Emirati and Arabic television networks have something very special to sell this month - the annual Ramadan Arabic sitcoms and other family programmes in what is a peak viewing time. The shows bring in millions of dirhams in advertising revenue.
But I believe that money is being wasted as many of the campaigns seem to lack the information to encourage viewers to buy their products.
I was heading towards Abu Dhabi's Marina Mall last week to catch up with a friend, and I could not help but notice the faces of familiar television stars glued onto the lamp posts lining the path I took.
I cannot say that they did not grab my attention - they were in my face peeking from both sides of the street lamps. But I had no idea if these stars were hosting a programme, starring in a sitcom, or simply promoting the television network.
I met my friend and walked towards the restaurant we had picked for our lunch date and there they were again - the lamp -post stars. However, this time they appeared in the form of life-size, cut-out billboards scattered around each floor of the mall and in front of many of the escalators.
At some point during my time at the mall, these cut-out billboards freaked me out. I thought they were real people, looking down at me from the second floor. Small children, meanwhile, were having fun poking at the figures and trying to knock them over.
But I still did not know in which show these actors starred, and what was the airing time.
I headed towards the figure of a famous Emirati star, searched left and right for some information, perhaps a leaflet about the show to feed my curiosity. But there was nothing.
For someone who grew up watching Arabic sitcoms, I knew the billboards were advertising a Ramadan show, given the time of the year, and the familiar faces of Arabic stars.
My friend, another Emirati, also had no idea what those billboards were advertising.
She guessed they were either part of Abu Dhabi's summer festival programme, or a teaser advertisement for a telecommunications company that was trying to, as she stated, "rip her off". And still we do not know if she was right or wrong.
Maybe the networks' plan from the beginning was to tease people enough to log onto their websites and BAM TV Productions bombarded their screens with advertisement banners that will hopefully sell consumers something as they make their way to the show-timings webpage.
But my friend and I barely had time to make it to our lunch date, let alone to log on to television network websites to search for Ramadan show information.
However, given that the networks obviously paid stacks of money to have these figures placed in prime locations around the shopping mall, they could have at least provided some information for those who do not have time searching for it. They may have generated a large audience to tune into their shows - or they may not have.
Days later, haunted by those faces every time I stepped out of my house, I was still curious but thought that the networks were smart enough to hire people that would make sure all the information was provided for their target audience before the holy month got under way.
As I was grabbing a newspaper on the first day of Ramadan, a small booklet fell on my lap, and there they were again, the familiar lamp-post faces promoting Ramadan shows.
I was certain that by now, with the Holy Month now under way, they would have stated the show time, and the teasing period, if that is what it was, would be over. I flicked through the pages and quickly glanced through synopses of each show, but again no timings were shown, and there they had me. I gave up and was not going to bother any more. If they were not going to publish the timing of when the shows were on, why should I bother to watch?.
I put away that booklet, and went on with my work.
Some would argue that if I really wanted to watch these shows, I could have turned to the television show timings' page of the newspaper.
That is not the point. The advertisements lacked information. They had a few seconds to impress me - and they failed to grab my attention. Instead they annoyed me.
This is not the first time I have been teased - and then irked - by the lack of information in advertisements.
I cannot recall the number of times I have been made irritable by 30 or so words printed onto lamp-post advertisements that line Abu Dhabi's main roads.
How do they expect us to drive at a certain speed, keep an eye on the road, and read the text on the advertisement at the same time?
Or what about those who display the same uninformative advertising message through radio, television, newspapers, magazines and YouTube?
Stating the wrong message, or teasing the audience instead of informing them, are two things that bother me the most when it comes to advertisements in the UAE, because I know that so much better results can be achieved with what money has been lavished on creating them.
* Manar Al Hinai, an Emirati, is a fashion designer and writer based in Abu Dhabi. She was recently named an Arab Woman of the Year
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
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Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
Disclaimer
Director: Alfonso Cuaron
Stars: Cate Blanchett, Kevin Kline, Lesley Manville
Rating: 4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
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If you go
The flights
Emirates and Etihad fly direct to Nairobi, with fares starting from Dh1,695. The resort can be reached from Nairobi via a 35-minute flight from Wilson Airport or Jomo Kenyatta International Airport, or by road, which takes at least three hours.
