Copywriter Journalist

An exhibition is lined up aimed at publishers, broadcasters, radio stations, designers, below the line and point-of-sale suppliers, direct marketeers, printers, research and brand consultancies, as well as stock photography agencies, to enable networking, and show off the creative work carried out in the region.

You will also be able to view public service advertising campaigns from around the world in the main concourse of the Dubai International Convention Centre. The exhibition, titled Great Ads for a Better Future, has been put together by Advertising Community Together (ACT), an initiative of AdForum.com and produced in partnership with the United Nations Environmental Programme, (UNEP). This collection will be open, free to the public for viewing. It feels good to note that the IAA Dubai Chapter is currently the largest chapter in the world, and of course the official organiser of the World Congress.

Just what I call being at the right place at the right time. Being in advertising, in Dubai, in March. Now all I need to do is register myself. Quickly.

Social Responsibility: Is it about black & white ads and a few cents in charity? February 13, 2006

What exactly is social responsibility for a business?

Does an arms manufacturer’s donation to the Peace Corps make bombs safer?

Does a tobacco company’s lung cancer funding make cigarettes healthier?

Does a brewery’s TV spot against drunk-driving reduce alcoholism?

Does an offshore oil company’s documentary on marine life, save it?

As creative writers, designers and communicators, are we in advertising just to earn money, no matter what we end up selling?

Even a prostitute does that.

A numbered few amongst us have drawn a line for what we will sell and what our conscience won’t allow us to.

This post is for each of those numbered few.

You are not alone!

Creative Awards: Do Clients Really Care?

It’s not unusual to see a client calling for a pitch of agencies despite getting years of award-winning creative campaigns from its existing agency.

Which brings us to the sensitive question - how important are awards won by an advertising agency in the eyes of a client?

Gulf Marketing Review’s annual Agency & Client survey conducted by Ipsos-stat has revealed that awards won by an advertising agency are not even in the top 15 considerations when clients rate agencies.

The most important agency strengths evaluated by a client when choosing an advertising agency, both agencies and clients felt, are the agency’s understanding of the client’s objectives, needs and markets.

For the clients, effectiveness comes next.

Which brings us to the next question - the debate that never ends in advertising circles.

Are all creative award-winning ads effective too?

“Of course,” our friendly neighbourhood creative directors will reply in a confident chorus. But then the entries which were submitted for creativity awards should also shine in forthcoming GMR Effectiveness in Marketing Awards 2006. No?

We’ll see.

What’s Wrong With Radio Advertising in the UAE? February 8, 2006

In the recently announced Campaign ME awards for advertising creativity in the region, the judges picked just one winner in the Radio category even though there were three awards up for grabs.

This is what Elizabeth Drachman’s feature in the February issue of Communicate reveals:

Radio ads go for as little as 150 dirhams and agencies don’t get a cut, so creatives don’t go out of their way to make interesting ads.

While a low budget might fail to excite agency bosses, it might not necessarily be the reason for a bad creative product. Some of the best work is done pro bono by creatives in ad agencies for social service campaigns and NGOs.

But in radio, there no scope of hiding behind a full-bleed picture taken from a stock book. Radio doesn’t allow the “looks-great-means-nothing” variety of ads. If the script isn’t good, the ad is dead. Even if you use Marlon Brando.

Also, radio ads which do well internationally use humour. And wit. And language nuances. And local dialects. Or speaking animals. It would take quite a few brave clients and sharp copywriters to try these adventures before we can tune in to some serious fun on radio.

I have personally written and rewritten radio ads with adventurous situations only to unwillingly come back to “what the client wants” - the whole damned sales pitch in a boring conversation. Or worse, an announcement.

Oh, the voice of a popular movie star was fun to use though for one of the radio spots I wrote some time back. Too bad we didn’t enter it in the awards. Otherwise, I’d have a Gold Award in these dirty little hands right about now.

(SFX: Trumpet on full volume)

(MVO: Evil laughter to fade)

The Very First Campaign Awards Showcase Advertising Creativity February 6, 2006

The first ever Campaign Awards have been announced in Dubai. 650 entries battled it out for top slots in 14 categories. Face to Face, Tonic and Wunderman had great reasons to celebrate.

Face to Face was judged the Agency of the Year for 2005. Their integrated campaigns for Barbican and Rani Float and the dishdasha-clad Air Arabia mascots had, I feel, stood out from the clutter this year.

Tonic shone with its campaign for the Sony Microvault which got the highest votes in its category, and therefore, the Grand Prix. I think this one will go on to win a few more awards, with its powerful simplicity. Tomes of data and information stacked up in the middle of the layout in the shape of the tiny Sony Microvault. Brilliant!

Wunderman won the gold, silver and bronze in the Direct Mail category. Their work for Microsoft, FedEx and Adobe truly deserved it. My personal favourite is Adobe’s mailer with the brown paper bag. The body copy was printed on it and it was sent to computer users to hide their faces in, should they be using pirated software. It really got people’s attention when it was mailed - I remember it. Intelligent, funny, economical, and eco-friendly. Can’t help praising a great agency I have also worked at, can I?

Radio had only one winner - Team Y&R’s campaign for Radio 1 featuring wannabe DJs.

Online had few nominations but zero winners. Hmm. Guess this is the category that needs a little more TLC from the creative teams. Think of it people, winning an award would be easier here. Unlike press and TV, the hard-fought categories.

TV Campaign
Gold: Crest Lighthouse, Saatchi & Saatchi
Silver: Domino’s, JWT Riyadh
Bronze: Mobinil Mercedes, Leo Burnett Cairo

Print Campaign
Gold: Sony Microvault, Tonic Dubai
Silver: Whiskas, TBWA\Raad
Bronze: Zayani, JWT Bahrain

Outdoor Campaign
Gold: The One TV, JWT Dubai
Bronze: Emirates Today, TBWA\Raad
Bronze: Dubai Autism Centre, JWT Dubai

The full list can be browsed here.

A souvenir of this event with the pictures of the winning campaigns arrived in the mail with the week’s print edition of Campaign.

Good idea! But would have been better if the ads had credits of the winning team alongside. Next time, we hope. When I send in my work too. Specially to the radio and online categories (rubbing hands in anticipation).

Looking for comedy in the advertising world February 1, 2006

“People don’t buy from clowns,” Claude Hopkins used to say. But does that explain the lack of humour in advertising in the Arabian Gulf?

When was the last time a local ad tickled your funny bone, made you laugh, or even smile? Think hard. Give up?

When I met Ed Jones, regional creative director of Saatchi & Saatchi, at the Gulf Marketing Forum, I thought he’d know the secret. He said: “Here people are very nervous of making jokes about the population because so many of the people who are doing the advertising are not part of the host country. There are very few if any Emiratis doing any advertising in Dubai. So they are not very sure of themselves in the kind of risks they can take.”

The same situation is on the client side, he noted. “You want people to have the courage to take risks. But if they don’t know their audience, then of course they are less inclined to.”

The advertising industry is very new in this part of the world, only as old as the oil boom. So, anyone who’s attempting humour is most often sailing in uncharted territory.

Also, there are cultural considerations. What might work in the USA or the UK might be too much to take for local sensibilities.

“Let’s face it – it’s a very conservative culture,” Ed said. I agree.

But there have to be creative ways to cut through the cultural differences and touch a human chord across a multicultural audience.

All we gotta do is find those ways. And with time, we will. At least that’s the half full glass I would like to see.

Insha Allah, as we say. Insha Allah.