We made this video in 2009 in order to educate all the expats on client side and in the agency about the MENA region. And we made it fun with a great little postproduction in Dubai. All facts are true. And if you consider all these facts you will also find that the Arab Spring was the only logical development.
Every scene of this film is at least somewhat controversial: the lady CEO, the man in a wheelchair, the guy wearing a basecap, the couples on Harley’s, the man looking after the baby, the femal boxer (a real Olympic athlete), the discussion on campus, the book about women in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the Arabic modern art enthusiast. BUT: they are all real. They exist. And MBC1 connects them all. 2009. As ECD of Memac Ogilvy.
The campaign used all media. Connecting people with fun, contradicting statements. The red thread also would have been used for direct, ambient and digital work. Would have? This campaign was stopped at last minute because of being just a bit too brave. A shame...
A quick stunt we made based on a relevant insight: during Ramadan men race home to be there at Iftar (breaking of the fast), leading to many dramatic accidents. These postcards were placed on hundreds of cars, reminding the drivers who would miss them. 2007. As ECD of Memac Ogilvy Dubai.
This remarkable case won many awards. It uses the anniversary of Volvo inventing the three-point-seatbelt to raise awareness for seatbelts in the first place. Because in the MENA region they are not used a lot. The case explains it all. It runs three minutes. 2009. As Regional ECD of Memac Ogilvy & OgilvyOne.
Four out of a total of ten ads we made for this case.
Art direction and photography done in Dubai, believe it or not.
Art direction and photography done in Dubai, believe it or not.
The fashion magazine we produced and distributed locally.
The website to this case combining information, fun and a game - generating data and pushing test drives.
Another small stunt based on an insight - or shall we say: observation. In order to advertise the new automatic distance control City Safety we simply made a different sticker.
An ad with a local news anchor for Panadol Cold&Flu. The tag your moment activation for Panadol driving to Facebook. And a special print execution playing with the pill. 2007-2010. As ECD of Memac Ogilvy Dubai.
The doctor is real and originally talks Arabic - hence the weird synchronisation. Using local modern performers proved greatly successful for the brand.
This is a pro-bono campaign for a small chain of Lebanese restaurants. It proved a big hit during Ramadan, creating lots of talk and participation. And wowing judges at the Dubai Lynx. 2009. As Regional ECD.
We won the Al Hilal Islamic bank business just before the start of Ramadan. So this was actually the first piece of work we made. I could talk a lot about Islamic Banking now - having worked also for Arab Bank. I leave that for another time. This little case is typical for seasonal advertising. It uses kids. 2009. As Regional ECD.
A fun stunt targetting all those expats of Dubai that never bother to learn Arabic. Parking tickets came only in Arabic. So we simply picked them up and stamped something on the back. And we won some Gold. 2009 as Regional ECD of Memac Ogilvy.
