farrukh

Securing a journalism job isn’t easy but it could be easy to get freelance assignments in areas you’re good at. Don’t need to start at the bottom if you’ve already done journalism before.

farrukh

So much can be done. But the change for smokers must come from within. I think. Do we have ads that can make this happen?

farrukh

As you might have noticed, this blog is not about my company and its recruitment. But I try and help friends in the industry if I can. If you’re here, mail me and we could talk.

farrukh

Most of the ad biggies are here - as I keep saying on this blog. And you don’t need to be a bilingual copywriter in English and Arabic.

Yeah - my offer for coffee still stands.

farrukh

Thanks for your kind words. Ads in Abu Dhabi come in all varieties. Not all are highly creative.

farrukh

You’re doing a good job spotting copy cats on your blog. Keep up the exposes!

farrukh

This is my personal blog and my company has nothing to do with it. But you are welcome to email me once you’re here.

farrukh

Good to hear from you. It’d be good to hear about what the creatives in Nigeria are up to. What if you made an advocay ad for your nation based on the comment above. Looks like fertile ground to me for the goal you’ve set.

farrukh

Most top agency networks are here - from TBWA to JWT to Saatchi to Ogilvy to Leo Burnett. And then there are some hot indy ones like Tonic. Depends on what you’re after.

farrukh

Email me your credentials - in case any opportunity comes up

farrukh

farrukh

Email me - I think I might have a hi-res version.

farrukh

farrukh

Great blog! I’m an English Copywriter, based in Sweden with a bag full of great work behind me. Looking for a new challenge and your part of the world arouses my curiosity. Who are the top 5 agencies in the UAE? I read above you recommend contacting them directly.

Thanks in advance

Neil

thanks!

A.

My husband will be posted to Dubai next year for work and I will have to quit my current job in Singapore in order to follow him. I have always had this dream of being a journalist and I believe I have the skills to do a good job. My question is….Seeing as how I have no journalistic experience at all (besides writing regular book reviews), is it difficult to secure a job related to jounalism or publishing in Dubai currently? I am willing to start at the bottom.

Cheers
Farah

happen to see this post very late Its now become a global problem. By banning public smoking here in dubai people can breath much! But still there are people who smoke in public places. Passive smoking was a big problem here. Why can you start an online campaign? why can’t we circulate mails on anti-smoke awareness?

Great Blog!

My name is Murtaza, I am from Karachi, working as Associate Creative Head with a local agency. I have been extensively working working as a freelancer with few UAE agencies. Now, I plan to move to UAE and need a good offer to change gears.

Copywriting and Concepts are my core fields, but I can feature into more creative roles as an editor, script writer, lyricist and for that matter director too.

Let me know if you can assist me for some potential opportunities.

Murtaza Habib Shakir

Adefolami Agunbiade

what’s a great blog!
Really it is an interesting blog for people who are interested in Advertising.
You have posted Great, Valuable & Useful information about Advertising.
I just want to know what is your opinion about Ads campaign in Abu Dhabi, Is it creative or as some said it is not creative as it should be?

i am vipin, i finished my BFA from M G University, Kerala, Now I am working as an artist in Kochi (Kerala). I have 4 year experience in this field. Now i am looking for a space in U A E to express my creative ideas,,

i wish to coming on November to UAE, If is it possible to come and meet your creative director.

fine and hope you will be quite safe and sound by the grace of Allah.

Babar Sultan
Islamabad. Pakistan

Good to know you like the blog.

You can email me what’s on your mind. Email’s on the blog - left hand panel.

farrukh

That’s a great website you’ve posted - with the word ‘twins’ referring to similar ads.

There’s more than two versions of this execution - some very similar in copy as well. Now that’s scary too!

farrukh

You’ve gone even deeper into the harmful effects of smoking. Amazing how one picture can spark off so many thoughts and discussions, isn’t it?

farrukh

http://www.joelapompe.net/2008/03/06/aka-the-twins-tour-a-tour/

Although I’m hoping for the sake of an industry plagued with plagiarism accusations, that this was a case of “great minds think alike”…

Do you know if we can find campaign ME in a magazine format?

