Carvalho. Standard Chartered’s uaefoodexplorer.com campaign relied almost exclusively on social media, but Carvalho adds that while the medium is important, it cannot be applied to every category, client, or campaign. “It all depends on what the objective of the campaign is,” he says. “Going forward, I wouldn’t want to say that social media is important; it is very important that we look at consumers and see where they are, and create communication that targets those consumers, be it in Metros, print, or online. From a strategy perspective, it’s very important for brands to have a twoway dialogue with consumers, in which case social media gives you the platform to achieve that relationship.” Yaish says he was happy to see social and online media efforts stand out at the Effies. “Seeing those attempts was fantastic,” he says. “You could tell just by looking at the efforts how many creatives bled and put so much on the table to get things done on the right track through integrated communication solutions. … I’m not saying they were all on the same level, but that did not really matter for me personally. What mattered was the fact that finally the brands are going in the right direction. That’s worth celebrating.”

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december 2010 | MArketing

GEMAS Effie showcase Here is some work that walked off with awards. Well done to the clients that won and the agencies that helped them

Grand Prix Title UAEfoodexplorer.com agency TBWA\RAAD ME client STANDARD CHARTERED BANK

GOLD BEST YOUTH MARKETING CAMPAIGN Title DORITOS agency OMD & IMPACT BBDO client SAUDI SNACK foods ltd

SILVER TELECOM/MOBILES/ INTERNET Title Flag Campaign agency FP7 BAHRAIN client BATELCO

GOLD Food & beverages fMCG Title DORITOS COLLISIONS: THE MIXERS VS THE JAMMERS agency OMD & IMPACT BBDO client SAUDI SNACK FOODS LTD

Silver Cosmetics & Fragrance Title How Nivea Angelstar wowed teens in the Middle East agency Horizon Draftfcb and OMD client Beiersdorf

Silver Food & beverages fMCG Title the perfectâ&#x20AC;Ś perfected agency TBWA\RAAD\ Saudi Arabia client Almarai

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Silver Best New Product launch Title Not just richer, it’s 3x richer agency publicis graphics client NestlÉ Middle East

Silver Electronics/ Computers Title Touch GITEX now agency OMD client HP Middle EAST

BRONZE BEST NEW PRODUCT LAUNCH Title How’s your digestion? agency TBWA\RAAD\Saudi Arabia client Almarai

SILVER TELECOM/MOBILES/ INTERNET Title WORLD CUP: DEBATE THE GAME agency FP7 BAHRAIN client BATELCO

GOLD NON-FMCG Title Arwa3 Abaya Persil agency OMD client Henkel Arabia

SILVER BEST USE OF CSR Title TIDE: Loads of Hope agency SMG client Procter & Gamble

Bronze SPORTS MARKETING Title FIFA World Cup Anthem Waving Flag agency UM Dubai client The Coca-Cola Company

BRONZE Electronics/ Computers Title LOVE IPOD agency LOWE MENA client ARAB BUSINESS MACHINE

SILVER Best Youth Marketing Campaign Title Sim Sim O-net agency FP7 BAHrain client Batelco

SILVER AUTOMOTIVE Title Confessions of Corporate Spies agency Starcom Dubai and Leo Burnett client GM – Chevrolet

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DECEMBER 2010 | BRANDING

Brand of brothers

The UAE government is launching a competition to come up with a logo and slogan that represent the seven emirates by Austyn Allison

anada has the maple leaf and “Keep exploring,” Malaysia has “Malaysia: Truly Asia,” and the UAE has… well, nothing yet. But that should be about to change, with a government drive and the help of the public. The Prime Minister of the UAE, Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, and the Government Communications Office (GCO) at the Ministry of Cabinet Affairs have launched a competition to come up with a brand for the UAE. “Having a nation brand is an international best practice, and countries have been trying to nurture positive perceptions and mental images about themselves by developing a visual identity or a brand that summarizes the most important and distinctive aspects, values, and features of the nation to audiences,” says Saeed Al Eter, director of communications at the GCO (pictured, above). And now is the right time to devise such a brand, he says. “The importance and the influence of the UAE at the international level has never been more, and its reputation globally has been growing. The focus and attention on the UAE has intensified and the government is keen on coping with such attention.” The country’s brand is different from its emblem, Al Eter says. The emblem is the falcon and the UAE’s flag, and is for the government’s official use. On the other hand, he says, “The nation brand can be used in all promotional efforts of the UAE internally and externally,

whether in commercial goods, tourism, events, or other activities.” In order to come up with a brand identity for the UAE, the GCO has put the work out to the general public as a competition. “The nation brand will depict the country’s values and characteristics, as well as the culture of its people for the purpose of using it in all promotional efforts of the UAE,” says Al Eter. “The nation brand will unify and strengthen these efforts and serve the UAE’s strategic objectives.” The competition was launched on October 4, and will run until December 30. There ought to be a brochure with further details tucked into this copy of Communicate, but in case there isn’t, go to uaepm.ae and follow the links. The project also has a Facebook page, and Al Eter says the GCO is promoting it through several channels. “We have started the social media and public relations campaigns, along with embarking on a roadshow to a number of public and private universities spanning the UAE,” he says. “We have now expanded our campaign to reach broader audiences by collaborating with partners such as [Communicate’s parent company] Mediaquest Corp., Dubai Mall, and Cinestar Cinemas, among others.” All UAE nationals and residents can enter. Al Eter says, “It is for everyone who loves and is passionate about the UAE and believes in the values, culture, and characteristics of the nation.” The reward for the winning design hasn’t been

