Author Archive for Iain Akerman
Welcome to the bizarre world of ‘Fake Fakes’ and ‘Real Fakes’
Ramsey Naja is chief creative officer at JWT MEA “Call me naïve, but it is only recently that I discovered that there were two classes of fakes in the world of luxury brands: Fake Fakes and Real Fakes. Now this could be disconcerting, syntax-wise, but it goes like this: Fake Fakes are proper bona fide [...]
Production trio launch content creation company
A new content creation company has been launched in Dubai by three former Boomtown Productions staffers. The company, called Collective, will use crowdsourcing and technology to create ‘cutting edge’ video content for TV, web and mobile. Collective’s trio of founders are executive director Omar Abbas, executive producer Peter Simons and managing director Reem Hameed, all [...]
Pepsi – Yalla Now
Impact BBDO is finally rolling out Pepsi’s new global brand positioning of ‘Live for Now’ across the Middle East and North Africa. Called ‘Yalla Now’, the campaign includes a 60-second TVC, social media and out-of-home executions. Project Yalla Now Client Pepsi Creative agency Impact BBDO Executive creative director Carlos Amseyan Creative director Carlos Amseyan Copywriter [...]
McDonald’s – Tastes of the world
McDonald’s ‘Tastes of the world’ is back, with the three-month campaign a continuation of last year’s popular format where foreign TV shows and movies are given a twist by adding a dubbed message. The TV campaign is supported by digital, in-store, radio, outdoor and print executions. Project Tastes of the world Client McDonald’s Creative agency [...]
King Khalid Foundation – Some things can’t be covered
The abuse of women is a taboo subject in Saudi Arabia. Nobody really knows the statistics, but an estimated 92 per cent of married women are abused, although others believe the figure to be much lower. This is why Memac Ogilvy approached the King Khalid Foundation with the idea of bringing women’s abuse to the [...]
Impact BBDO and Lowe MENA land Mobily brief
Saudi Arabia’s second mobile telecoms company, Mobily, has split its creative advertising brief between Impact BBDO and Lowe MENA following a review. The Riyadh-based operator had sent out a round of RFPs to an unknown number of agencies last September, with the pitch requesting for 360-degree creative support in its home market of Saudi Arabia. [...]
Dubizzle launches web series and content platform
Online portal dubizzle is entering the content creation space with the launch of its first ever web series and the formation of a content platform in Egypt. The Dubai-headquartered web company is undertaking a major marketing push in the country in a bid to win market dominance and follows the rolling out of a traditional [...]
MCN launches digital support agency
MCN has launched a new integrated services and technology agency that will offer key digital support across the group’s UM, Initiative and Magna brands. Called Platform5, the new entity will be headquartered in MCN’s Hive building in Dubai and will be led by general manager Mohamad Itani. The agency has been created in response to [...]
SMG races off with Yas Marina Circuit account
Starcom MediaVest Group has won the media buying and planning account for Yas Marina Circuit. Effective immediately, the three-year contract covers Yas Marina Circuit’s full scope of business, including global assignments. Starcom MediaVest Group (SMG) will provide integrated communications solutions for the brand, spanning digital and analog media formats, across all platforms and channels. “We [...]
Cohn & Wolfe takes minority stake in BPG|pr
Global communications and public relations agency Cohn & Wolfe has taken a minority stake in Middle East public relations firm BPG|pr. The new agency, called BPG|Cohn & Wolfe, is the latest move in the international company’s expansion plans to grow across the region, India and Southeast Asia. Both firms are part of the global WPP [...]