Thx,

R.

I am kumail from india working in dubai now as an accountanct & no experience i have in advertising field but i am very much interested in making slogans and television advertising concepts for products.

Please guide me how do i go with this.? Also what softwares i need to learn & the most important i want to make a part time career in this.

Appreciate your response and thanks
kumail

My name is Ayesha and i am an HR for an ad agency. i am glad i have across this site. and you have been very sweet in replying everyones email. I am looking out for copywriter for immediate placement. Can you help me in looking for one.

thanks,
Ayesha

Going through this blog and my replies to queries, I hope you’ll get a fair idea of the UAE market and what is required from copywriters.

India is of course a great place to be a copywriter specially now with TV ads reflecting more and more slices of real life.

farrukh

farrukh

Cheers !!!

its not being exploited.. but rather harvested to highlight an even huger tragedy..

the death that are smoking related are just one element - the environmental damage is another - the wasted resource that could be diverted to life saving and qualifty of life improving causes is yet another..

smoking is a huge global tragedy.. this ad should be echoed with “scared cows” from all over..

The skill sets required for copywriting and journalism overlap. But for both jobs as I see it, it isn’t where you have studied but what you are passionate about and good at doing.

The copywriting life is more about marketing and business. Journalism would be more about reporting and factual writing and also risk taking. Copywriting has more glamour, fame and money than journalism most of the time.

Since I have a strong passion for brands and marketing as well as for reporting, I find it easy to manage both, sometimes simultaneously. Add blogging to the mix too!

farrukh

Ooops,

Steff

All the confusion has happened as I saw two blocks fighting with each other in karate pose rather thasn seeing a broken block.

I take back my comments. May be the art was upto the mark ( which made see it different tan it actually should have .
raj

Sorry, Steffen again. My Arabic’s not too hot and so the portfolio I am building is full of English langauge words and the website I am developing showcases English copy. How much of a limitation will this be? The recruitment agencies I am looking at seem to specify ‘English Langauge Copywriter’ for their positions in Dubai etc. but I’d thought I’d check with you.

By the way I’ve been trying to send this message several times but it doesn’t seem to want to stick.

Sorry to pester and thanks for your time.

Warm regards,

Steffen

Brilliant blog; I’ve read all the comments - and your diligent replies. It reads like a hundred hopeful voyagers sailing off from the harbour.

Now here’s another small vessel unfurling its sail. I’m Steffen Collings, a copywriter based in London. For the last year and a half I’ve been builing up a portfolio of conceptual work - my response to live briefs and my take on current campaigns. I love writing with a view to giving the reader some reward. Copy I feel is the poetry of commerce, but provoking action rather than reflection. I will always be fascinated by the power of language to capture a reader, especially outside the usual ‘homes’ of language such as the novel or the newspaper or the poem.

Here endeth the lecture. Now here’s the point. It rains far too much in this soggy land. I’ve decided I need light to write. What do I have to do to get samples of my work to the right people in the UAE/ Dubai? I haven’t spent 20 years at BootleBartleHigglyWiggly or whatever but I know i can write, answer briefs and, er, well, sell stuff! I am also interested and have some experience in writing for digital/ BTL.

Can I send you samples of my work Farrukh? Or does your arm ache waving so many adventurers goodbye?

Warm regards,

Steffen Collings

Asalam-u-alakum

My name is Nadim Paul from Chandigarh- India. I did my MFA Applied Art and have 3-4 years of experience in advertising field with good companies.
I want to come to UAE for Job…. If u have some vacancy in your company. Plz let me know.

