Come October, strange things happen. Halloween is just around the corner. The sky changes color. The season unfolds a turn. Here in Dubai, it's Ramadan. Every one seems to be on a slower gear ratio. Some tempers are frayed. Some of the driving here in Dubai is more Dubai than ever – meaning it's suicidal at its best.
Advertising takes no backseat however. I remember Ramadan used to be a time of withdrawals. Ad people went on slow-mo because clients went that way. There was a burst just pre-Eid, but the rest was a blur between a day long fast, a hurried Iftar and a sumptuous Suhoor (the feast at night, the prep for the next day of nothing at all).
Things have changed. Ramadan is less working hours. More work. The lesser hours you work, the more stressed you are. tighter Deadlines get tighter. Schedules whirr by. Before you wink, it's Eid around the corner. It's a lunar phase. Just a few clockwise movements on the Panerai (not mine, my colleagues, fake from Karama).
But hey, I woke up. Early morning one Ramadan day (this morning actually) to the soothing but challenging prayer call I realized this was it. I had to kick start. Give up. Sacrifice. Stand by with my colleagues who are fasting in some way. Give up the couch, the bed, the Stella. Get steadfast on something. Ergo, I blog.
I am not an ad guy really. Or at least, I don't admit being one. I am free. Free of a career description, a job profile, an industry badge and a dna stamp that says – yew, adman. No, no such luck for you to heap insults on me. I am non competitive. I am not here to target you, your job, your creative work, your agency or your CEO. You will not find me on monster.com with a profile that's full of half-truths, half delusions of grandeur. I am the informed, inquisitive consumer. Here in Dubai. And I am awake, and no, I will not surrender. Are you ready?
Advertising takes no backseat however. I remember Ramadan used to be a time of withdrawals. Ad people went on slow-mo because clients went that way. There was a burst just pre-Eid, but the rest was a blur between a day long fast, a hurried Iftar and a sumptuous Suhoor (the feast at night, the prep for the next day of nothing at all).
Things have changed. Ramadan is less working hours. More work. The lesser hours you work, the more stressed you are. tighter Deadlines get tighter. Schedules whirr by. Before you wink, it's Eid around the corner. It's a lunar phase. Just a few clockwise movements on the Panerai (not mine, my colleagues, fake from Karama).
But hey, I woke up. Early morning one Ramadan day (this morning actually) to the soothing but challenging prayer call I realized this was it. I had to kick start. Give up. Sacrifice. Stand by with my colleagues who are fasting in some way. Give up the couch, the bed, the Stella. Get steadfast on something. Ergo, I blog.
I am not an ad guy really. Or at least, I don't admit being one. I am free. Free of a career description, a job profile, an industry badge and a dna stamp that says – yew, adman. No, no such luck for you to heap insults on me. I am non competitive. I am not here to target you, your job, your creative work, your agency or your CEO. You will not find me on monster.com with a profile that's full of half-truths, half delusions of grandeur. I am the informed, inquisitive consumer. Here in Dubai. And I am awake, and no, I will not surrender. Are you ready?
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I am awake, and no, I will not surrender. Are you ready?
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