TOP 10 THE SPIN

1 Something tells us this image from Milton’s Lebanese Instagram feed was photoshopped. We just can’t quite put our finger on it, though. 2 The Spin bought a puppy on Dubizzle recently, after seeing this ad. It’s not very good at playing fetch, and its bark sounds a little unusual. 3 The Spin is scratching our enviably hirsute heads over this ad for a hair transplant clinic. Perhaps riffing on the #metoo movement against sexual harassment is not the best marketing ploy of the year. 4 “I thought the guy in the new du promo looked familiar,” wrote our spotter. Well, there’s nothing wrong with one model posing for separate brands. It’s not like they are competing or anything. 5 The Spin knows we shouldn’t be laughing at the unfortunate name the Indian Society of Pedodontics and Preventive Dentistry gave its annual conference. But we can’t help ourselves. 6 Rahul Gandhi, the president of the Indian National Congress, recently visited Dubai. And The Spin’s spotter was glad to see that he took the time to visit some Smurfs while he was in town. 7

Josh Thompson, (former) copywriter at FCB New Zealand, found out he was about to be laid off. And what did he do? He brought an emotional support clown to his redundancy meeting. You certainly can’t fault the guy for lack of creativity on the job, even when on his last legs.

According to The Guardian, the agency had lost a big client that resulted in a string of layoffs, including that of Thompson, who had been with the company for five months. Thompson had received an email from his bosses that read: “Bad news. We’re having a meeting to discuss your role.”

Instead of bringing in a family member or a puppy, Thompson hired a clown for NZ$200 ($128) dressed in a colourful hat/wig for the meeting. The clown was said to have “crafted balloon animals throughout the meeting, including a poodle”. The report added that the clown’s antics were “squeaky, and Thompson’s bosses had to request he quieten down several times”. At one time, the clown was also said to have mimed crying when the redundancy paperwork was being handed over. The New Zealand Herald reported that Thompson has since secured a new job at DDB along with his creative partner (sadly, not the clown) and they are set to start their roles this week.

8

March 8 marked International Women’s day, and this year the official theme was: “Think equal, build smart, innovate for change”. The UN said this “puts innovation by women and girls, for women and girls, at the heart of efforts to achieve gender equality”.

But there didn’t seem to be much innovation in The Spin’s inbox. More, we were disappointed to see, the same hackneyed old pinkwashing at best, and some pretty retrograde stereotyping at worse. In no particular order, we’d like to offer these examples:

Exhibit A: A supermarket whose Facebook page claims that: “Women have played a pivotal role in shaping the world we have today and to celebrate that, we are offering up to 50% OFF on beauty products, electronics and so much more.” The accompanying picture shows such empowering items as a blender, a mixer and hair straighteners.

Exhibit B: The jewellery brand that this March “salutes all empowered women” with 10 per cent off their signature range of shiny things.

Exhibit C: The Philippines real- estate developer that simply titled its email “Happy Women’s Month”, with no further reference to the subject.

Exhibit D: The Dubai café that claims:

“This International women’s Day just got better as we celebrate the social, economic, cultural and political achievements of women around the world.” It explains that “In honor of amazing women” it is giving out free coffee that day. Apparently said café will “welcome you warmly, revive you and send you on your way to continue your shopping”.

Of course everyone had learned their lesson by October when it came to breast cancer awareness. There was no random pinkness for the sake of jumping on the bandwagon without taking the mores of sensitivity and good taste into consideration. Oh, no, wait… Our mistake. It was just as bad. 9 In case you were wondering whether the Middle East Investor Relations Association conference and awards were open yet, we suspect that one changed letter might be giving you the wrong answer. 10

The Spin is somewhat concerned by the name choice of the “world’s most expensive perfume”. If you were going to spend AED4.75m on a bottle of scent, you’d want it to be called something more glamorous that Schumukh, wouldn’t you? The Spin hopes that first ‘U’ isn’t silent.