announced, but Al Eter says, “We strongly believe that the privilege of getting the opportunity to participate and design what could possibly be the nation brand for the UAE is the biggest prize for all participants. The winning participant will have the additional benefit of seeing his or her design being adopted in thousands of promotional materials within the UAE and abroad.” The GCO and the Office of the Prime Minister evidently feel the population of the UAE is less jaded and cynical than consumers and fans of the Gap clothing brand. Last month we reported on the fiasco that came about after Gap introduced a new logo (see “Gap to scrap new logo and return to old design,” page 14, Communicate, Nov. 2010). It wasn’t popular and the retailer pulled it. When it suggested a logo redesign might be Gap, though, in an attempt to win back the support of the failed redesign’s critics, more hell broke loose, with creatives accusing Gap of wanting to mine their talents for free. Communicate asks Al Eter whether he is worried the UAE’s residents might feel the government wants to take their talents for nothing. “This is a nation brand, and participation in this contest is voluntary,” he says. “People can participate by choice as a way of giving back to the country. The nation brand is unlike any other commercial brand, as it is a strategic tool that will be used for the benefit of the nation and society at large, and will touch the lives of everyone living in the country.”

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DECEMBER 2010 | research

The big picture

Arabian Eye’s poll finds regional suppliers aren’t meeting demand for stock footage by Austyn Allison

hoto library Arabian Eye recently conducted a poll of its users to find out what people who use images are looking for. Although less than of the agency’s 7,000 monthly users replied to the survey, Arabian Eye’s managing director, Celia Peterson, says, “Our recent media industry survey provided the insight necessary to ensure we’re delivering what our consumers demand.” What their consumers demand is international quality, apparently. Sixty one percent of respondents said they look into both local and international suppliers when trying to source videographers or photographers. Peterson says, “We have learned that the region is still far behind international trends where there is a saturation of suppliers with worldwide image libraries, and a great number of photographers and production houses. In addition, the region’s advertising field is still lacking a wide range of good models for photo shoots, as well as options among suppliers. With this insight we have a better understanding of why there is a high demand for international suppliers and why resources and shoots are taken abroad.

Eighty four percent of respondents say Middle Eastern footage is “very important.” But, in the words of the survey, “There is a very high demand for regional stock photography and video that regional suppliers are currently not meeting.” Peterson says, “Middle Eastern footage is important because there are only a couple of providers for such material in the entire region… Internationally, footage is in high demand, and this region has developed at a slower pace. MENA countries are localizing international brands; therefore local footage is an extremely important part of this process.” The survey was conducted by PR agency Ketchum Raad on behalf of Arabian Eye. Polling was carried out through an e-mail shot to databases belonging to Ketchum, Arabian Eye, and (full disclosure) Communicate’s parent company, Mediaquest. “We targeted key people who work directly with the decision-making of choosing visuals, such as art directors, creative directors, and designers,” says Peterson. “In addition, we felt it was important to get media and production professionals’ feedback because of new products we’ve launched.”

Key findings Sixty one percent of regional professionals look into both international and local suppliers when trying to source videographers or photographers. Eighty seven percent of respondents think regional suppliers are competitive when it comes to value and prices. Eighty seven percent of respondents rated regional suppliers’ quality only between “average” and “good” when compared to international standards. Sixty three percent of respondents say regional suppliers’ work is consistent with their prices. Fifty four percent of respondents say the level of service regional suppliers provide is “average.” Regional suppliers offer value for money, but need to improve quality and offer more services (including local models and a sufficient range of royalty-free images) to become competitive with international suppliers. Middle Eastern footage is very important, with the UAE and the rest of the GCC being popular locations.

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DECEMBER 2010 | DEPARTMENTS

Q&A

Honesty is the best policy

Noor Takaful’s Mohammed Imran Khan explains why Islamic insurance is about more than being Shariah-compliant by Rania Habib Noor Takaful, an insurance arm of Noor Islamic Bank, launched less than two years ago. It’s doing well, and not just among devout Muslims. Many non-Muslims have come on board. Noor Takaful’s marketing manager, Mohammed Imran Khan, tells us how the insurance company has sold itself.

Core audience. One of Noor Takaful’s ads

How does Islamic insurance differ from regular insurance? While conventional insurance contradicts Shariah [Islamic law] principles, Islamic teachings encourage protecting your family and property from financial consequences arising from unforeseen events and misfortune. The concept of Islamic insurance, known as takaful, is a simple philosophy of mutual help and assistance. The philosophy encompasses risk distribution instead of risk transfer, and mutual indemnification, which is compliant with Shariah principles. Takaful reflects the Islamic belief of commonality among participants, whereby each and every person makes financial donations to help

other participants weather the financial consequences of death or damage. A common takaful fund will be administered by a company licensed and regulated by the relevant authorities. A Shariah board will also provide guidance to ensure the policies, procedures, and practices of the company are compatible with Shariah principles. Unlike conventional stock insurers, takaful operators are not the owners of the takaful funds that are managed by them. They therefore take extreme care when making investment decisions so as not to expose those funds to high risks or volatile situations. Takaful eliminates the forbidden elements of conventional insurance – interest (riba), uncertainty (gharar), and gambling (maysir) – to make it Shariah-compliant. The benefits unique to takaful include: mutual indemnification; the opportunity for participants to help one another in case of death or loss; Shariah and ethical investment; entitlement to the underwriting surplus; and transparent business and investment activities guided by a Shariah supervisory board.

