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Samy Abdel Aziz, chairman and CEO of TBWA/Egypt
The true values of the Holy Month of Ramadan are often forgotten in the midst of the debate over the advertising that takes place during this period. The sad part of the story is that a lot of these campaigns – the work of expatriate creative geniuses who have been parachuted into the Arab world as part of commando operations to capture a share of a promising sales season – tend to annoy the fasting population rather than appealing to their cultural sensitivity.
Ramadan is the only month during which the whole family comes together. The Muslim world is unified through fasting during the day. But nighttime brings a different aspect of unity to the table, with the whole family gathering to end their fast and spend endless hours together watching the best drama and variety shows that networks offer during the month.
For advertisers here, Ramadan presents an opportunity to reach the biggest and most diverse number of viewers possible (much like the Super Bowl in the United States), from all segments of society. In Egypt, it is estimated that more money is spent on advertising during the 30 days of the Holy Month (or in the four hours after breaking of fast each day), than in the rest of the 335 days of the year.
There is no doubt that Ramadan is a test, not only of the religious beliefs of the Arabs, but also of their ability to withstand an excess of advertising, which is often dominated by clichéd ads featuring crescents and lanterns.
Some advertisers and ad agencies manage to capture the spirit of the month. Rather than superficially focusing on Ramadan symbols and contrived comedy, they concentrate on corporate social responsibility initiatives that help improve their image while trying to help the needy.
For example, Henkel launched a campaign for its dishwashing liquid Pril in 2009. The company tried to share Ramadan goodwill with consumers by donating 5 percent of sales to the less fortunate via a well-known charity (The Food Bank). The previous year, Pril had provided 200,000 iftars to the needy, and was successful in increasing these to 500,000 in 2009. By launching this thoughtful Ramadan campaign, Pril managed to increase its sales, by 29 percent.

Ghassan Kassabji, managing director of TBWA/Raad/Saudi Arabia
In Saudi Arabia, as in the rest of the GCC, heavy promotional campaigns take place during Ramadan, supported by a variety of creative executions. Many are conventional, using traditional Ramadan symbols such as lantern, crescent and night themes in the visual backgrounds. Others embody the spirit of Ramadan, starting from catchy, religiously inspired headlines to actual brand activations involving the whole family.
Brands that are able to truly integrate the meaning of Ramadan in their communications will score the highest with Saudi consumers. Such brands will also get involved in Ramadan activities that benefit charities such as the women-only annual “Bisat el Reeh” event organized by the Saudi Home and Health Care organization. The event attracts more than 5,000 women over a three-day period to a bazaar, with proceeds going to charity.

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