Toyota

Cannes Lions announces Tham Khai Meng as 2012 film and press jury president

editor — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 01:23:22 -0800

The Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity is pleased to announce that Tham Khai Meng, Worldwide Chief Creative Officer of Ogilvy & Mather, will head up both the Film and Press Juries at the 59th Festival, taking place in Cannes, France, 17-23 June 2012.

As stated by Advertising Age, Tham Khai Meng is considered 'one of the world's most influential people in the communications business'.

Making his mark at Leo Burnett London, he then progressed to Batey Ads where his work as creative director for Singapore Airlines is still regarded as a textbook case on brand building. He joined Ogilvy & Mather in 2000 as Regional Creative Director and Co-Chairman of its Asia Pacific network. The creative transformation he instituted led him to be named 'Creative Director of the Year' for seven years running by Campaign Brief Asia. Khai was inducted into the Campaign Brief Hall of Fame in 2008.

In 2009, Khai moved to New York to assume the duties of Worldwide Chief Creative Officer and Chairman of the Worldwide Creative Council at Ogilvy & Mather.

Khai has won every major advertising award, and the roster of accounts he has worked on represents a catalogue of the world's greatest brands, including American Express, Cadbury's, Coca-Cola, China Mobile, H. J. Heinz, Hewlett-Packard, IBM, Kraft Foods, Mercedes-Benz, McDonald's, Toyota, The Economist, Unilever Dove and United Nations, among others.

Khai has chaired many jury panels including serving as a Cannes Lions juror on the Press and Outdoor Lions in 2003, the Press Lions in 2007, the Titanium & Integrated Lions in 2010, and as President of the Film, Print, Outdoor, Radio and Integrated juries for the Dubai International Advertising Festival in 2009. He has won countless awards and grands prix over the years from every major show including Cannes Lions, D&AD, The One Show, the Clio Awards and London International Awards.

More recently, Khai’s counsel has been sought outside the industry. He has addressed the World Economic Forum (WEF), worked with the UN Secretary-General, and served on the Singapore Prime Minister's Economic Review Committee. He is a faculty member at Steinbeis University, Berlin, and a board member of Agencies in Action, a non-profit organisation that helps feed the hungry in New York City.

Commenting on his appointment Khai said, “Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity is the preeminent standard bearer for creative distinction in our industry. I am deeply honoured to be invited to chair the Film and Press juries and I look forward to working with some of the world's foremost creatives. Our role is not only to champion industry ideals, but to celebrate the brave ones who have deployed the highest creativity in the service of business."

Philip Thomas, CEO of Cannes Lions, added, “Khai has been a big part of Cannes for a number of years now. Whether as a jury member, a speaker or simply picking up numerous Lions, his stature within the industry is undisputed. Chairing two juries is no easy task but Khai's dedication and experience will be invaluable in both leading the juries and finding the winners. We are delighted to welcome him on board again.”

Global event app company appoints representative in Bahrain

Marie-Claire at SmartShow — Tue, 09 Aug 2011 01:19:42 -0700

SmartShow Ltd, the creators of ShowGizmo (the mobile app platform for events, tradeshows and conferences), is delighted to confirm that Megan MacLeod will be representing the company in the Kingdom of Bahrain from this month.

Founder & Managing Director of the PR Company Warren LacLeod, with a degree in Tourism & Hospitality and a 15-year career that spans New Zealand, Australia and Bahrain, Megan brings a broad and in-depth knowledge of Event Management, Public Relations, Corporate Hospitality, Sponsorship Exploitation and Marketing to the clients of SmartShow.

Bahrain based since 2000, Megan has managed a portfolio of more than 20 international brands, successfully launched over 30 new brands/products and planned and executed no less than 500 events in the past 8 years.

Previously working for the E K Kanoo Group as PR & Events Director, Megan directly advised Mr. Mohammed Kanoo (Chairman) on the Cross Divisional Group’s Events and Communications. Megan has worked with world-class brands such as, Toyota Panasonic Racing Team, Global automotive giants Toyota and Lexus, Volvo, Michelin, Luxury Group Estee Lauder (La Mer) and Sail Bahrain and Team Pindar, one of the world’s leading independent sailing teams. She’s now looking forward to the challenge of launching a new brand – ShowGizmo – into that hall of fame!

“I love events, but it’s all about the details! ShowGizmo makes it so easy to navigate any event, especially daunting exhibitions that cover a lot of space or outdoor events. The App allows you to locate areas and exhibitors, find people, see profiles, know what is on and when (so you don’t miss anything) and basically puts all the pieces of paper you are given at an event into a nifty device. Everything is accessible at the touch of a button, anywhere – even in the back of a taxi or in your hotel room!