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DECEMBER 2010 | DEPARTMENTS

The Ogilvy Noor Islamic Brands survey (See “Who cares wins,” page 30, Communicate, Sept. 2010) found young Muslim consumers are tired of brands that market themselves as Islamic, favoring brands that are non-Islamic but in line with Shariah values. What are your thoughts on this? Resistance may not necessarily be based on the fact that the product offering is Islamic or Shariah, but on how the whole offering has been packaged. Being Shariah-compliant is one element of a Shariah-compliant business. It should be considered as the legal framework or governing code when running any business based on certain principles and pillars. Once the prerequisites for being a Shariah-compliant business are met, we need to focus on the remaining factors and unique selling points (USPs) that make a particular product, service, or company attractive to a consumer. Examples of these factors and USPs would be good customer service, excellent experiences, exceptional offerings and, ultimately, the ability to satisfy the consumer based on his/her unique requirements. Innovation is our primary objective here. We have seen big global brands evolve to offer Shariah-compliant products and services, such as HSBC Amanah. This was created out of a requirement, a need to satisfy a growing market, and intends to offer a full range of products and services for Muslims with the expected outstanding service that comes with the HSBC brand. Noor Takaful markets its USPs around actual product offerings. After launching the GCC’s first online takaful service, our marketing

department solely focused its USPs on consumer convenience and benefits such as instant insurance quotes, a quick application process, a secure payment system, online discounts, direct online purchase, and immediate policy cover; it was not necessary to launch the portal based on the Shariah USPs. A drop in the level of acceptance of Shariah products and services from young Muslim consumers may be the result of a lack of actual information readily available to them. Consumers tend to become increasingly wary of brands that fail to provide adequate product education and awareness. Muslim consumers may not necessarily understand what it is that makes Shariah-compliant products halal. Without this information, it is difficult to establish why one should pick a Shariah-compliant brand over a non-Shariah-compliant one. Does Noor Takaful make it a point of marketing itself as Islamic, or does it focus its marketing strategy on other selling points? We are a contemporary insurance products and services provider that happens to be Shariahcompliant. Noor Takaful’s marketing drive has been focused on our innovative portfolio of offerings. We are a leading insurance company with international standards that offers great service and convenience to all customers. This way we’ll appeal to those seeking ethical insurance products, and to those who are after a great deal. Another important USP is our overall corporate set-up and reach. We have three locations

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DEPARTMENTS | DECEMBER 2010

– in Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Sharjah – and we have a dedicated call center. The structure of the organization is such that we are able to quickly adapt and tailor our offerings and services in order to satisfy our clients’ needs. Other critical distribution channels are the various branches of our sister company, Noor Islamic Bank. We are sometimes seen as providing a complete financial package hand-in-hand, given that we are part of the holding organization Noor Investment Group. This is something that a lot of customers look for nowadays in a financial institution. Other than being an Islamic product and service provider, what does Noor Takaful do to attract Muslim consumers? While the Muslim customer is a primary target for us, we make it a point to give non-Muslims their fair share of attention and education when talking about takaful. Noor Takaful is more than just an Islamic insurance company offering Islamic products and services to Muslims. We very much enjoy an out-of-the-box attitude, and are leading the way with innovations, and providing practical solutions and convenience for customers and clients from all faiths and backgrounds. We were the first takaful company in the GCC to offer an online, real-time Islamic insurance service to clients. This innovation allows customers to shop for a variety of insurance products that are offered at very competitive and transparent rates. The service provides a quick

and complete insurance solution from beginning to end – from obtaining an instant online quote to purchasing online insurance and delivery of policy cover. Our drive goes beyond products and services. We place special focus on diversification and target strategic partnerships with other organizations. We recently announced a partnership with the UAE’s Roads and Transport Authority, as one of its recognized trusted agents, allowing consumers to insure and renew their vehicle registration with a click of a button. We have also identified strategic long-term growth paths, having secured partnerships with the likes of Al Futtaim Motors, Belhasa Group and Sharjah Islamic Bank. All these opportunities benefit us on a cross-marketing level. Noor Takaful has produced its own in-house campaign called, “We’ve got you covered.” How has it been received by consumers? Noor Takaful has received a steady flow of sales leads, which came as a direct result of campaign efforts and objectives. However, this success came with time, and with the understanding of a few core facts about the product offering and services. How did you tackle the campaign? Consumers are at the heart of our business and being able to offer them takaful products has been a huge challenge, simply because the word “takaful” means nothing to the average Muslim. So you can imagine the even bigger challenge of

appealing to non-Muslims. We are a long way from having the same comprehension that the word Shariah has around the world. We began testing the market by focusing on very precise communication tactics, such as direct messaging. Our first attempt with such a campaign led to the retail side of the business being inundated with quotations, queries, and a strong continuation of steady leads based on a one-day campaign blast. We learnt that, next to competitive pricing and gaining the target audience’s attention, takaful and an understanding of it become secondary factors when choosing insurance. Our campaigns are simple, clean, and transparent. They appeal to the general public through effective abstract conceptualizations, by relating the products and services to everyday objects. Our campaigns are guided by our core values of simplicity and innovation to provide excellent customer experience and value. With this in mind we are confident that our campaigns will continue to be successful. We will continue to grow and spread the word takaful in a very attractive, friendly manner, and overcome our challenge of getting the public familiar with the term. In a relatively short period, Noor Takaful’s marketing efforts have been well-recognized among takaful market peers and practitioners. We recently won an award for the Best Takaful Marketing Campaign at the fourth International Takaful Summit in London. Clearly we must be doing something right.

