All hail the King

It’s not every day you get to spend an afternoon with royalty. That’s exactly how some lucky shoppers spend their afternoon at the opening of the newest Burger King restaurant in Dubai Mall. After walking about 5km around the mall you tend to work up an appetite and what better way to calm that hunger than with a triple Whopper served by his royal highness. Long live the King!

Tonic sees RED

As far as I know, and I know, we are the first agency to shoot a TV commercial on the new RED Digital Cinema camera in the Gulf. Undoubtedly, this is the best camera we’ve ever used. As far as resolution, functionality and design go, this camera takes it to the next level. I really feel that using this camera has simplified the process, especially when it comes to off-line. Amongst some of the advantages, is that you can grade and edit on site and the resolution is so good, you can rack into a shot 5 times more than you could of on any other camera. These are just some of the advantages of using this amazing new camera.

As Scott Billups said on their site, "It's not that the RED is really that far ahead of the technological curve, it's just that everything else is so far behind."

We used the RED to shoot four new spots for Burger King with Zoe in Beirut. Currently the spots are in post-production, but they’ll soon be on our site and the blog once they’re done, so watch this space.

Tonic gets a taste of Riyadh

It took about six trips to the Saudi consulate and a lot of umm paperwork, but they eventually decided to give me a visa. It's not on the top of my list of must see cities, but our trip to Riyadh to see our Burger King clients was a fruitful and an educational experience. Apart from visiting the first Burger King ever in the Middle East, we had the opportunity to see the sights and sounds of a city that many people misunderstand. BTW, if you're going to drive, get life insurance :)

Boo

Today we all (well some of us) celebrated Halloween at the office. The best dressed prize goes to Medhat Amin who walked into the office pretty well pimped and the runner up prize goes to our resident Suicide Bunny Renata. Look out for them at a Halloween party near you :)

Diwali

I cannot believe it’s already been a year since we last lit up the office in colourful fairy lights and candles. This year we only had candles because he who shall not be named, tripped over them and broke them. Everyone, give a round of applause to Valerio.

Tonic Wins Global Sama Account

It has been one of the biggest pitches we have ever had, beating more than 60 agencies (five of which were networks) over a period of almost a year. This win adds a lot of credibility for us as an agency because it shows that we don’t just do work on international brands, but that we can work on a global brand that has international reach.

So how did we do it? The planners sent the creative’s a video of dolphins blowing air bubble rings. It was the perfect representation of the core idea for Sama: Given the ideal environment, you will flourish. Dolphins left alone to express themselves are a million times more creative than when asked to perform tricks devised by humans.

We are all pretty excited to dig our teeth into this one.

Culture Pub

Sacre bleu! One of France’s top online advertising communities Culturepub.fr is showcasing our old Nando’s Ramadan spot. After two years, it’s still as popular as ever with more than a million views online!

Tonic Iftar

In the spirit of Ramadan, the whole agency (Muslims and non-Muslims alike ) fast for the entire day and celebrate Iftar. This year we had it at the Al Manzil Hotel – the brand new hotel in Old Town situated in the shadow of the world’s tallest building, The Burj Dubai. Everyone had a great evening and a great Shisha :) and until next year, Ramadan Kareem!

BK Joe

For those of you who actually read our blog and don't just look at the pretty pictures, you'll know that we recently won the Burger King Account. A lot of people have been wondering what we'll be doing for them - wonder no more. Here are some of the first bits of creative done on this really great account with a lot of awesome work to follow.

These will roll out in Print, as Posters and Tray Liners.

Creative Director - Vincent Raffray
Art Director - Diya Ajit
Copywriter - Kris Richardson

Mural Drawing Fools

Our senior designer Rollan (aka Dogboy of The Brown Monkeys) and Art Director Diya (aka VJ *Chroma*) have teamed up with urban underground maestro Ubik (of Cliché magazine) to form the city's newest art collective : M.D.F (**Mural Drawing Fools**)- collaboratively conceiving and executing original contemporary wall art.

