When the going gets tough, advertise! The curious case of the redundant Porsche man in Dubai. February 3, 2009
Posted by Farrukh Naeem at www.copywriterjournalist.com in : Advertising , trackbackThese are trying times for employed expats in Dubai. Because everything depends on a resident visa. Which depends on a job. And jobs in Dubai don’t seem to be very secure right now.
As world economies reel under the recession, the impact is being felt in the UAE too. In more than 10 years I’ve been in the advertising industry, I have never had so many friends in advertising lose their jobs as during the past one month. It seems like not many days pass befores someone is out with their portfolio looking for a job again.
Gulf News had reported more than 3000 job cuts two weeks ago, with real estate companies asking hundreds of their employees to leave. Here are the figures in a January 15 report by Suzanne Fenton in Gulf News:
The sting of the global financial crisis was first properly felt in November when master-developer, Nakheel, was the first to shed its human resources, getting rid of 500 people.
Developer Damac then announced it had let 200 people go, Omniyat 69, Tameer 180 and Better Homes made 50 people redundant.
As one of the more widely read ad bloggers in the region, I’ve had emails and comments and sms messages and phone calls from advertising expats who are on the lookout for a new job. Many whose heads are bloody and unbowed. Determined to stay on in Dubai, UAE, rather than call it quits and head back home.
And among all this confusion, one story really stood out – another in a series of case studies on the power of blogging and social media – on how the internet is changing the rules of how we communicate. It’s the curious case of the redundant Porsche man, Mr Andrew Blair.
Andrew’s redundancy in Dubai would have been just one of the thousands mentioned above, had it not been for a black marker, a Porsche and a blog post. After being given the golden handshake from his US100,000+ a year job as a construction project manager in Dubai, Andrew took a marker and scribbled this on the back of his Porsche:
Andrew Blair Made Redundant - Picture courtesy Life In Dubai blog by Seabee
The picture was taken by Seabee and posted on the Life in Dubai blog, with the title ‘Sign of the times in Dubai’. The picture soon became a story in the local press and went on to make headlines in The Telegraph UK. Coverage in the BBC and CNN soon followed.
There is a positive lesson to learn in this – that there is always a creative way to get your message heard. Andrew’s phone has been ringing with requests for his CV since his Porsche art hit the headlines. But instant fame has its price as you have already read in my previous post about How social media can make or break you – Twitter case studies.
Tala Al Ramahi’s article in The National (pointed out by fellow blogger Mouna) reports that a background check on the Porshe’s registration number revealed:
…that registration number had accumulated 12 black points and 37 unpaid fines, totalling Dh3,850, and Mr Blair’s highly mobile advertising platform was wanted for impounding.
The offences credited to the Porsche range from illegal parking and obstructing traffic to jumping a red light and speeding – including one fine of Dh1,000, incurred on Jan 16, for exceeding the speed limit on Um Suqeem Street, off Sheikh Zayed Road, by “more than 60kph”.
So, while as an advertising man I can’t help but applaud the disruptive approach taken by Andrew to reach out potential employers (and I’d say he should consider being in the ad business), it’s hard to say if the news of the reckless driving would add brownie points in the eyes of a recruiter. And then there’s the curious incident of the original blogged picture of his plateless car and his telephone number scribbled on it changing across various publications (see The National’s pic in the link above).
As last reported, Andrew is still looking for a job. But I think he’s had enough of free publicity. Thanks to a permanent marker and a picture on a blog.
What would you do if you were asked to leave? And would it make news if it wasn’t scribbled on a Porsche? Comments are welcome!
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