Ad agencies seek limit on pitches


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Such codes have become increasingly common in more developed markets from South Africa to Europe. Last month, Belgium's advertising agencies launched a virtual strike, replacing their web sites with an open letter to clients in an attempt to get them to sign on to a rule limiting the number of agencies being asked to pitch, or make detailed proposals, for each job.

The call to bring such a code to the Middle East emerged during a debate on the opening day of the Dubai International Advertising Festival and the Dubai Lynx Awards. "It's perhaps time for the industry to dig its heels in and take a stance," said Ashish Banerjee, the vice president of brand at du. "But only as long as everybody who is part of the industry is prepared to go along with it, because the moment one agency breaks the ranks the whole thing will fall apart, as it has several times before."

He said the current culture of clients asking many agencies to pitch, sometimes as many as 15, has emerged because "the industry has allowed this to happen". "It's really up to the principals of the industry to figure out if there is a reasonable place to go with this, if there is a code of conduct that is robust enough that everybody would respect it," he said. Dr Lance de Masi, the president of the UAE chapter of the International Advertising Association (IAA), expressed support for such a code, adding that it had not been a part of previous attempts at regulation that Mr Banerjee was referring to.

"The IAA does support the idea that there needs to be guidelines in terms of pitches and pitch conducting," he said. "We have done some work on that, but we need to do more work on that." Malek Ghorayeb, the creative director at Leo Burnett Dubai, said his agency pitched 18 times last year. "That's two to three times per month," he said. "Imagine the amount of work." If more clients in the Middle East adopted policies of paying agencies for pitches, similar to those used in the field of architecture, the problem would be greatly reduced, he noted. Clients would be less tempted to tap so many agencies for each pitch and agencies would lose less time and money chasing after long shots.

No clients in the Middle East pay for pitches now, he said. Part of the problem comes from the transient culture of the UAE, where most of the big agencies and regional companies have their headquarters, several industry leaders said. Marketing executives who plan to be in the emirate for only two years are under pressure to make their mark on their company's advertising strategy and one of the easiest ways to do that is to call for a review of the strategy through a call for pitches.

"It's a money-driven thing," Mr Ghorayeb said. "By changing agencies, they can make new deals and lower their fees. If you don't want to take it at 10, I can't go to this guy and he will take it at eight. It's no longer about creativity and creative product, it's how much you are able to go down on your fees." @Email:khagey@thenational.ae

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Stars: Abdulaziz Almadhi, Mohammed Al Akkasi, Ali Al Suhaibani

Rating: 4/5

The years Ramadan fell in May

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Countdown to Zero exhibition will show how disease can be beaten

Countdown to Zero: Defeating Disease, an international multimedia exhibition created by the American Museum of National History in collaboration with The Carter Center, will open in Abu Dhabi a  month before Reaching the Last Mile.

Opening on October 15 and running until November 15, the free exhibition opens at The Galleria mall on Al Maryah Island, and has already been seen at the Jimmy Carter Presidential Library and Museum in Atlanta, the American Museum of Natural History in New York, and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine.

 

WOMAN AND CHILD

Director: Saeed Roustaee

Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi

Rating: 4/5

JAPAN SQUAD

Goalkeepers: Masaaki Higashiguchi, Shuichi Gonda, Daniel Schmidt
Defenders: Yuto Nagatomo, Tomoaki Makino, Maya Yoshida, Sho Sasaki, Hiroki Sakai, Sei Muroya, Genta Miura, Takehiro Tomiyasu
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Forwards: Yuya Osako, Takuma Asano, Koya Kitagawa

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Analysis

Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.

The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement. 

We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment. 

 

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While you're here
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
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Heavily-sugared soft drinks slip through the tax net

Some popular drinks with high levels of sugar and caffeine have slipped through the fizz drink tax loophole, as they are not carbonated or classed as an energy drink.

Arizona Iced Tea with lemon is one of those beverages, with one 240 millilitre serving offering up 23 grams of sugar - about six teaspoons.

A 680ml can of Arizona Iced Tea costs just Dh6.

Most sports drinks sold in supermarkets were found to contain, on average, five teaspoons of sugar in a 500ml bottle.

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How to protect yourself when air quality drops

Install an air filter in your home.

Close your windows and turn on the AC.

Shower or bath after being outside.

Wear a face mask.

Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.

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Anxiety and work stress major factors

Anxiety, work stress and social isolation are all factors in the recogised rise in mental health problems.

A study UAE Ministry of Health researchers published in the summer also cited struggles with weight and illnesses as major contributors.

Its authors analysed a dozen separate UAE studies between 2007 and 2017. Prevalence was often higher in university students, women and in people on low incomes.

One showed 28 per cent of female students at a Dubai university reported symptoms linked to depression. Another in Al Ain found 22.2 per cent of students had depressive symptoms - five times the global average.

It said the country has made strides to address mental health problems but said: “Our review highlights the overall prevalence of depressive symptoms and depression, which may long have been overlooked."

Prof Samir Al Adawi, of the department of behavioural medicine at Sultan Qaboos University in Oman, who was not involved in the study but is a recognised expert in the Gulf, said how mental health is discussed varies significantly between cultures and nationalities.

“The problem we have in the Gulf is the cross-cultural differences and how people articulate emotional distress," said Prof Al Adawi. 

“Someone will say that I have physical complaints rather than emotional complaints. This is the major problem with any discussion around depression."

Daniel Bardsley

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Cast: Loujain Adada, Zeina Khoury, Farhana Bodi, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Mona Kattan, and couples Safa & Fahad Siddiqui and DJ Bliss & Danya Mohammed 

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Sinopharm vaccine explained

The Sinopharm vaccine was created using techniques that have been around for decades. 

“This is an inactivated vaccine. Simply what it means is that the virus is taken, cultured and inactivated," said Dr Nawal Al Kaabi, chair of the UAE's National Covid-19 Clinical Management Committee.

"What is left is a skeleton of the virus so it looks like a virus, but it is not live."

This is then injected into the body.

"The body will recognise it and form antibodies but because it is inactive, we will need more than one dose. The body will not develop immunity with one dose," she said.

"You have to be exposed more than one time to what we call the antigen."

The vaccine should offer protection for at least months, but no one knows how long beyond that.

Dr Al Kaabi said early vaccine volunteers in China were given shots last spring and still have antibodies today.

“Since it is inactivated, it will not last forever," she said.

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