M.D.F has started getting commissions from the likes of The Jam Jar and Dubizzle.com and is currently producing 10 hip-hop inspired murals for local hip hop act Diligent Thought's latest music video- to be aired on MTV by the end of the year. As part of The Apartment Lounge & Club's new venture "Just Kidding"- a platform for art, music and fashion hosted at the club every Saturday, M.D.F did a live mural performance on a 2 metre x 1.2 metre sheet of reject construction material.



M.D.F is available for commissions and events. Email diajitt@gmail.com

Creatives at work

For the Rio Brothers and Andre, it was their first time in deep dark Africa. OK, it was South Africa and it wasn’t that deep or dark, but it was a great experience and enjoyed by all. The project - a new spot for Samsung Mobile. The location – Johannesburg. I guess their prayers were answered...


Although it was a tight shoot (in more ways than one), the boys did enjoy some downtime at a nearby reserve.

Tonicians at work

Look at the two of us, smiling, happy, light. This is after 2 days of strategic planning for BK and before tasting 9 new whoppers and 4 new side dishes. We will not show you the pic after the tasting. Just say I don’t want to see a whopper anywhere near my mouth for at least a week.

You got to give it to the BK guys, they are creative when it comes to beefing up their whopper. At least 4 kinds of cheese, avocado, potatoes, 3 kinds of chili, I lost count of how many sauces.

Burp!

Posted by Arnaud Verchere

The "No Fun" Diet

The after lunch “purge” wasn’t working very well, so a few creative’s have taken it upon themselves to get into shape using the Tonic “No Fun” Diet. I doubt any of them will manage to stay on it very long because they’re all sitting next to Dogboy and he loves food about as much as he loves design. Anything edible seems to vanish in the vicinity of his desk.

Maybe they just want to be healthy or maybe they’re anticipating all the work we’ll be doing on Burger King, whatever it is, as a supportive agency we’ll be sure to keep them as far away from anything that tastes good for at least a day, after that, they're on their own. Wish them luck.

What happens in Cannes…

This year we managed to rub shoulders with the best in the industry and get some serious “networking” done… ok, ok, we partied till the sun came up and went down again. We drank rosé like it was water and did a lot of things that I can’t really mention on this blog. But for those of you that made it a week to remember (you know who you are), thanks for the laughs, the fun and the memories and please allow us to reciprocate next time you’re in Dubai :)


The UAE and the region is just getting better and better, with a number of agencies shortlisted and a few winning Gold and Silver. The Film Gold and Titanium still eludes us though, but there’s always next year. 2009, here we come (Burp)...

Have a Tonic with your Burger

After many weeks of pitching, a shit load of Whoppers and a couple of trips to the States, we can finally announce the news that Burger King Middle East has appointed us as their creative agency… who's your daddy :)

This is probably the first time in the region that a global blue-chip brand has moved it’s entire creative account to an independent agency and hopefully it won’t be the last. We won against four other network agencies after a pretty intense pitch that included two rounds of reviews from BK regional head office and key franchises, as well as a final validation from BK’s US brand agency, Crispin Porter + Bogusky.

The decision by BK to give their account to us as an independent agency is a sure sign that the region is evolving. Regional marketers are beginning to realize the advantages of dealing with creative agencies that are producing daring and effective communication that finds its way into popular culture.

So soon, we’ll be entertaining you guys with some fresh, appetizing work made to order, the way only Tonic can deliver. Ok, too many puns, my bad.

Robotonic

Rob Gibbs, one of our Designers, recently designed the first designer toy in the Middle East. Only 800 pieces of this Limited Edition toy will be produced. The robot will come in various colours - pink, blue, black, cream and orange. A collaboration version will also be made with Dubai’s Design Collective, The Brownmonkeys. This unique toy will be available online at Kidrobot and various other designer toy retailers.

To commemorate the Middle East's first designer toy, the plan is to send out 100 blank robots to local and international artists, designers, typographers and agencies who will customize their robot and send it back where they will be exhibited and auction off for charity. For more info contact robot@tonicdubai.com

Designed by Robotandspark, sculpted by Tweekhed in the UK.