Regards
Nadim Paul

If you’ve been watching global award shows in the past 15 years, or even the Gunn Report, you’ll notice that UAE is making its mark in advertising BIG TIME! Come have a look sometime

farrukh

The competition for journalism jobs is tough here in the UAE for full time positions. Freelance opportunities could be easier to find.

farrukh

Nice to read through your blog. Congradulations for your achivement. I am interested in Copy writing and Creative marketings
like(Brouchers,Adds etc..). I am a software engineer from India. Please do let me know how to start of with my career in this field and how will be the career opportunities for this in Inda.

Regards
Sanjay

I’ve been surfing through your blog for some time, and I admire your passion for writing!

Could you please help me get a job as an Arabic Copywriter in Dubai? I’ve heared ACWs are in high demand there. I’m currently an ACW in a top 5 MENA agency in the GCC and wanna move to Dubai for bigger challenges.

Much appreciated in advance…

This is kamran sulaimani from India. I am full time state correspondent with India Today group in western state of India, Gujarat. I have worked with some of India’s most prestigious publications including The Indian Express and The Economic Times.
I am looking for opportunities in UAE.. I don’t know how to go about it. I have submitted my resumes on various websites but unfortunately did not get any reply. Can you please help me with this..?

I’ve got your email. And replied to it in detail. Yes, any kind of writing experience helps, sometimes even gives an edge to a copywriter.

farrukh

I emailed you a few days ago but it seems the email may have ended up in the spam folder. I would like to know if journalistic experience is relevant for a copywriter?

SIncerely,
Tony

farrukh

So we now know the creatives behind this nice ad.

Good work guys.

farrukh

Same stuff applies. Floor the CD with your book. Be persistent. And beg, borrow or steal an award for those type of CDs who wouldn’t even meet a potential cub otherwise (I don’t like them much).

farrukh

This is one of those ads that has been loved much and hated much. Which is what makes it so interesting.

farrukh

My success ad agency hasn’t been built yet

farrukh

You could do well here in the UAE I think. Mail me with a link to your good stuff and I’ll see if I can help.

farrukh

Keep up the good work with your blog!

farrukh

If you could manage to put together a good portfolio of big idea ads and maybe team up with an aspiring art director for a joint portfolio, you could get Creative Directors interested I think.

farrukh

Possibilities are always open if your work works for a client. Yes, there are challenges of not being able to work with an art director who might be here.

If you could email me a link to some of your good work… maybe I could help.

farrukh

If your copy is getting results for your client, you’re a good copywriter. If your copy is making life better for its readers/target audience, you’re a great copywriter.

farrukh

You could pitch your filler ideas to publications which source out fillers. A query email to the editor of your target could help.

farrukh

Have been on the move recently and couldn’t reply to posts… sorry about that. Salaries are usually given lumpsum and you have to figure out your expenses. I’d think a monthly takeaway of USD 10,000 would be good for things you mention, out of which you could end up paying USD 2,000 to USD 3,000 per month for renting a 1-bedroom apartment.

farrukh

farrukh

I was travelling in July - sorry for the delayed response to your comment. If you are working for a reputed news agency, I am guessing you could get news organisations here interested. But remember that a lot of news in the papers in the UAE is from the global wires rather than content from their own coorespondents.

farrukh

If you want to keep yourself updated to the ad and media scene in the GCC, I would recommend fellow blogger Zeid Nasser’s MediaMe.com. And a news portal like AMEInfo.com

KippReport.com is amazing for a fresh perspective on current affairs and lives of businessmen.

farrukh

MBA is a great qualification - I’m sure your challenges will not hold you back from achieving big things in life. Email me and I’ll see if there’s anything I can do.

My best wishes and prayers for a successful career ahead.

farrukh

I am Tamas Pataki from Hungary.
I have done some copywriting tasks for SAAB Hungary (headlines, radio spots, etc.) as i used to work there as a marketing trainee before. But right now “officially” i am working as a buyer for Nokia, which means that my resume does not look that impressive -if it comes to applying for a copywriter position-, even though i am absolutely aware of my skills.
Do you know if there is any kind of competition currently in the UAE, where i could prove my skills, and thereby take up some copywriting tasks in the country?

