The Super Bowl is almost as famous for its multimillion-dollar television commercials as it is for being the annual finale of American football.
Brands paid US$3.5 million (Dh12.8m) per half-minute commercial at this year's game, clocking up millions of dollars more in production fees and payments to A-list actors.
With big bucks came big audience figures. This year's game, played in Indianapolis on February 5, was the most-watched TV show in American history, with more than 117 million watching in the final half hour.
In the Arab world's advertising industry, worth an estimated total of $4 billion annually for all forms of media, no single event comes close to the Super Bowl.
Such a festival of advertising would have to evolve over time, says Kamal Dimachkie, the executive regional managing director of the advertising agency Leo Burnett.
"I don't think if you impose on the region a Super Bowl event that advertising will immediately rise to play the role that it does for the [event] in the US," says Mr Dimachkie, one of the most prominent admen in the Middle East.
"What is interesting about the Super Bowl in the US is that the event, and the advertising punctuating it, has grown organically and evolved over time. This is what you need here," he says.
Despite the lack of a Super Bowl equivalent in the region, more Arab advertising is picking up international award shows such as Cannes Lions. Regional executives point to the growing role of commercials designed to entertain as well as to push products.
Mr Dimachkie tells The National how brands can make their mark in the Arab world, with or without a Super Bowl equivalent.
How important is the Super Bowl to the US advertising?
Life practically comes to a standstill during the Super Bowl. It's something that almost the entire North America looks forward to on an annual basis. And a lot of brands go to tremendous expense in order to make sure they put their best foot forward.
What Super Bowl adverts strike you as being particularly memorable?
Look at Apple's 1984. This ad was developed at a cost of millions, and it was screened only once, at the Super Bowl. Obviously we've all seen it many, many times over the years. But that ad was [shown as a paid-for commercial] only once, and it served its purpose [as] almost a once-in-a-lifetime event. And it was certainly well worth it for Apple and, back then, Steve Jobs [the late co-founder of the company].
Is it right that Super Bowl advertisements get almost as much attention as the game itself?
I'm not surprised. I think it's wonderful for advertising to have such high entertainment value … It's all competing for our attention. We [all] have a limited attention span, and we are going to award our attention to those events, those brands that are most qualified to earn it.
Do you agree that advertising in the Arab world is not talked about in the same way as it is in markets such as the US?
If you look at the average, that's probably [right]. You need to have homogeny and uniformity in culture in order for advertising to play the role that you would expect it to play in places such as the US and UK. But I think within this environment there are major differences. Places like Egypt and Lebanon stand out, in the sense that there is more engagement between advertising and the local population.
Can you give any examples of Middle East advertising that stands out as entertainment in itself?
There are a lot of examples, from clients such as General Motors, du and more recently McDonald's. If you look at a single example, where the communication was really tailored to the event, it is the commercial we developed for Qtel earlier this year for the Arab Games. That was a piece of communication that - though not necessarily amusing or funny - had an entertainment value and message very consistent with the time. It reminded all Arab participants that this is a good time to be an Arab.
Super Bowl advertisements cost millions of dollars a minute. Do Arab brands have high enough budgets to spend on such events?
If you look at why brands pay the premium they do for the Super Bowl, it is because of the return they get. When the economy is not doing so well, every single chief executive is challenged … to demonstrate bottom-line return. Yet if you look at what they do and the amount of money they pour into it, you realise that it is an event they cannot afford to miss. So if the region is capable of producing an event [such as the Super Bowl], then I think you will find that, perhaps slowly but surely brands will make their way into that event and want to be associated with it.
bflanagan@thenational.ae
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
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The specs: 2017 Dodge Ram 1500 Laramie Longhorn
Price, base / as tested: Dhxxx
Engine: 5.7L V8
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 395hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque: 556Nm @ 3,950rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 12.7L / 100km
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Winners
Best Men's Player of the Year: Kylian Mbappe (PSG)
Maradona Award for Best Goal Scorer of the Year: Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich)
TikTok Fans’ Player of the Year: Robert Lewandowski
Top Goal Scorer of All Time: Cristiano Ronaldo (Manchester United)
Best Women's Player of the Year: Alexia Putellas (Barcelona)
Best Men's Club of the Year: Chelsea
Best Women's Club of the Year: Barcelona
Best Defender of the Year: Leonardo Bonucci (Juventus/Italy)
Best Goalkeeper of the Year: Gianluigi Donnarumma (PSG/Italy)
Best Coach of the Year: Roberto Mancini (Italy)
Best National Team of the Year: Italy
Best Agent of the Year: Federico Pastorello
Best Sporting Director of the Year: Txiki Begiristain (Manchester City)
Player Career Award: Ronaldinho
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Our legal consultant
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants
The specs: 2018 BMW R nineT Scrambler
Price, base / as tested Dh57,000
Engine 1,170cc air/oil-cooled flat twin four-stroke engine
Transmission Six-speed gearbox
Power 110hp) @ 7,750rpm
Torque 116Nm @ 6,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 5.3L / 100km