I am thrilled to be promoting and representing ShowGizmo in the Middle East and even though Bahrain is a small market I know that this App will change the way we manage big events in the Kingdom.”

The timing of Megan’s appointment coincides with the Apple’s recent expansion of the App store to 33 new territories – including Bahrain.

Toyota dealer in Jordan pulls advertising campaign following criticism of its "suicidal theme"

editor — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 14:43:57 -0800

It has been reported that Al-Markazia, the exclusive dealer of the Toyota brand in Jordan, has stopped publishing an advertisement for its Toyota hybrid cars after being criticized from several newspapers and online news sites. The advertisement, which shows a man who is shooting himself with a gas pump nozzle, aims to highlight the rising prices of fuel in the Kingdom, thus promoting the savings to be made by driving a Toyota hybrid model. The advertisement copy says "Can't stand the price of petrol?".

There has been little or no comment from advertising professionals regarding this advertisement, but it appears that there has been an over-reaction to what is, essentially, a creative idea aimed at attracting attention and highlighting a product feature.

However, and due to the already ongoing national conversation in Jordan regarding the high prices of consumer goods, the levels of tolerance for this sort of creativity seem to be at minimum.

Click here to see an enlarged image of this advertisement.

Toyota | Hybrid offers

editor — Thu, 27 Jan 2011 02:20:27 -0800

Advertising Agency: IDEA JWT, Jordan

Via [ AdBlogArabia ]

Toyota | 24 carat gold

editor — Wed, 29 Sep 2010 04:04:33 -0700

Advertising Agency: Al Sayer Advertising, Kuwait

Via [Ads2Blog]

YouGov Siraj's BrandIndex announces latest Top 10 UAE brands

editor — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 08:19:52 -0700

BrandIndex is an international tool which has revolutionised the way businesses can measure the health of their brand equity. This state of the art brand barometer, produced by YouGov Siraj, gathers the daily views of UAE and Saudi consumers online across 200 brands.

Last July the Top 10 UAE brands were announced by YouGov Siraj and the results provided the market with a new type of benchmark through which to measure brand health relative to consumer perception.

The biggest and most impressive mover is Emirates Airlines. Last quarter the brand was in fourth place. It moved up by 9.2 points in overall index score, leap-froging the technology companies to first place. Tech heavy-weights Nokia, Google and Sony jostled in the same spots as Emirates climbed its way up to the apex of BrandIndex, ousting Nokia off the throne. Aside from this remarkable change in the top 4 rankings, the remaining three brands maintained their positions relative to each other.

Further stability in positions was reflected by Toyota, Mercedes and Microsoft as they maintained their exact rankings. BMW and Mall of the Emirates swapped as they moved up and down in reverse position to each other, and the newcomer, Lexus, entered the charts in 10th place, marked by the dissapearance of Deira City Centre.

Vivek Wagle, Research Director at YouGov, says: "Witnessing shifts of this character through the lense of BrandIndex signals a new way to keep track of brands in the UAE. Media clippers, analysts, brand managers, and stakeholders are now in a position to track top brands like Emirates as they commit to high level marketing and advertising budgets."

Looking at the line-up, a third of brands belong to the automotive industry which is to be expected in such a car dominated city. In June two malls were among the the UAE's brand giants, where shopping is a key aspect to life, Mall of the Emirates and Deira City Centre. Now only Mall of the Emirates remains in the top ten.

BrandIndex scores are aggregates of 6 profile indicators designed to measure the health of brand equity. These indicators are General Impression, Quality, Value for Money, Corporate Reputation, Satisfaction, and likeliness to Recommend. A brand's level of exposure in the media, public eye, and word of mouth is rated through a separate indicator, labelled Buzz, which is excluded from the overall BrandIndex score.

Toyota | Nizel Il Yabani

editor — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:16:27 -0700

Advertising Agency: JWT, Amman, Jordan

Toyota | More strenght and power than meets the eye

admin — Sun, 06 May 2007 22:05:26 -0700

Advertising agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Kuwait
Art Director: Peter Al Hajj

Toyota | Harder to catch on film

admin — Sun, 06 May 2007 22:01:43 -0700

Advertising agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Kuwait
Art Director: Peter Al Hajj

Toyota | No negatives, All positives

admin — Sun, 06 May 2007 21:39:08 -0700

Advertising agency: Saatchi & Saatchi, Kuwait
Art Director: Peter Al Hajj