Matt Butterworth, Founder, thenobullpartnersCampaign Middle East features a Private View section with a range of insights and viewpoints from industry experts, revealing the intricate world of marketing and advertising campaigns.
This review of our ‘Works’ from January is by Matt Butterworth, Founder and Partner, TheNoBullPartners.
Dubai Sports Season – Dubai Sports Season
I am sure that the world and every man woman, child, cat, dog and hamster knows by now that we have the Burj Khalifa, Madinat Jumeriah, Burj Al Arab, but please, can we see something different and less cliched? Yes, sport is about the players and venues, but even more it’s about the fans and spectators. Surely a film from their perspective would have been a lot more genuine and authentic. Dubai has so much more to show. This was a massive miss.
KFC Arabia: Nugg It, Dip It, Crunch It.
Kudos to the team on this, I’m not the audience here, but when you see it, you can’t help but smile and start nodding your head. What I love is that you can see the team have worked hard to bring the sub-cultural influences and insights into the hero film. It feels fresh, fun, and culturally relevant and the craft in the final product is brilliant. Fair play, the rest of the category will have to up their game to beat this.
Virgin Mobile KSA & BEYOND ONE: Switch
I think we are going to be hearing a lot more about campaigns that are delving into Middle Eastern subcultures in 2025. This is another example of a brand trying but, unfortunately, not quite hitting the mark. Virgin has always been a brave brand, but this campaign feels rather safe and predictable. If you want a human-centred tone that emotionally connects then at least ensure the production values feel real and not forced. The devil is always in the detail when it comes to these subtleties, and that is what makes a great end product.
It does the job, but is it highly creative and does it get people thinking? I am not too sure. These tactics have been used time and time again, and it feels like there needed to be greater tension in the film. Shock tactics mean SHOCK. I am not too sure how shocking this is. I would be interested to see the results pre- and post-campaign in terms of fraudulent awareness, however, as I could be proven very wrong on this one.
Aramex: Delivering Incredible Performances
This is a smart campaign. Firstly, it’s warm and personal and breaks down the emotion you feel when opening a package. Adding to that, Aramex has neatly tied it in to Arab Cinema Week – tackling pressing issues from the Arab world also ticks some very important boxes.
It gives them a reason to facilitate conversation on wider issues in the region, which I am sure will give them plenty of amazing insights for other consumer-related campaigns in the future.
By Matt Butterworth, Founder and Partner, TheNoBullPartners.