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DECEMBER 2010 | DIGITAL

The power of the purse

Women in the Middle East, who control $246 billion of the region’s wealth, are underserved when it comes to online offerings. But change is in the air by Rania Habib

Ricky Ghai. Executive director of digital at ADMC

t Gulf Marketing Review’s Marketing to Women conference (see “Rethinking size,” page 6, Communicate, July-August 2010) earlier this year, figures showed that women in the Middle East control $246 billion of the region’s wealth, a sum that is expected to climb to $383 billion by next year. Add to that a figure recently released by Abu Dhabi Media Company (ADMC): 71 percent of more than 1,200 women polled as part of a study commissioned by anaZahra.com – ADMC’s recently launched Arabic platform dedicated to modern Arab women – belong to a social networking site. It seems that much of women’s spending power can be influenced online. “Content is always king, but the consumer is emperor,” says Ricky Ghai, executive director of digital at ADMC. “Women in the Middle East have been underserved, yet they have this incredible untapped power.” And according to Zoya Sakr, editor-in-chief of anaZahra.com, women in the Middle East are not happy with the content they find online. “Sixty three percent [of the women] we interviewed believe there’s a lack of relevance in Arabic content, so they look at international websites. They can’t find what they need in Arabic,” Sakr says. As part of ADMC’s strategy to reach out to the Arabic community, Ghai says, the anaZahra platform extends the reach of content to local and regional consumers, and the research – conducted by analysts YouGov Siraj – gives insight and relevance to the company’s quest to address the female segment. “What we’ve interpreted from the study is

that there is a lack of relevant content for female consumers online,” Ghai says. “A high percentage of the women polled engage with friends and family on social networks on a daily basis. They are engaging at a frequency far richer than we expected, but they’re not really finding anything. So that’s the opportunity that exists, to create a coherent platform upon which we place original, relevant content that has meaning on a primary basis. But then on a deeper level it has meaning because we are starting a community space to engage with our female audience. AnaZahra brings rich content, and the rest is left up to this intelligent and underserved community.” According to the study – conducted across the GCC (the UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, and Bahrain), the Levant (Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon), and North Africa (Egypt) – 66 percent of women connect with friends online on a daily basis, 83 percent access the Internet from home, 34 percent spend at least 10 hours a week online, and 45 percent read articles and magazines on the Web. Ghai says building a platform for women to explore their interests also gives brand owners an outlet to develop relationships with powerful women. Increasing efficiency. Monica Mogab, regional PR manager at FMCG firm Procter & Gamble in Dubai, says platforms dedicated to women can make marketers’ efforts more efficient. “It

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makes what we communicate more relevant to women, as it shows that we understand their need for quality news and updates about beauty, style, and fashion,” she says. “Online forums are one of the most dynamic forms of communication we have today,” Mogab says. “For one, they allow for more creativity than any other medium through the combined use of written words, images, and video footage. Today, women spend a lot of time online researching, exploring, and making decisions on what to buy offline.” “There hasn’t been a space where brands can target women with a degree of certainty and longterm engagement,” Ghai says. “Tactical is easy to find, but to build an affinity for brands and loyalty over the long term, that is not as easy. But once you engage 100 people to talk on your behalf, they will become the champions of your cause. AnaZahra.com is an exciting place for brand owners because it gives an ability to engage brands at a content-production level; it’s about associating your brand, communicating objectively, and placing your content where women come to look for information and entertainment. So it’s an opportunity to innovate.” Research has shown that women tend to share information and spread it by word of mouth, Mogab says. “This positive experience for them can turn into a positive experience for a brand,” she adds. “Women tend to put their trust in recommendations from experts or other women. AnaZahra, backed by the well-respected magazine Zahrat Al Khaleej, offers women a platform where they can stay informed on all their preferred latest topics, as well as open channels of communication with other women who share their interests.” ACTIVE USERS. Mogab says women in the region today are active users of social media, with 900,000 mothers online across the Arabian Peninsula. “We see that women are more relationship-driven and like to spend time on social networks, chatting via blogsites and forums, and communicating with friends and likeminded women,” she says. “Investing in engaging female users online, therefore, can be extremely fruitful since women often discuss their purchases. Women discuss, compare, analyze, and recommend their purchases, making them ideal spokespeople for any product.” Ghai adds that the rising financial clout of Arab women was the sole reason behind the creation of anaZahra. “In this region, there is the opportunity to create a lot of services designed specifically for women because of the culture,” he says. “But I think there’s an opportunity now to create specific products and services for women not because of culture, but because of women’s purchasing and influencing power.” And with $383 billion in their pockets by next year, Mogab says, women in the Middle East command attention. “That is an invaluable market that we cannot afford to ignore, and that we should target through any and all means possible.”

filling a gap. The anaZahra team promises to bring quality Arabic content to its audience About the survey - Conducted by YouGov in April 2010. - Survey sample size: 1,251. - Countries: UAE, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain, Jordan, Syria, and Egypt. - Conducted online, covering local and expatriate Arabs. - Age group: 24 to 35 years old. - Explored a range of topics regarding the lives of Arab women and their online usage and behavior. Figures from the SURVEY commissioned BY anaZahra.com - Percentage of women spending more than seven hours a week online: Lebanon 68, the UAE 55, Kuwait 53, Egypt 50, Qatar 47, Saudi Arabia and Jordan 44, Bahrain 42, Syria 34, and Oman 30. - Thirty seven percent of women are active on social networking sites, blogs, and forums, while 45 percent read articles and magazines online. - Facebook ranks as the leading social networking site among Arab women. Percentage of women polled who use social networks

