MIDDLE EAST
AD WEEK
CASE STUDY
Off-road thinking
Team Y&R’s Land Rover campaign went well off the
beaten track, ignoring convention and the brief
WHEN TEAM Y&R was charged with possessive about trees in their territory.
creating—well, adapting—a new Land Malaria shot recommended.”
Rover corporate campaign, creative director Similarly, for salmon it’s recommended
Shahir Ahmed wasn’t exactly jumping for we head to the Kenai Peninsula in Alaska, for
joy. “We had to follow the US campaign, venison, the Patagonian plains of Argentina,
which was based around the line ‘Designed and for eel, why not try Lake Naroch in
for the extraordinary’,” he says. “In the States, North Belarus? (“Winter in this province
of course, they were producing a TVC. We can be unforgiving. Pack accordingly,” the
didn’t really have that kind of money here.” understated copy reads.)
Which meant Ahmed and his team “We didn’t have $100,000 to shoot an ad
could look forward to receiving a bunch on a German highway or next to a volcanic
of stock shots, a tagline and being told to eruption in Fiji,” Ahmed says. “And we didn’t
come up with a headline. “The main brief want to produce just another ‘adapted’
was to do something which captured the ad, which is a look you can’t really avoid if
classic Land Rover spirit of adventure, you have to use stock images. We wanted
but make it relevant to the jet set over to avoid the obvious. So we didn’t show
here,” he says. “Land Rover is a premium any cars and we didn’t talk about cars. We
product now, it’s not just dirt and mud credited the audience with intelligence.
and a pride of lions in Africa. There has to “The campaign’s very tongue in cheek,”
be an element of luxury.” he continues. “But it’s saying that we know
There were certain restrictions besides the target audience has an extraordinary
budget. “The mandatories were: Show the lifestyle and will go to extraordinary lengths
car. Include the tagline,” says Ahmed. “We to fulfil that. At no point does it say you
did include the tagline.” must go to these places. But there’s a kind
What the agency came up with instead of tacit agreement. We know you’re going
of stock photos of a shiny new Land Rover to go, because that’s the kind of spirit you
in some ‘adventurous’ location was a have. It’s unspoken. It’s not explicit. Which I
campaign based on something not often think, overall, is very rewarding. ”
associated with free spirits heading off into Ahmed is quick to credit Land Rover’s
the wild: recipes. “amazing” regional marketing director
There are four ads, “Salmon”, “Eel”, for giving the campaign the go-ahead. a risk, your client might jump with you and we stand for. If you have the same spirit
“Lychee” and “Venison”. None include a “Usually, if you just go off-brief like this,” take that risk as well,” he says. “If I were to and you connect with this, then you are
picture, nor even any mention, of vehicles. he says, “clients get really p*ssed off. We do a ‘proactive’ campaign for Land Rover— the person we’re talking to. If you do not
Instead, each contains a relevant recipe used pretty much all the deadline and only I’m not saying I would, of course—then this connect with this, then this isn’t the brand
for—and picture of—the featured animal or came up with this one campaign which is exactly what I would do. But if we can do it for you.’”
fruit, beside smaller copy explaining where doesn’t even mention the car. But she with real day-to-day work, where the client It wasn’t just the regional marketing
to find the best examples of each, with GPS totally loved it.” gets the benefit of our thinking and our director who loved the campaign. Ahmed
coordinates. And that’s where the adventure And the campaign, Ahmed says, is ideas, and the consumers are satisfied, it’s says the company voted it the best Land
comes in. Quality lychees, we’re advised, proof that the oft-repeated complaint that a win-win situation. Rover work of 2008 in its review. But that, he
can be found in the jungle around Borneo. regional agencies are kept from doing great “We’re very proud of the work,” he feels, may be the only award it wins.
“The best lychees are three days’ journey work (outside of ‘proactive’ ads) by the continues. “It’s all about the audience “It probably won’t win anything, because
inland and easy to find,” the ad explains, conservatism of clients isn’t necessarily and the brand. It pares everything else it’s not scam,” he says. “And there are too
before warning, “Orangutans are fiercely valid. “This just goes to show that if you take away—including the car. It’s ‘This is what many bloody words.”
TALES FROM THE TRENCHES
shooting again. Then, at midnight,
The longest day
the owner of the villa—a local
guy—turns up and tells us he’s
changed his mind. He doesn’t
Edan Aggarao, regional creative director of AGA
want us shooting there and we
have to get out. That’s when the
ADK, explains how not to shoot a TVC
director walked out.
So now we’re stuck with
nowhere to shoot and no
WE WERE doing a TVC a few months back setting up, getting the models ready. director. And we haven’t done
that was meant to be a series of scenes Just a real lack of coordination from the the product shot. The director of
of people enjoying this new product—I production crew. Some of the props we photography steps up and says
don’t want to name the client—in a were meant to use—background stuff he’ll finish the shoot. He has a
variety of locations. We started shooting like a chart for the ‘office’—weren’t there friend who owns a warehouse
at 4am in Lulu behind Mall of the and we had to go and find a supplier. in Al Quoz. So we pack the gear,
Emirates. We’d hired the place until 7am, Lots of little things that just added up grab one of the models and dash
and everything went fairly smoothly— until it was obvious we were looking at a off. Finally, over 24 hours since
although we were an hour behind by the 24-hour shoot, at least. we started, we finish the shoot.
time we’d finished. By early evening, the models were Unfortunately, because it was
Then we shifted to a large villa that getting restless. “It’s going on forever. so rushed, it’s not good enough.
we’d rented. It had everything we needed You’re going to have to pay us more And the producer refuses to
to shoot the other scenes. One of the money.” So the director, the producer release the film. Again, our CEO
rooms was for the ‘office’ shot—it was and the models start arguing about and our regional director have
done out like a meeting room—another whose fault this is, and—of course—that to use their charm. After a few
of the media bookings that had originallf th di b ki th t hd ii lly
was a dining room for the ‘happy family’ causes further delays. awkward email exchanges, the original
been scheduled.
shot, etcetera. Finally, thanks to the diplomatic director agrees to finish the film in Beirut
Eventually, we did end up with the TVC
This was when the trouble started. charm of our regional director and our with his own production crew. These
we wanted. But we won’t be using that
There were so many unforeseen delays: CEO, everyone calms down and we start further delays meant we missed some
production house again. Or that villa.
www.mediaweekme.com 25JANUARY 2009 / 25
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