Thursday, November 14, 2013
The man behind the most-talked about ad in Dubai has urged UAE advertisers to get more creative, as he admitted to 7DAYS that he might not actually endorse the striking slogan on his firm's much-discussed artwork.
The huge ad bearing the legend 'Keep Calm, there's no bubble' that has gradually taken shape on the side of an office tower in Dubai Media City this week has set social media alight - which was very much the hope of Michael Lahyani, founder and CEO of real estate portal propertyfinder.ae.
The ad - and its bullish dismissal of fears the emirate's property market is headed for another crash - has had Sheikh Zayed Road users craning their necks this week, and Lahyani says that despite some criticism the attention-grabbing stunt has done its job.
"The purpose of an ad is that people remember it," he said. The well-known 'Keep Calm' slogan was first used by the British government ahead of the Second World War in 1939.
"Everybody is a bit of a real estate agent in this city and everybody is talking about 'is there a bubble, is there no bubble' so we thought using that famous 'Keep Calm' poster was a really nice way to stir up the discussion and it seems to be working." It certainly does - with social media users seemingly split on the merits of ad's message. One 7DAYS facebook user dubbed it "the lamest ad ever" another noted "the fact that so many people are commenting, sharing and liking goes to show the ad was a success".
For his part Lahyani is pleased with an ad he says differs from other "bland" efforts.
"We are trying to make advertisements a little bit more fun - people are always playing it very safe here. People don't want to really take risks in advertisements," he explained. Work on the ad began "less than a week" after the Propertyfinder boss first had the idea, and the final panels of the design will be added to the firm's HQ at Shatha Tower in Media City on Thursday. And how much has it cost?
"Nothing comes cheap in Dubai, right?" the real estate expert replied. However, perhaps confusingly, Lahyani claims he isn't promising property buyers that the Dubai market isn't heading for a bubble.
"That's not what I am saying with this. The idea here is not to convey a message about the fact that there is no bubble. It is just to kick-start the discussion in a little bit of a daring way. I am no guru. I don't have a crystal ball. And I don't claim to know better than anyone else."
The ad is set to stay in place for a month and Lahyani said he has "another couple" of ideas that could succeed the current design. Again, he emphatically told 7DAYS: "I am not taking any position at all on whether there is a bubble or not."
Maybe not, but his ad is...
© 7Days 2013