Monica Mogab. Regional PR manager at Procter & Gamble, Dubai

Zoya Sakr. Editor-in-chief of anaZahra.com

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DECEMBER 2010 | MARKETING

Runaway success

Educated, high-earning marathon runners are good news for marketers and cities by Aris Georgiadis

ith interest in marathons at an all-time high, marketers are increasingly trying to keep pace and get in front of what’s considered a highly desirable consumer. Nowhere is this more apparent than during the annual ING New York City Marathon, which took place in November. Just how hot have marathons become? Last month, the registration for the 2011 Boston Marathon was over in eight hours, and that’s for a race runners have to qualify for. According to Running USA, a non-profit representing the running industry, approximately 467,000 runners crossed the finish line at US marathons in 2009. Last year an estimated 470 marathons were held, up 5.6 percent from 2008. For the ING New York City Marathon, on Nov. 7, more than 120,000 people paid an application fee just to enter a lottery for a shot at running. Of those, about 45,000 were expected to finish. Last year’s 43,660 finishers made the race’s 40th edition the largest marathon ever. And by all accounts, those runners are a sought-after demographic: They’re highly edu-

cated, high earners, and in most cases they travel and spend on hospitality. Almost a third of New York’s field is from abroad. The benefit to sponsors, says Bob Boland, a professor of sports business at New York University’s Preston Robert Tisch Center for Hospitality, Tourism and Sports Management, is marathoners are “a pre-qualified demo: You’re getting interest and commonality, as opposed to having to attract them on their own.” For ING, which became the New York Marathon’s first title sponsor in 2003, the race has been an ideal way for the marketer to reach its target consumer. “The parallels between running and preparing for your fi n a n c i a l f u t u r e s p e a k t o o u r customers,” says ING America’s chief marketing officer, Ann Glover. ING translates that attribute in its messaging, often featuring images of runners. The point is to remind those planning for their retirement that, like running a marathon, “you’re in it for the long haul,” she says.

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DECEMBER 2010 | MARKETING

PLANNING TO REACH GOALS. From a demographic and psychographic standpoint, the marathon touches all quadrants, she says. But runners in particular are “planners and deliberate and they do their best to achieve their goals,” which is the type of customer ING is trying to reach, she adds. The return on ING’s investment, which it won’t reveal, has been the brand’s increased presence in New York. Glover says, “Our research has shown that, following the event, there is an increase in attributes such as brand recognition and trust, interest in doing business with ING, and the intent to recommend our products and services to others.” Boland says ING’s sponsorship is one of the better alignments in sport, based on what he calls ROO, or return on objective. “They could do a zillion commercials and never reach this kind of audience.” The New York Road Runners (NYRR), the 52-year-old organization behind the marathon, has extended its relationship with ING through 2013. For NYRR, having a title sponsor was a tough decision, but Ann Crandall, executive vice-president of business development and marketing strategy, says the goal was to have a marketing partner that is “in sync with what we want to do as an organization.” A big part of that goal is, of course, to foster an interest in running. NYRR created schoolbased running programs nearly 10 years ago nationwide for underserved children and children who do not have access to physical education during their school day. After ING signed on as the title sponsor, the two created the “ING Run for Something Better” program. Since 2003, ING’s contribution has enabled more than 22,000 children to access the school-based running programs. Those children have run or walked more than 716,000 miles. CROWDED FIELD. The NYRR counts 31 sponsors among its partners this year, up from 29 in 2009. That field could seem too crowded, making any message potentially hard to hear. But one of the main focal points for the marathon is the Health and Fitness Expo held at the Jacob Javits Convention Center. All the marathon’s participants must pass through the free expo to collect their racing bibs, so the NYRR creates a huge retail experience for runners and fans of running. Sponsors get prominent placement, but the nonexclusive expo hosts 110 exhibitors looking to get in front of runners. So while official sponsor Asics has a 19,000-square-foot (1,760-squaremeter) store on location, rivals such as New Balance and other shoe and apparel companies are also on site. While the marathon has attracted many partners, Crandall says NYRR is selective. “Partners have to believe in what we’re doing as an organization and give back to runners,” she says.

all in their stride. Top right: Subway’s Jared Fogle (left) and Meb Keflezighi, one of the best long-distance runners in America, at the New York Marathon And sponsors have clearly bought into NYRR’s message. Subway, for example, became a firsttime sponsor when it decided to use this year’s marathon as a way to showcase Jared Fogle, the chain’s unlikely celebrity pitchman. Continue to expect more marketer participation in marathons as overall interest in the sport continues to grow. Over the past 10 years, says Running USA researcher Ryan Lamppa, an average of 20 new marathons have appeared annually. Last year saw more than 30 new marathons. At some point, the number of new races “is going to plateau – there’s only so many cities – but the finisher number isn’t,” says Lamppa. Almost every marathon in the US last year sold out or had a record field. “These events have become festivals, and people want to participate,” he adds. The participants include not only runners but spectators as well, who take pride in their city’s marathon. “Cities are embracing marathons for the economic upswing,” Lamppa says. “One of the benefits of a marathon, of any size, is that it brings people to your city, it showcases your city, and brings people back.” The NYRR’s last economic impact study, conducted in 2006, showed that the marathon brought more than $250 million into New York City’s coffers.

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DECEMBER 2010 | digital

Everyone wants to be Groupon How the young startup grew up to become a model of success for marketers by Kunar Patel

Wanda Young. Walmart senior director of digital strategy

f imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, Groupon has a lot of admirers. From Walmart to a hotel in Scottsdale, Arizona, marketers have taken notice of the two-year-old Chicago startup that’s amassed 25 million subscribers, and they are building new Facebook apps that look a lot like their own personal Groupons. But if marketers big and small can do it, where does that leave the original? Recently, Walmart launched a deals app called Crowdsaver that unlocked 18 percent off a $500 plasma TV once the deal got 5,000 likes. Crowdsaver puts “you in charge of lower prices. If the deal gets enough likes, the price drops for everyone,” says the Facebook post. In less than 24 hours, the deal got enough likes. In October, ConAgra brand Healthy Choice launched a coupon that increased in value as more people liked it on Facebook. “We looked at how successful the Groupon concept has been and how important coupons are to our community,” says Genevieve Mazzeo, manager of social media PR for ConAgra Foods. The discount went from 75 cents to $1.50 to buy-one-get-one-free. “It was a way to engage

them differently and give them something they want: a coupon and reason to share.” At a basic level, that’s what Groupon has done since it launched in 2008: post a deal that only kicks in if a certain number of people commit. Groupon launched in Chicago with an e-mailbased service for local deals – pay $75 for a $150 massage, say, or $20 for $45 on a restaurant bill. Once enough customers put money down, the deal goes through and everyone’s credit card gets charged. If not, the deal disappears, no one is charged, and a new offer is sent out the next day. Groupon has since expanded across North America, and this year, largely through acquisition, has set up shop in Europe, Japan, Russia and Latin America. In the Middle East, sites such as GoNabbit and Cobon offer similar services. OTHER AIMS. Both Walmart and ConAgra had other factors in mind than just the awareness and sampling that Groupon creates. The Healthy Choice deal encouraged trial for a product, like paper coupons do, but it also increased the brand’s Facebook fan base 10 times.

