Abu Dhabi: A member of the Federal National Council on Tuesday quizzed the telecommunications regulator on an advertisement released by du last month and showed at cinemas but later withdrawn by the company after it was criticised by viewers on its contents.
Hamad Al Rahoumi, a member from Dubai, told the House that he was dismayed by the “appalling” ad that contradicts our values and traditions.
“I was appalled by the harrowing ad, but the encouraging side was that it was rejected by all young and old alike,” Al Rahoumi said.
The advertisement titled ‘The man sitting next to you,’ made by Leo Burnett Dubai for ‘du Tuesday offer’ was meant to not only promote du’s ‘buy one get one’ promo for movies, but also to strike a relevant chord among moviegoers.
It played on a very satirical tone about the cinema ‘faux pas’ one faces while watching a movie in the cinema house, including flying popcorn and loud-mouthed crunching to bad smells and loud slurping.
The ad addressed all of these inconveniences in an extremely exaggerated manner that did not go well with some UAE residents.
Al Rahoumi asked how can such an ad with horrendous content be approved by an Emirati official. “Moviegoers, young and old, were shocked by the awful ad and asked that it be removed from cinemas immediately,” he said.
On Twitter, moviegoers across the UAE, especially citizens, took offence to some of the bad habits portrayed in the ad, describing its content as “inappropriate behaviour” that gives the country “a bad reputation.” Others thanked du for taking their comments into consideration and removing the ad from theatres.
Hamad Al Mansouri, head of the Telecommunications Regulatory Authority (TRA), echoed the same sentiments and said the content of the ad was not approved by the regulator. “These ads should have been approved by the National Media Council before they are shown. It seems, however, it was not presented to the National Media Council either,” Al Mansouri said.
He added an investigation was conducted into how it was shown without a permit from the NMC.
In response to the viewer’s complaints, du released a statement on Twitter: “We are aware that our ‘Man sitting next to you’ ad was loved by some but criticised by others. The purpose of the ad was to highlight some of the bad habits that are practised by some moviegoers in hopes that it helps enhance the movie experience to all movie lovers in the UAE.”
It added: “However, we’ve heard your comments and decided to remove the ad from theatres out of respect to you.”