The rooms
Rooms at Fairmont Mount Kenya range from Dh1,870 per night for a deluxe room to Dh11,000 per night for the William Holden Cottage.
From Zero
Artist: Linkin Park
Label: Warner Records
Number of tracks: 11
Rating: 4/5
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MATCH INFO
Fixture: Ukraine v Portugal, Monday, 10.45pm (UAE)
TV: BeIN Sports
The specs
Engine: 5.0-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Power: 575bhp
Torque: 700Nm
Price: Dh554,000
On sale: now
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Mountain%20Boy
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The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
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The specs
Engine: 3-litre twin-turbo V6
Power: 400hp
Torque: 475Nm
Transmission: 9-speed automatic
Price: From Dh215,900
On sale: Now
Petrarch: Everywhere a Wanderer
Christopher Celenza,
Reaktion Books
The specs
Engine: 2.7-litre 4-cylinder Turbomax
Power: 310hp
Torque: 583Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh192,500
On sale: Now
The specs
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Some of Darwish's last words
"They see their tomorrows slipping out of their reach. And though it seems to them that everything outside this reality is heaven, yet they do not want to go to that heaven. They stay, because they are afflicted with hope." - Mahmoud Darwish, to attendees of the Palestine Festival of Literature, 2008
His life in brief: Born in a village near Galilee, he lived in exile for most of his life and started writing poetry after high school. He was arrested several times by Israel for what were deemed to be inciteful poems. Most of his work focused on the love and yearning for his homeland, and he was regarded the Palestinian poet of resistance. Over the course of his life, he published more than 30 poetry collections and books of prose, with his work translated into more than 20 languages. Many of his poems were set to music by Arab composers, most significantly Marcel Khalife. Darwish died on August 9, 2008 after undergoing heart surgery in the United States. He was later buried in Ramallah where a shrine was erected in his honour.
WHAT%20ARE%20THE%20PRODUCTS%20WITHIN%20THE%20THREE%20MAJOR%20CATEGORIES%3F
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11 cabbie-recommended restaurants and dishes to try in Abu Dhabi
Iqbal Restaurant behind Wendy’s on Hamdan Street for the chicken karahi (Dh14)
Pathemari in Navy Gate for prawn biryani (from Dh12 to Dh35)
Abu Al Nasar near Abu Dhabi Mall, for biryani (from Dh12 to Dh20)
Bonna Annee at Navy Gate for Ethiopian food (the Bonna Annee special costs Dh42 and comes with a mix of six house stews – key wet, minchet abesh, kekel, meser be sega, tibs fir fir and shiro).
Al Habasha in Tanker Mai for Ethiopian food (tibs, a hearty stew with meat, is a popular dish; here it costs Dh36.75 for lamb and beef versions)
Himalayan Restaurant in Mussaffa for Nepalese (the momos and chowmein noodles are best-selling items, and go for between Dh14 and Dh20)
Makalu in Mussaffa for Nepalese (get the chicken curry or chicken fry for Dh11)
Al Shaheen Cafeteria near Guardian Towers for a quick morning bite, especially the egg sandwich in paratha (Dh3.50)
Pinky Food Restaurant in Tanker Mai for tilapia
Tasty Zone for Nepalese-style noodles (Dh15)
Ibrahimi for Pakistani food (a quarter chicken tikka with roti costs Dh16)
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
Tax authority targets shisha levy evasion
The Federal Tax Authority will track shisha imports with electronic markers to protect customers and ensure levies have been paid.
Khalid Ali Al Bustani, director of the tax authority, on Sunday said the move is to "prevent tax evasion and support the authority’s tax collection efforts".
The scheme’s first phase, which came into effect on 1st January, 2019, covers all types of imported and domestically produced and distributed cigarettes. As of May 1, importing any type of cigarettes without the digital marks will be prohibited.
He said the latest phase will see imported and locally produced shisha tobacco tracked by the final quarter of this year.
"The FTA also maintains ongoing communication with concerned companies, to help them adapt their systems to meet our requirements and coordinate between all parties involved," he said.
As with cigarettes, shisha was hit with a 100 per cent tax in October 2017, though manufacturers and cafes absorbed some of the costs to prevent prices doubling.