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January 2010 /N° 139

Add depth to your perspective through our uncompromising investigations and unbiased insights.

January 2010 /N° 139

Some people only see what’s on the surface.

EGYPT

IRAN

Hijab-free zones spring up in Cairo

Wealth, family ties offer no protection

Running on Empty Gulf nations scramble to build a lucrative future from today’s oil wealth

West Bank Battle

This time the fight is over mobile networks

Lots of Hot Air

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Al Gore messes with industrial giants

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DECEMBER 2010 | digital

For Walmart, the “do you want this?” mechanism was also meant to cede a bit of control to customers. “Group shopping and group deals are happening anyway at Walmart; this just puts a different container around it,” says Wanda Young, Walmart’s senior director of digital strategy. “Voting on a specific item puts an aspect of control in customers’ hands.” Young doesn’t deny that testing a sale online helps a retailer determine if a discount could reach the critical mass needed to make financial sense. “The economics about the way Walmart approaches buying are always at play,” she adds. “I wouldn’t be surprised if we see more retailers try their own derivations [of flash sales and Groupon],” says Andrew Lipsman, an analyst for ComScore. “It lowers the risk for retailers if they can guarantee a certain volume for a deal.” For its part, Groupon doesn’t feel threatened by national marketers building their own group deals, says Groupon spokeswoman Julie Anne Mossler. In fact, it’s made its own plays for big marketers. In September it synced up its network for Gap in its first national deal in the US, which grossed $11 million. But such deals are not the core of Groupon’s offering. “We’re never going to stray from doing local marketing, but national deals are an extra bonus for our subscribers,” Mossler says. ROOM FOR MORE. Local businesses now also have the tools to set up their own versions of Groupon deals. The W Hotel in Scottsdale re-

cently launched its own group deal in an app on its Facebook page: If at least 10 people sign up, they all get nearly 50 percent off a $295 room rate. Twenty-eight people eventually booked rooms, and the deal was on. The hotel used a plug-and-play tool from the Palo Alto-based app developer Wildfire to build the deal. Since the tool launched in July, mostly small and medium-sized businesses – arguably a slice of Groupon’s core client base – have used it, says Curtis Kroeker, Wildfire’s vice-president of business development. Marketers set the deal parameters themselves and host the apps on Facebook pages or websites, so they can make group buying a more frequent part of marketing strategy than just the sole Groupon e-mail, he says. “[Group buying sites such as Groupon] are [based on] one-time demand for companies or brands,” says Kroeker. “There’s a need for

businesses to have group deals be more of an ongoing part of their marketing efforts and to also set their own terms.” Groupon takes about half the revenue a deal brings in for sending and creating deals, but with Wildfire, marketers only pay a fee for the technology. Still, Groupon wields the power of 25 million people counting on deal e-mails delivered to their inboxes day after day. Without such e-mails, marketers still need potential customers to find their deals in the first place. One small business, Giant Nerd, used the Wildfire tool but couldn’t get five people to buy a $1,000 bike for $450. “We created the space, we innovated [in] the space; whether it’s a national brand or a competing deal site that’s essentially copied the model, that’s not a threat to us,” says Groupon’s Mossler.

Groupon’s growth November 2008: Launches in Chicago. Spring 2009: Expands to New York, Boston, San Francisco, and Atlanta. Summer 2009: Adds about two US cities a month. December 2009: Founder Andrew Mason tells Ad Age Groupon was profitable in June. He anticipates $100 million in revenue for 2010. May 2010: Acquires Citydeal, which added 80 markets in 16 countries in Europe and Latin America to its existing 60 cities in North America. August 2010: Two additional acquisitions allows Groupon to move into Japan and Russia. September 2010: Runs its first US national promotion with Gap, which sells 445,000 deals for $11 million. Today: Twenty five million subscribers, with 15 million in North America. The company is on track for $500 million in revenue, according to Morgan Stanley via Forbes magazine.

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DECEMBER 2010 | DEPARTMENTS

Media Work

Batelco’s Infinity by FP7 Bahrain: Creative agency FP7 Bahrain has created a three-minute-20-second online film called “Infinity” for its telco client Batelco. The film, as well as two one-minute trailers, was directed by German duo Alex and Steffen, and produced by

City Films in Beirut. It centers on “bringing ideas to life,” and features regular street scenes shot in Bahrain spliced with artificial fantasy – a giant gorilla, spaceships, dragons, a roller coaster, and more. FP7 Bahrain’s creative director, Fadi Yaish, says, “Our challenge was

to create a corporate film in a clutterbreaking manner that would establish the new brand positioning locally, regionally, and in the international market, without the media budget to achieve it.” For this reason, the film is designed for online viewing; it also

aired in movie theaters. It was shown in special kiosks at airports, and on laptop screens in shops selling electronic goods. In the booths and on computers with Web cams, the film puts the viewer into the ad by capturing their image at the end of the film.

