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Campaign ME
30-04-2025
- Business
- Campaign ME
Private View by VICE's Tarek Khalil
Campaign 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 March is by Tarek Khalil, Managing Director – MEA, VICE. RAKTDA: Not a Vacation … Our Vacation RAKTDA brilliantly demonstrates that how you tell a story matters. Their take on the classic 'this sucks/this rocks' format delivers genuine charm and visual impact. The 'Not a vacation/Our vacation' payoff lands perfectly because they've earned it through truth rather than empty promises. It's not reinventing the wheel of tourism marketing, but it showcases RAK's strengths and makes it look genuinely appealing. Sometimes, executing a simple idea well beats trying too hard to be clever. Puck – Arla Foods: Recipe For Change I'm cynical about purpose marketing, but this one actually lands for me because it's centred on actual human stories rather than brand heroics. It backs up emotional storytelling with a genuine financial lifeline. The 'you dine, they thrive' approach creates lasting impact rather than the usual temporary misery spectacle that makes brands feel good while changing nothing. In an industry that regularly exploits tragedy for brand points, this delivers something real: cultural preservation with economic benefit. Beautiful and genuine without commodifying Lebanese resilience. Deliveroo x Humanta: 'Drinkable' Billboard This is attention-grabbing smart disruption with perfect Ramadan relevance. Advertising you can literally consume breaks the fourth wall between promotion and product at a time when thirst is front of mind. The concept brilliantly serves a genuine need rather than just being another tone-deaf Ramadan campaign. Refreshing in more ways than one. Ducab – Ramadan Genuinely impressed with how they connected invisible electrical cables to visible human emotions – using Ramadan as a narrative lens rather than just slapping on a seasonal filter. Very cool. And the emotional crescendo works because it's unexpected from an industrial brand. They cleverly visualise how their cables literally power life's meaningful moments, and they find genuine relevance most seasonal campaigns lack. Volvo x Electromin: Come Back Stronger The AI-generated approach falls short both technically and emotionally in my opinion. While the concept of resilience resonates, the execution is emotionally flat. Good storytelling should make you care, but this piece feels like it was created by machines and algorithms that don't. I'm yet to see any AI-generated content that delivers something genuinely memorable. The robots aren't taking our jobs anytime soon. By Tarek Khalil, Managing Director – MEA, VICE.
Campaign ME
29-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Campaign ME
Private View by The Hanging House's Anam Ahmad
Campaign 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 March is by Anam Ahmad, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, The Hanging House. RAKTDA: Not a Vacation … Our Vacation RAK is finally owning its 'adventure emirate' identity and I love that. The tone is warm, the humour lands, and it stands apart from its glossier neighbours. That said, with a line like 'our vacation,' I wish we met some of the people from RAK. The campaign stepped into emotion and community but could've taken it further. In a world where travellers are seeking authenticity, that human layer felt like a missed opportunity. Puck – Arla Foods: Recipe For Change This one stuck with me. The contrast of devastation outside and hope simmering in a kitchen was powerful. Food here wasn't just comfort; it was agency. It's poetic, raw, and exactly how purpose-driven storytelling should feel: honest, intentional, and quietly impactful. More of this, please. Deliveroo x Humanta: 'Drinkable' Billboard The stunt ticks the right boxes – it's timely, experiential, and certainly got people talking. That said, the resemblance to Carlsberg's 'drinkable' billboard from years ago is hard to ignore. I'm all for borrowing inspiration but a little twist would've helped it feel fresher. Ducab – Ramadan I'm a sucker for nostalgia – it's a cheat code to the heart. And Ducab nails it. The storytelling is simple but effective, striking a warm emotional note without overplaying it. It feels honest, relatable, and quietly confident. Volvo x Electromin: Come Back Stronger 10/10 for ambition. I respect the bold move to use AI, and they deserve credit for pushing boundaries. But the result felt more artificial than absorbing. Great creative tech should disappear into the storytelling and not distract from it. If we're doing AI, let's make it invisible in the best way. By Anam Ahmad, Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer, The Hanging House.
