Ramadan is a wonderful month, a time of spirituality for the world’s Muslims. It’s also the time of year when the advertising rules change as Muslims fast during the daylight hours and look to spend their nights either with family or in prayer.
In keeping with reaching out to Muslims, advertisers need to be ever-aware of religious sensitivities. Brands often feel the need to make a change to their ads. One such change, which was spotted by Dubai-based communications professional Mohammed Kharroubi, involved the retailer Carrefour. Spot the change below.
Brands sometimes get things horrendously wrong. Another company, the U.K. retailer Tesco, made a huge faux-pas when they promoted smokey bacon-flavor Pringles as part of a Ramadan promotion. The below image went viral and has resulted in mass media coverage in the UK.
And then, there’s the bizarre. According to Dubai-based marketing consultant Hussein Dajani, McDonald's has been running advertising for its breakfasts this month on the radio on Dubai. Unfortunately, Muslims fast during the day, and most of the McDonald's restaurants serving breakfast will be closed.
With Ramadan, it really does seem that while some brands are able to adapt and thrive, others need to do their homework. What are your thoughts? And do you have your own examples of successful and unsuccessful Ramadan advertising?
Our twice-a-month installment from Alex of Arabia , a blog featuring commentary on the media and marketing industry in the Middle East.