MIDDLE EAST
FEATURE 19
21 December 2008
THE LEAKIES
LE
AK
IE
S
2008 was the year of the leak. F2008 was the year of the leak irst, The National editor Martin Newland was embar-
rassed by a leaked internal memo, in which he stated that the new paper would not
ruffle too many feathers upon its launch; then there were the disgruntled employ-
ees who allowed Media Week to peer behind the curtain at Al Jazeera English—the
station, we were told, was so badly managed that it regularly ran out of toilet paper;
another contender was the guest list leak for the Atlantis launch party, which cul-
minated in a hotel employee being taken into police custody. The recipient of this
year’s inaugural Leaky Award, however, goes to…
Award winner: When Virgin Radio DJ Revin John was fired for an on-air indis-
cretion, news about his sacking appeared first in Emarat Al Youm, a daily newspa-
per owned by Arab Media Group, licensee of Virgin Radio and the company that
firred Revin Jed Revin John. Bravo.
THE SLIGHT
GHT
ARARD
D
DO
WNGRADE A
W
Sadly, Sdl Medidia Weekk cannot corroborb ate rumors
that Nakheel is in the process of downgrading
The World (landmark property: the Isle of Dogs);
neither can we confirm that the Abu Dhabi me-
dia zone has downgraded its name to OneTwo27.
We can, however, exclusively reveal the updated
artist’s impression of this year’s Slight Downgrade
recipient…
Award winner: Dubailand
OUR
THE BLING OUT Y
DEAD A
WARD
As belts tighten, luxury marketers are having to retool their expecta-
tions—this fact, however, didn’t stop three blingtastic fashion acces-
sories from hitting the shelves in 2008…
Honourable mention: Givori describes its Nefertiti mobile phone
as “exuding the decadence and mystery of a bygone era”—referring,
presumably, to the era when Idiots Walked the Earth. A Nokia covered
in gold and Swarovski crystals, the ’titi will set you back Dhs16,000-
plus.
Honourable mention: Swarovski crystals also stud the gold paci-
fiers at Dubai retailer Baby Bling. The Dhs4,800 price tag might seem
a little excessive, but you really cannot put a price on the wellbeing of
our bratty, monstrous little ones.
Award winner: The one-of-a-kind Stuart Weitzman-designed ‘Cin-
derella Slippers’ come with 565 platinum-set Kwiat diamonds and a
ticket price of $2 million—a valuation that could increase five-fold if
the shoes are thrown at the head of George W. Bush.
THE ICONICS
Joint winners: Brad Pitt to Design Dubai
Iconic Hotel … Kazi’s Iconic Hotel Apart-
ments, Dubai … Dubai’s Iconic Business
Bay … Dubai’s iconic Burj Al Arab … Tameer
Holding has another iconic tower in the
works for Dubai called Anara Tower … Iconic
tower Emaar Burj Dubai … Dubai’s iconic
Palm Jumeirah … Index The Most Iconic
Residential Space, Dubai … The Vantage to
be iconic real estate development at Dubai THE FLA
LAC
CKIESKI
ES
Waterfront … the Dusit Dubai’s iconic archi-
tecture … Dubai’s iconic Jumeirah beach … The Middle East Public Reublic Relations Association has taken steps
The Iconic Marina Development in Dubai … to reform its image as a meeting ground for press-release-sau-
BurJuman, Dubai’s iconic shopping destina- sage-factory workers.
tion … Hydra launches iconic Twin Towers in Honourable mention: Mepra’s PR College, an idea that has been
Dubai … The Cube will be one of the iconic bandied about for a couple of years, was downgraded in 2008 to be-
towers in Dubai … latest iconic luxury resort come the world’s first PR Kindergarten. Already, according to school
Atlantis … Raffles Dubai iconic pyramidal administrators, local PR professionals are learning to spell difficult
edifice … Dubai’s iconic Emirates Towers … words like ‘groundbreaking’ and ‘unique’.
Dubai’s iconic Ski Dubai … Dubai’s iconic Award winner: An innovative keyboard, designed especially
Maze tower … iconic Dubai Pearl … The Torch for regional journalists by researchers at the Middle East Public
is an iconic super-tower ideally located at the Relations Association, will reportedly improve media productiv-
entrance to Dubai marina … Damac Heights: ity by as much as 98.7 per cent. Business writers at the UAE’s ma-
The iconic 90-storey tower … jor dailies, in particular, have hailed it as “a breakthrough”.
www.mediaweekme.com
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