Lifebuoy’s Cinema Monster by Expression: Regional independent advertising agency Expression has created an “interactive cinema experience” for Unilever’s hand sanitizer, Lifebuoy. Cinemagoers are given samples of the sanitizer as they enter the cinema where the ad is playing. The spot is set in a filthy room, with a nod to the gruesome and dirty (in a mucky, unwashed way) Saw movies. A giant, menacing germ hurls itself at the screen but cannot break through because the audience is “Lifebuoy protected.” In a press statement, Kenneth Lingan, Unilever’s marketing director for home and personal care,

calls the ad “outstanding, and a lot of fun for the cinemagoer.” The film was created by Expression’s executive creative director, Ryan Reed, along with Chris Hubert and Phil Ramage. It was produced in London by th1ng.

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DECEMBER 2010 | DEPARTMENTS

Media Work Ferrari World’s Alam Ferrari by GTV On Tuesday, Nov. 30, Ferrari World was due to officially launch with concerts, speeches, excitement, and plenty of celebrities. That Friday, MBC was to broadcast Alam Ferrari (Ferrari World), an hour-long feature about the opening. It was initiated and produced by Dubai-based GTV, and funded by a complicated deal between the theme park and the broadcaster. Tewe Pannier, GTV’s managing partner and the show’s executive producer, says of MBC, “I can’t go into details, but they did not pay as much for this program as they would if they had produced it themselves.” He adds, “You can tell by the way all these parties have found a deal that all parties like it, and that it is feasible and a good deal from both sides.” It also provides Ferrari World with a strong way to reach regional audiences and, although the theme park is based around that most boyish of

obsessions, fast cars, it has something for everyone (See “Land of the Ferrari and the home of the brave,” page 8). GTV’s challenge is to draw in a wider audience than just men. “Ferrari World is an easy sell for most males between 12 and 85 because it’s so obvious – it’s fast cars, it’s Formula One, it’s the history of Ferrari,” says Pannier. “The biggest challenge for Ferrari World is to convince the daughters and mothers of these first-time visitors to come as well. In a dream scenario, a 16-year-old girl in Dammam sees the show or some other marketing measure, goes to her mother, and says, ‘Convince Daddy that we should go to Abu Dhabi.’ Then we’ve done our job right.” In the presence of Ferrari’s top execs, developer Aldar’s senior officials, and local royalty, Ferrari World will open with a theatrical show. Pannier says, “[Alam Ferrari] will show that, but will use it as a platform to invite stars from the

Arab world, singers; and the general audience, people who experience the park and show what the park is all about in a very entertaining way.” Alam Ferrari will cover the two days leading up to the launch, as well as the event itself. On top of interviews, says Pannier, “We will show how we got to this opening, what happened during the past three weeks, including everything around the Formula One race [that took place on Nov. 14 at the Yas Island circuit, next door to Ferrari World]. It will be a glamorous yet fun event to show the MBC1 audience what Ferrari World is all about.” Ferrari World is also running regular TVCs, but Pannier says branded content such as his program has an edge. “An ad is 30 seconds, an ad has a much clearer message, but not a very refined message. And in 30 seconds you cannot explain what a theme park with 24 attractions is all about. You can build a brand, you can create curiosity, it is one of the

most important tools in the marketing mix. But as much as you need your Facebook site, as much as you need the Ferrari World site itself, we believe that you need programming presence, not only for the launch but, beyond that, for any kind of product that fits programming to enforce brand awareness, to enforce direct selling.” “Through programming you can create emotions that go beyond the creation of visuals, because there are people the audience knows who are having the same experience a viewer might have,” he adds. “We have the popular singer Rola Saad riding one of the attractions, and Fares Karam performs one of his songs in the show. If one big Arabic star goes on the fastest roller coaster and doesn’t mind that her hair got messed up, then we did all right.” The show will be presented by well-known MBC host Raya Abirached, and will air in English on MBC4 after its initial, Arabiclanguage outing on MBC1.

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DECEMBER 2010 | DEPARTMENTS

Regional Work

Accessories required. Client: Harvey Nichols. Advertising Agency: Y&R, Dubai. Creatives: Shahir Zag, Komal Bedi Sohal. Photographer: James Day.

The Times. Advertising Agency: JWT, Dubai. Creative Director: Russell Heubach. Copywriter: Sally Amirza. Art Director: Sally Tambourgi. These ads (and more) can be found at adsoftheworld.com

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DECEMBER 2010 | DEPARTMENTS

International Work

It’s time to get YOUR hands dirty. Advertising Agency: Gertrude, NY, USA. Creative Director: Otis D. Gibson. Art Director: Otis D. Gibson. Copywriter: Peter Toutant.

Human rights need your flame. Buy a candle. Client: Amnesty International. Advertising Agency: Air Brussels, Belgium. Creative Directors: Grégory Ginterdaele, Marie-Laure Cliquennois. Art Director: Antoinette Ribas. Copywriter: Grégory Ginterdaele. Illustrator 3D: Cedric Vermeirre.

These ads (and more) can be found at adsoftheworld.com

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DEPARTMENTS | DECEMBER 2010

International Work

Plasticine Stephens 1kg. Advertising Agency: Grey, Santiago, Chile. Executive Creative Director: Miguel Angel Cerdeira. Creative Director: Patricio Navarrete. Art Directors: Germán Quiroz, Israel Urrutia. Copywriter: Robert Canales.

The right size for your needs. Advertising Agency: Almap BBDO, São Paulo, Brazil. Executive Creative Director: Marcello Serpa. Creative Director: Luiz Sanches. Copywriter: Marco Giannelli (Pernil). Art Directors: André Gola, Luiz Sanches, Julio Andery. Account Directors: Fernão Cosi, Filipe Bartholomeu, Camila Figueiredo. MAN Latin America marketing team: Ian Fadel, Ricardo Barion, Ana Maria Oliveira. These ads (and more) can be found at adsoftheworld.com

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DECEMBER 2010 | DEPARTMENTS

International Work

Ray-Ban. Rare Prints. Advertising Agency: Cutwater, San Francisco, USA. Executive Creative Director: Chuck McBride. Creative Director: Travis Britton. Art Director: Marcus Cross. Copywriter: Marty Senn. Illustrator: Eric van den Boom.

