To Hell with Stereotypes

Dubai encourages stereotyping. Not intentionally perhaps, but it peddles a particular image that has led to it. It’s an image of preserved culture set amidst dynamic modernism. It’s far from the complete picture, of course, which is why so many superlatives and clichés about the emirate fall well short of satisfactory reportage. I wrote about this once before, only through the prism of music. There is a far greater diversity of people and environments than the city is credited for. 

So it’s hardly surprising that the advertising industry is confused, at least in part. It frequently straddles the no man’s land between the perpetuation of nonsense and an aping of the West that has often led to nothing but meaningless mimicry. It’s surreal. Skyscraper-sized building wraps promising to change your entire life, not just your morning ritual. Banks offering you the world on a stick via a falcon and some rolling sand dunes. The red, luscious lips of a beautiful woman tantalisingly seducing a can of soda on Sheikh Zayed Road. 

But I’m doing agencies a disservice. They’re much worse. Haram, I jest. The standard of work has improved significantly over recent years, with Dubai-based agencies regulars on the global stage and capable of winning its highest honours. Only the likes of a Grand Prix at Cannes have remained tantalisingly out of reach. Reduced budgets and increased workloads maybe hampering progress, but genuinely brilliant work is being produced by a coterie of highly talented individuals and teams.

Despite the clichés and stereotypes, Dubai is a complex and fascinating place to live and work. It can introduce you to a diverse group of individuals from across the world, who will have had a huge impact on your life if you let them.