Thinking World First. Elliot Polak looks at the success of brands from the Middle East with Mahsa Motamedi and Amer Bitar.

Dubai Lynx 2012

The News:

Social media networks were set ablaze recently with the release of an advertising campaign for HEMA, a chain of Dutch department stores. The campaign for the store’s new ‘Mega Push-Up Bra’ is fronted by androgynous male model, Andrej Pejic.  

The innovative marketing department at the Dutch retail chain decided to hire the flat chested 20 year-old male to prove their claim that their ‘Mega Push-Up Bra’ could truly “boost your bust by two sizes”. The advertisers named the model in small writing at the bottom of the images, leaving the publicity and news stories to whip up a storm surrounding the campaign.

This pioneering approach to lingerie advertising trended on Twitter hours after the images were released; the campaign has caused mixed reactions.

Behind the News:

Pejic’s agent was very positive about the campaign, stating, “It’s revolutionary. I’ve never known a man to do a women’s lingerie campaign before”.

Andrej Pejic has caused a stir in the fashion world over the past year, modelling both women and men’s clothing, most notably closing Jean Paul Gaultier’s haute couture bridal show earlier this year.

Pejic’s feminine features caused Barnes & Noble and Borders book stores to consider banning the magazine ‘Dossier Journal’ because he appeared shirtless on the cover. The book stores said that he might be mistaken for a woman and as a result, sold the magazines in a brown wrapper.

This liberal approach to advertising was seen in other recent news as A Thai airline hired transsexuals to set itself apart from competitors. Both HEMA and A Thai have crossed the boundaries of gender roles. Transgenders and transsexuals have greater visibility in Thailand than in many other nations and in the Netherlands there is widespead support, tolerance and equal rights for LGBT people.

The News:

Galerie, a department store in Osaka, marked its January sales by hanging huge red signs emblazoned with the term ‘FUCKIN’ SALE’ in their windows and throughout the store.

Images of the store’s chosen catchphrase rapidly flooded social media websites and blogs. Once Galerie’s horrified managers caught wind of the uproar caused by the signs, they hastily tore them down. The store also released a public statement apologizing for any offence the slogan may have caused.

Behind the News:

It was revealed that the headline had been crafted as a pun on the Japanese term ‘fukubukuro’, meaning ‘lucky bags’. This relates to the Japanese New Year retail custom where unwanted stock from the previous year is discounted and sold in big grab bags.

However, the attempted pun was lost on English speaking visitors and while a lot of the speculation online discusses the hilarity of the signs, the store also received many complaints.

This is not the first time that the term ‘fuck’ has been used for marketing purposes. In 1997, British clothing retailer French Connection began branding their clothes with the slogan ‘fcuk’. Though it was officially an acronym for French Connection United Kingdom, its similarity to the word ‘fuck’ caused much controversy. French Connection fully exploited this and produced a popular range of t-shirts with messages including ‘fcuk this’, ‘hot as fcuk’, ‘fcuk me’ and ‘fcuk her’.

In 2009, the European Union’s trademarks agency disallowed a German brewery to market a beer called ‘Fucking Hell’ until the brewery sued, claiming that the beer was actually named after the Austrian village Fucking, and the German term for light beer, ‘hell’.

In this case, it is clear that the profane caption represents a take on a Japanese pun that was lost in translation and a misunderstanding of the term ‘fuck’ due to a language barrier, rather than an attempt to draw attention to the store. Nonetheless, this controversial slogan has certainly put this Japanese department store on the map.

Textappeal held a presentation on how advertising uses sex in different cultures at the Cristal Festival. If you speak French, read this insightful interview in by DOC Marketing News:  http://www.docnews.fr/actualites/sexe-publicite,11293.html

The News:

The German sportswear retailer, Puma, has pulled a line of limited edition trainers featuring the colours of the UAE flag after complaints that they were disrespectful.

These commemorative trainers were created to mark the 40^th UAE National Day, but rapidly caused uproar amongst Emirati consumers.

The word’s third-largest sportswear brand released an emailed statement affirming that “Puma took the feedback from our consumers very seriously and has indefinitely actioned the removal of the shoe from all stores.”

Behind the News:

In Arab culture, the shoe is considered dirty because it is on the ground and associated with the foot, the lowest part of the body, which prompted complaints that featuring the national colours trainers was culturally insensitive.

