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Showing posts from September, 2011

AMBIENT... Welcome to Oman!

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Hala! Putting my 'ambient advertising' hat on for a change. We don't see much of ambients in the GCC as much as we do overseas, maybe 'cause we have alot of restrictions or maybe 'cause Arabs don't interact as much. People are not exposed to such things, and are a bit hesitant to go and ask or be part of, but nevertheless, this ambient idea kicks ends! So, What's  Ambient advertising?  Ambient advertising  slowly started making itself known towards the late 90's. It refers to all advertising that is out of home and non- tradtional - it is exciting, fun, targeted and engaging.  Alright, moving along.. This ad is for General's New Super Cooling (Super Wave/Super Power/ Super Quiet) Features: 5 speed control 30% improved powerful airflow 15m Long-reach airflow. (Excuse the quality of the pictures.. I only have those two crappy ones. I got caught by security. No pictures are allowed to be taken inside the mall -

Arabic Laziness!

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Hello, Went to Carrefour the other day for some grocery shopping. Found this roll-up banner on the way out. Not bad. The msg is clear. The design is simple. The font is....... WHAT?! Ok guys, I gave you credits for the design, clarity, legibility, and concept overall, but why isn't the Arabic font matching the English? The English and Arabic copy are acting as a unit, which is great! Shouldn't the English and the Arabic fonts be the same in design since they both convey the same msg? The English font is fantastic! You used some handwriting font on a post it, BRILLIANT and makes complete sense, but couldn't you copy the same for Arabic? It's easy to do on Illustrator; outlines the selected font, then start drawing those 1/4 hatches! Nothing else to say. Obviously the main design concept was executed in English then the Arabic translation was added to it. "Call us we'll answer" is another example at the bottom of this same banner! The Ar