Communicate Magazine

Communicate recently hosted a roundtable discussion on outdoor advertising. It turned out to be quite a success: For the first time, outdoor suppliers, clients and media buyers sat together and had an open, animated discussion about what’s wrong with the industry in the UAE. As a result of our initiative, several major suppliers made a pledge to form a self-regulatory industry association to address the issues raised. You can read all about it here.

Obviously, this is a big step forward for the industry, and as much as we credit the outdoor guys for agreeing to do it, we couldn’t help feeling a little pleased with our role in bringing everybody together. We’re not saying it would never have happened without us. But it certainly wouldn’t have happened now without us. So we sent out a press release – partly to spread the news, partly to hold the outdoor guys to their word, and partly, we openly admit, to publicize what was basically a Communicate initiative.

Today we caught wind that Campaign is planning to cover the development in its next issue. Happy to hear that our friendly and esteemed competitor would be giving us coverage, our editor contacted Tim Addington, his Campaign counterpart, to ask if he would like any further information, perhaps a quote or two.

Addington e-mailed back: “Now as much as I would like to give Communicate the credit for acting as the conduit for this, I’m afraid that on this occasion I will have to pass! Sorry about that.”

Just so you know.

As befits a man whose job title is “fusionist,” Dubai Eye’s Mustafa Alrawi showcases his ability just as well over the airwaves as he does in print. His recent radio show in which he talked to Etisalat and the Telecoms Regulation Authority – the bodies involved in the UAE’s farcical VOIP censorship – made quite an impact. After an enlightening, light-hearted monologue about Mormons and polygamy (for which he later had to apologize), he showed that his time at Emirates Today has buffed up his hyperbole skills, by declaring, “We’re making history here!”

When a listener, annoyed by the less-than-taxing questions Alrawi was posing, texted in demanding an end to his “brown nosing,” Alrawi did what any gifted presenter would and fought back: “I have my own radio show and you don’t,” he quipped, triumphantly. His daddy, too, for the record, is bigger than yours.

Leave it to ad pundits from outside the Middle East to read sinister motives into the "Keep Walking" ads done in Beirut by Leo Burnett for Johnnie Walker.

Writes Dallas-based critic Mack Simpson:

"So which is it? Exploiting the ravages of war by attaching your brand to the destruction wrought; or attaching your brand to the ravages of war in order to exploit the Internet? Forget the bathtub; get me to a toilet. I think I feel queasy."

Oh, please. It's notable, to put it mildly, that we haven't heard many complaints like this coming from the Lebanese themselves.

The link comes via the normally enjoyable AdRants, which tell us that "Johnny [sic] Walker Bridge Ad Gets Undies in a Political Twist." They forgot to add "in Texas." (Gawker also picked it up.)

These ads are popular and effective in Beirut for a few very simple reasons. They're straightforward, unsentimental and -- crucially -- forward-looking. They also capture the Lebanese spirit of persevering (and maintaining a certain joie de vivre , to say the least) amidst utter turmoil.

Burnett's Beirut creative director, Bechara Mouzannar, deserves a high-five for the idea, as does the client for backing it so readily, especially when you compare the sickly "cry for Lebanon" campaigns seen elsewhere in the Arab world.

The latest e-mail from du suggests the company’s time-keeping troubles are spreading. Under the subject “du Media Event - POSTPONED !!” the message ran:

“Much as we were looking forward to meeting you, we are extremely sorry to inform that the brunch scheduled for 10:30 a.m. on Tuesday 5 September, 2006 has been postponed. We apologize for any inconvenience caused and look forward to meeting you soon.”

No word on when the brunch is postponed to, though, which at least shows that there’s consistency in du’s communications policy.

Philips suffered a barrage of local media abuse back in late May for its misguided offer of World Cup tickets to journos who wrote the most positive copy about the company, so it’s odd that the Dubai Summer Surprises organizing committee has escaped similar outrage over its “Press Creativity Award.” The award amounts to a $1,000 bribe for the journo who writes the most boot-licky story about that week’s theme published in a local news(yes, news)paper.

The media silence may be a mystery, but the award does provide an explanation for the ridiculous “Modhesh to star in Hollywood film” stories (with Hollywood apparently, according to Emirates Today, “desperate to produce an animated movie of the DSS mascot”) that appeared in July, presented as fact despite being based on the speculation of one man. It also explains the rest of the pile of DSS-related drivel throughout the summer, the contents of which should ensure rich plant growth in Dubai’s parks for years to come.

Congratulations to the winners. Your parents must be proud.

We received a an e-mail this week from Promoseven Weber Shandwick Public Relations about Arab International Logistics consolidating its name:
“We would highly appreciate it if the name ARAMEX (PJSC) is used in reference to the company in all media and journalistic reports and news about the Dubai Financial Market transactions,” said the message. The unfortunate subject line? “Arramex name – gentle reminder.”

We normally avoid pointing out misspelled subject lines in e-mails from PR companies, for the simple reason that there are so many of them, but sometimes there’s a certain added hopelessness to the message. We recently received an e-mail from MCS Action headed “Standard Chartered Bank announces 15% porift.” The name of the account executive who sent it? Matthew Proffitt.

Dubai creative firm Tonic may have not have brought home a Cannes Lion this year but one of their submissions (and a Communicate fav) has at least gotten some publicity via popular advertising blog, Ad Rants. The blog receives some 11,000 visits per day. The post (see below) may include some misspelled words, but I am sure the boys at Tonic are grinning ear to ear.


Wonderbra Censors Own UAE Ad In Nod to Local Culture
As an inside joke and in a nod to the United Arab Emerites' practice of censoring magazine content the government doesn't like, Wonderbra has turned the tables and censored its own ad but with a twist. Because the Wonderbra worn by the model in this ad apparently made her breasts so big, it took much more black marker than usual to cover her protruding breasts. In an insiderish manner, it illustrates the wonders a Wonderbra can provide while living within the boundaries of the country's censors.

The Dinglish (Dubai English, d’ya see?) article in today’s 7Days had a few amusing ideas in it. We especially liked “Jane drain” to describe the expat migration from Jumeirah. However, there were a few terms missing, such as “To 7Days” meaning to overhype or string out until threadbare, as in:

“It started off as a good idea, but they really 7Daysed it and it ended up as a big pile of Emirates Today.”