Tuesday 20 May 2008

TV ads

By request from an anon commenter:

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TV advertising. first there was the Lacnor ad in which the young girl cuddles the juice carton like it was mammy and now there's one in which a mother struggling to comfort her baby finds the only way to do it is to put her KFC grease covered finger into the tot's mouth.

who approves this crap and is anyone else bothered by it?
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22 comments:

Anonymous said...

I KNOW! Soon enough we'll be dealing with 'infant obesity'!
But i have to say the most stupid ad i've seen so far is the juice ad where they say 'la to2ajel 3amal al yawm ila al ghad, wala to2ajal 3aseer al yawm ila al ghad'
WHAT THE HELL DOES THAT MEAN???

Anonymous said...

It's advertising. It's all stupid. You're talking as though some bad ad is disturbing your viewing pleasure of all the other ads.

The kid lpving a juice container? Sounds like every ad for beer I've ever seen, except with grown men.

Anonymous said...

i have two points really. the first as a father who doesnt even allow his son to watch barney the dinosaur as at the end of each episode there is a close up shot of the toy that relates to the episode - i dont want my kid screaming 'daddy i want it' everytime we pass a Lacnor stand or some barney toys.

the point about the KFC ad is that in most regulated countries this ad would not be allowed (meaning the agency would have to come up with a good idea).

not all ads are bad, some are average and some are good - but most dont advocate feeding a baby fast 'food'.

Anonymous said...

Most TV advertising here is atrocious, the list is endless. However it's the patronising elements that get me the most. Knorr packet soups being peddled as organic elixir of life, or my personal bete noir the Fair&Lovely ad, excuse me but that's just plain nasty. The ad for The National is also a masterclass in vague and don't get me started on the Octavian office block or whatever the f*** it's supposed to be. TV ads are rubbish but they're practically art when compared to radio advertising.

Anonymous said...

Boo hoo for baby. Protecting kids from advertising is like deciding not to immunise them because it exposes them to the virus. They better get their heads around it or it's going to be a long hard road to adulthood.

Supposedly the KFC ad is pitched at adults so if they're open to placating their kids with greasy fingers they're probably also the idiots letting their children bounce around unrestrained inside cars on the Sheikh Zayed Road.

It's just Darwinism at work.

Anonymous said...

i'm not protecting the baby - i'm protecting my wallet!

Anonymous said...

"The Legacy of an Era Lives On"

A billboard somewhere on Sh. Zayed Road.

Who wrote that line? What legacy? What era?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 18:53 - that makes more sense!

Anonymous said...

http://www.gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10214471.html

How's that for outrageous reporting.

Anonymous said...

Claims about this shelter have been around for a while but why is this "outrageous reporting"?

Anonymous said...

Anonymous 14.35

If you've got a problem with the story come out and say it. Don't hide behind snide comments.

Anonymous said...

I agree this is outrageous reporting. Unsubstantiated claims, the naming of a 'suspect' who has not even been charged, (strangely everyone else gets MF, Pakistani or MH, Egyptian), ladies of ahem, dodgy moral character and the elephant in the drawing room that is domestic violence in the UAE.

Whether these claims are true or not a reporter's job is to report the facts. The quotes from officials regarding human trafficking issues are spurious, irrelevant and accusatory.

I recall an incident in the 1950s presidential race when one candidate's press officer wanted to put out a story that his rival had intimate relations with porcines.

"We can't do that," said the candidate. "Nobody would ever believe it."

"Yeah," smiled the press officer, "but let's hear him deny it."

Gulf News and Bassma Al Jandaly. Shining examples of upholding unbiased, impartial journalism in the region.

Anonymous said...

So, it's a conspiracy to deny domestic abuse in the UAE by claiming the shelter sells babies?

The story is OK and so are the quotes from officials. As for recalling the 1950 presidential election, well, I doubt you do.

Anonymous said...

Sorry to be off-topic but did any of you see this in today's KT?

Vol XXXI No. 40, May 25, 2008, p. 15, last para on page under "Bahrain may ban Bangladeshi manpower.":

"...Brigadier Bin Daina said that the case has been referred to the Public Persecution."

(Not the first time for KT, I have to admit.)

Unknown said...

No, it's part of a larger campaign to discredit Sharla Musabih and the City of Hope shelter because they have raised a taboo subject, discussed with foreign media and because Sharla is not an Emirati. She has also repeatedly claimed that there is cooperation between the brothel owners and the police and higher authorities.

I don't know that the GN reporters are particularly culpable, though. They do say they tried to contact Musabih, and she refused to comment, so they have kind of covered the question of balance. If the reporter was told to cover the story, the editors aren't going to let a simple thing like lack of balance stop them. I would imagine that the reporters were told the stories by the women, and probably convincingly enough. Of course, there are still some holes, like the question of how a woman without a passport and marriage certificate was able to give birth in a government hospital without being arrested?

Anonymous said...

There are more holes than a piece of emmenthal.

To anon at 15:38. No, I don't do conspiracy theories; I am merely pointing out that it is a question of balance, attribution and bias.

And, my friend, the story is NOT ok. Snufkin has identified at least two glaring omissions. If you are a casual reader, then that's fine – but if you are calling yourself a journo – well, there are some vacancies still left at Burger King.

Anonymous said...

The women's stories sound very plausible to me. You're suggesting they were put up to it? They sound like mothers willing to risk a great deal for the sake of their children. I hope this story helps the investigation into these ongoing claims.

See you at Burger King, thanks for the job lead.

Anonymous said...

There ARE jobs going at BK? Bastards lied to me!

Unknown said...

maybe it's gloomy, maybe the work is a disaster, but i disagree that it is sad all teh way.
take a look at this website i recently found - www.whattypeareyou.ae
a brilliant concept for the middle-east with some bloody good virals.

Anonymous said...

don't get me started on the fair and lovely ads. as a woman who worked very hard with brains to get to the place i am in life, i want to smash my tv everytime i see that patronising stupid ad, each one is more atrocious than the last.

Anonymous said...

The ad market is saturated by the Lebanese who hire their own friends and relatives regardless of talent or skill.

Anonymous said...

Got quite an interesting proposal-drum roll- ALCOHOL advertisement in the UAE!!!(am I allowed to say that on here...ALCOHOL)lol.

Digital Indoor Ads in washrooms of bars and clubs by a company called MInd. Interesting concept...what do you guys think?