Moreover, the flag is a sacred symbol for the UAE and due to this, many felt that Puma had trivialized it by using the flag’s colours on its trainers.

Puma issued a statement in which the retailer apologised for this grave cultural misunderstanding, emphasising that “the shoe was never intended to upset or offend our customers here in the Middle East, but to give the people of the UAE a piece of locally-created design as a symbol of recognition of this great occasion.”

An Arab expat working in the UAE said that “big brands have to realise that you cannot have one idea for the whole world. Each area you operate in has to be have tailor-made solutions. Especially here in the Middle East, where cultural sensitivities are key, you have to be very careful. “

The News:

This week Benetton revealed its latest ad campaign, supporting the Unhate foundation, which features a number of politicians and religious figureheads kissing, including US president Barack Obama and Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez.

However, the image that caused the greatest stir was that of Pope Benedict XVI kissing Mohammed Ahmed al-Tayeb, the grand Skeikh of Cairo’s al-Azhar mosque.

The Vatican spokesman stated that the ad was a “grave disrespect” and denounced it as unacceptable provocation.

Benetton proceeded to rapidly pull the image, issuing a public statement that said “we are sorry that the use of the image of the Pope and the iman has so offended the sentiments of the faithful […] we have decided, with immediate effect, to withdraw this image.”

Behind the News:

“Shockvertising” is often considered to have been pioneered by Benetton, with past advertisements featuring images of prisoners on death row, a man dying of aids, a new born baby with its umbilical cord still attached and a trio of real human hearts, to name but a few.

Nonetheless, many of Benetton’s controversial advertisements have also been the subject of much praise for heightening awareness of significant social issues.

Yesterday, Benetton reaffirmed its support of the Unhate foundation, stating that “the meaning of the new campaign is exclusively to combat the culture of hatred in all its forms”.

The son of Benetton’s founder emphasised that the campaign represents positivity and togetherness in the face of the world’s current political and economic instability.

The News:

Recently, Levi’s decided to temporarily withdraw a campaign in the UK that showed scenes of rioting, as the company feared this would be culturally insensitive in the wake of the devastating riots that took place across Britain in August.

The minute long advert, which is Levi’s first global campaign, shows demonstrations that are said to represent May Day in Berlin, concluding with the tagline ‘go forth’. A spokesman for Levi’s said, “out of sensitivity for what is happening in the UK, we have temporarily postponed our cinema and Facebook spots in the country.”

The Levi’s spokesman also stated that “while ‘Go Forth’ is about embodying the energy and events of our time, it is not about any specific movement or political theme; rather, it’s about optimism, positive action and a pioneering spirit.”

Behind the News:

Although made before the riots began, the imagery caused outrage on fashion websites and in local publications, causing Levi’s to halt its airing on British television and cinemas.
Adweek.com stated “it’s a little risky to embrace youthful rebellion in advertising right now, given that the real world examples involve so much looting and burning.” Furthermore, the website FashionFoieGras said the clip was in “bad taste” and called for it to be “pulled from YouTube and all other platforms”.

Levi’s Chief marketing officer countered the negative reaction to the advert by stating that the video was intended to capture “youthful optimism” and ambitions of a better future, rather than encourage unrest.

Although there is no doubt that the release of this advert was unfortunately timed, it is clear that Levis are not condoning the riots that took place in the UK. By being attentive to local events and taking positive pre-emptive steps, Levis retracted the ad and prevented a culture shock.

THE 99 animated television series will make its global debut in 2012. THE 99 has been widely trumpeted for its successful introduction of new positive role models for the world’s children. Although the stories are secular, THE 99 is credited as being the first group of comic superheroes born of Islamic archetypes. The unlikely post-9/11 brainchild of Dr. Naif Al-Mutawa, a Kuwaiti born and American educated clinical psychologist, THE 99 is intended for global family audiences without regard to religion, creed or skin color. THE 99 has been publicly hailed by U.S. President Barack Obama and the international media. Forbes called THE 99 “one of the top twenty trends sweeping the globe.”

Attendees of this session in Cannes will be the first to preview a full 20 minute episode of THE 99, one of 26 episodes co-produced with media giant Endemol UK. Dr. Al-Mutawa will then share his most recent insights from its worldwide success, touching on topics such as: Is cultural collision the new creativity? Are Fusion Brands the next global brands? How can individuals, agencies and brands turn their own cultural collisions into successful business and advertising ideas?