…Otherwise i am afraid i have to find some other way (=other field) to get to that beatiful place as an employee:)

Thank you very much in advance.

Kind Regards,
Tamas

Was kind of possibilities are there available for a senior copywriter to secure clients in UAE whilst residing in another country.
I am currently interested in expanding my international client base whilst remaining in Australia. I find that I have had some wonderful clients that are happy to have remote writers. Any advice is appreciated.

Regards,
Sarah

Great impact.Great effect….

Creative Manager
Synergy Advertising
Karachi.

Pls give me a some information about ur success ad agency.

My Name is Yasmin, and i’m an Advertising Student at the American University of Sharjah, i have a blog as well on the Media in the Middle East but mainly in the UAE.

But i thought it’d be very interesting to look at the English - Arabic translated adverts in most media excluding web.

I often come across incorrect translations. For example, in Spinneys i saw the they tranlated “Nice Price” into “Al saar al jadeed” which means “the new price” .

I think the problem is that the UAE is building up so fast the everyone else can’t catch up to the same quality standards.

My friend (who wants to get into copy writing) and i have also been follow yours’ and zaid’s blogs ,which are brilliant by the way, and have inspired me to make my own.

I have been a full time copywriter since 2004. Based in New Delhi, India, I have worked with international ad agencies like Publicis, BBDO and Grey Worldwide.

I am very much interested in prospects with Dubai ad agencies.

Would love to hear from you. Please do reply.

Thanx!

I am interested to write short fillers for periodicals. Chould anybody advise me to get a foothold for the same?

Regards,
Naser/Dhaka/Bangladesh

My names Ray from South Africa. I’ve been offered a job in Dubai as a Graphic designer. I have 8yrs experience in the business. What salary should I expect? What other incentives should i negotiate? And one last question: What is the cost of living there? Living in a fairly nice flat, food, car, internet, phone etc.

you right, copy writing is not forbiden in iran, but i’m seeking a media or journlaist job, i work for a famous news agancy in iran, but i’d like to progres and learn new experience by working in UAE. so, what is ur opinion? is it possible for me to find a good job in UAE’s journals? thnax a lot .
best regard:sally

I read your above piece with much interest, very insightful.

Based in London, I specialise in financial, business and investment writing. I have stumbled upon a couple of business contacts in Kuwait which has opened my eyes to the possibility of contacting companies in the UAE.

I wondered whether you would be able to recommend any useful avenues to contact companies please - any particular websites and/or publications popular with corporations and financial institutions.

Many many thanks in advance
Erum

Good to see you again. How are things back home in Israel?

When I think advertising and creativity, I don’t think of it in country or nationality terms unless the post is analysing a country trend or it is relevant to the ad’s theme whether it’s Israel, Saudi Arabia, the USA, India, whatever.

Since I live in the UAE currently and am exposed to the GCC media circuit, that’s what I cover most in my blog. When I feature ads, mostly these are from English media - being an English language blog. One writes about what one knows.

If I spoke or read Hebrew or had Arab Israeli ads around me and knew the stories behind those ads and the people creating the stuff, I might have found something to write about and discuss. But my guess is that Hebrew isn’t a widely spoken language across the Middle East and hence doesn’t have the kind of regional media exposure like Arabic does.

On a personal note, if I come across an ad campaign that is effectively making a difference to Israeli AND Palestinian people’s lives in a positive way, I’d be more than happy to feature it - being a peace lover just like you

when u think mid east advertising and creativity - does israel play any role for you and if it does do you look at hebrew and arabic israeli media?

It will be if you believe it will be.

You gotta believe in it and work hard at it.

farrukh

I don’t think copywriting is forbidden in Iran. I’ve got a good friend who managed a big global account in Iran - they couldn’t have done it without copy I think.

Correct me if I am wrong.

For a journalism job in the UAE, you have to go through the usual channels. Job sites. Publisher’s sites. Headhunters. Emails. Interviews.

Some of the top newspapers are Gulf News, Khaleej Times and The National.

farrukh