Glade Sense & Spray. Advertising Agency: Giovanni+Draftfcb, Brazil. Creative Directors: Adilson Xavier, Cristina Amorim. Art director: Felipe Gomes. Copywriter: Fรกbio Penedo. Illustration: Felipe Gomes/Platinum FMD. These ads (and more) can be found at adsoftheworld.com

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MAGAZINE PRINT CRAFT CORPORATE INTEGRATED

DECEMBER 2010 | Off the record

The Dish Alone time Last month Communicate received a call from Pencell PR asking whom the caller should speak to about coverage of press conferences. It turns out tire company Bridgestone was hosting a presser “in Abu Dhabi for the F1” (which turned out to mean four days prior to that city’s Grand Prix) to announce the brand’s strategy after it ceases to supply rubber to the Formula One circuit at the end of the 2010 season. “There will be a famous F1 driver,” we were told. We asked who. “Probably Hamilton.” None of this seemed terribly relevant to the magazine. “Do you know Communicate?” we asked. “Yes.” “What does it cover?” “Marketing.” (This is promising. The caller knows what sort of angle we’d be looking for.) “Why would we be interested in this press conference?” (Please give a marketing angle; our faith in humanity depends on it…) “Because the client thought it would be good to get coverage in your magazine.” (This is looking less promising by the second.) “Why?” we ask. “Because you don’t just reach the common people; you go into advertising agencies.” “Is there a media, marketing, or advertising angle to this story?” (This is our last hope.) There wasn’t a Communicate angle. But at least we now know our readers are not “common people.” We’ve always known the industry is special. Rocks off Words cannot express how gutted we were when our colleagues at Kipp Report forwarded the following memo from PR agency Asda’a: “We regret to inform you that the event of the Yemen Geological Survey & Mineral Resources Board, scheduled on Tuesday, October 26, 2010, has been cancelled.” We thought it was set in stone. We really dig those downto-earth guys.

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Stop press? No, just stop. Please “STOP PRESS!! SACHIN TENDULKAR RECEIVES LEBARA PEOPLE’S CHOICE AWARD AT INAUGRAL ASIAN AWARDS IN LONDON.” That’s the title of the e-mail, and those are not our capitals, typos and exclamation marks, but those of Media Moguls, a UK-based PR agency. They might have missed the general focus of our magazine. We replied, exercising something we call “sarcasm.” “Holy cow! That’s the front page of our Middle East media and marketing magazine sorted.” The sarcasm might have been wasted. Media Moguls’ reply? “Great news – please let us have a copy!” Kindly critical Our sister publication forwarded us the following news from Dubai PR firm The Idea Agency: “On behalf of our client Damas, the world renowned jewellery and watch retailer, we are pleased to submit to you a press release on Perrelet Turbine, one of the most talked about watches since its unveiling at Baselworld 2009. According to critics this landmark design would eventually form the cornerstone of the Perrelet philosophy, based on impeccable technique and a unique design.” If its critics are saying such nice things about it, we’d love to hear what the watch’s fans think. A K-West-ion of taste UAE telco du has been doing really well with its Tweets recently. That’s the general consensus, anyway. It’s been dealing promptly with customer complaints over Twitter, as well as engaging its audience in conversations, luring them with promotions, and even testing them with competitions – like its question-and-answer giveaway of tickets for concerts surrounding last month’s F1. But our spy in the Twitterverse, Paz Marketing’s Joe Akkawi, suggests du’s tweeters may have missed the taste bus when they posted this question about rap ego Kanye West. Note the hasty apology – addressed to Communicate’s own Rania Habib – that followed.

Poet’s corner Luscious colors of sorbets, bonbons and blush. A colorama of pale, almost milky acids, the pastels of the Memphis movement or the Art Deco buildings of Miami. Modern nostalgia of the Fifties, Sixties, and Seventies. The sweet mood of a doe-eyed Chic Lolita. As if a young, ultra-fresh Bardot had conquered Hollywood, as if La Madrague was in Palm Springs. This is the spirit of extreme femininity and sophistication found in the Louis Vuitton Cruise 2011 collection. As beautiful in a sundress as she is in a shorts suit and a sky-blue striped little-boy shirt or high-waisted trousers, or a circle skirt with organza petticoat , or a Fifties strawberry-milkshake cocktail dress, the Chic Lolita is graceful to a T. She puts on a film-star air without taking herself seriously. Her ponytail, worn downtown or on the beach, is bedecked with a silk bow. Her jewelry echoes the grand tradition of Fifties-style Hollywood bijoux, with a sly wink and a side-step in time to when bracelets and necklaces matched. Turquoise and coral embroidery, handmade flowers in raffia and leather, just like the bows seen at every turn. Her beach-bag-style handbag in vanilla straw gets a touch of glamour with alligator skin. Her metal, motherof-pearl and lacquer minaudière in sweet, succulent shades is made entirely by hand, just like the petite perforations in her fingerless leather mitts. Whether she’s in floral canvas ballet slippers or highheeled sandals, this devastatingly charming Chic Lolita adores the impertinence and savoir-faire of the craftsmen behind them, and she steeps it all in sensational freshness. – From a Louis Vuitton press release about its new Chic Lolita collection

Communicate cannot guarantee the accuracy of the rumors, innuendo, and idle gossip that appear on this page. Send your anonymous Dish tips to editor@communicate.vg

11/28/10 2:58 PM