Samsung Vivace

For those of you that have worked with Korean clients before, you’ll know how difficult they can be sometimes. Our first job for Samsung was no exception. We were briefed to develop a campaign for their Vivace Air-conditioners. One of the key benefits of the AC Unit is that it can monitor your body temp while you sleep and adjust the temperature accordingly.

This spot is a step in the right direction and hopefully we can do better work for them in the future. The commercial was Directed by Alain Lambert and Produced by Zoe in Beirut.

A view from the top

This amazing shot has been doing the rounds and it gives you a pretty good idea how high the Burj Dubai really is. It's currently the tallest man-made structure in the world and it's due for completion in September 2009 (so they say).

Ummm

OK, ok after 4 Gold’s and a Bronze last year we were expected to do a lot better this year. I keep telling everyone that we were pitching hard to win new business, but know one seems to believe me, they just think we’ve run out of ideas. Watch this space and you’ll see what I mean.

At least we won something and our Clients Bafco and Bic should be proud of their Silver and Bronze Awards. All in all we had a great evening and this time next year, Tonic will be back on top - oh yes we will prevail… Congrats to JWT and FP7 for a job well done!

How we recruit Account Directors

It’s not easy finding great Account Directors in these parts, so in preparation for the Dubai Lynx Awards, we made some fake Tonic business cards. In place of the name, it read ‘your name here’ and Account Director underneath. We handed these out to all the good looking people during the festival, but during the actual awards evening, as JWT was announced Agency of the year, we ambushed their celebrations by throwing some of our fake business cards their way.

The response surprised even us :)

Talking the talk

This year Arnaud and I were invited by The Network One to speak at the Dubai Lynx Awards about all the fun we have being an Independent agency in The Middle East. In true Tonic style, Arnaud and I arrived a little unrehearsed to say the least, but we got our message across and judging by the laughter and the applause, our speech was well received. We hope our talk was a little inspiring if not entertaining. A big thanks to Julian Boulding from The Network One and everyone who attended the seminar.

Tonic Mascot

Wikipedia describes the term Mascot as any person, animal or object thought to bring luck. And after the month we’ve just had, we have to thank Lucy (the unofficial Tonic Mascot) for sharing some good luck and good old fashion Labrador love around the agency. Lucy has been at the office for more than a week now and we are seriously considering making her an official employee. The other day she even growled at a client when he asked us to make his logo bigger.

Radio for Art Directors

Recently, Tony Hertz was in the UAE doing his Radio for Art Directors workshop and if there's any place in the world that needs more help in producing better radio, it's Dubai. The workshop helps advertising agencies and clients alike find better ways of approaching radio advertising. I couldn't help feel though, that Tony was preaching to the converted. I wish there were more clients and stations in attendance. Never the less, it was an inspiring day and everyone left the workshop ready to produce the next award winning spot. I pulled the following ads off Tony's website. Enjoy.

For more info visit www.hertzradio.com

Do we have the hottest chicks in town or what?

Not only are our designers pretty hot, they can also do some amazing things with a piece of string, some tennis balls and a litre of petrol. They've taken their act from Diera, to Jebel Ali and for a small fee, they'll even do some private shows. For bookings, please contact the office.

Happy Valentines Day

Please send any letters of complaint to Renata, our little Anti Valentine cherub.

For a good cause

We take a lot of things for granted especially our sense of sight. For those people that are visually impaired, there are some wonderful organisations like the Al Noor Association for the Blind that are willing to lend a hand.

Our goal was to raise as much awareness as possible for the Al Noor Association for the Blind. Sleeping masks with a message that said, “What if you could never take these off” were placed in Business Class sections of selected airlines. Sleeping masks, which are handed out during most flights, represent a perfect opportunity to communicate with an affluent target audience. When these masks are placed over the eyes, you can just imagine what life must be like for a visually impaired person. A simple idea with a very powerful message.

Many thanks to everyone involved in making this campaign a reality.

Please show your support by visiting www.alnoor4blind.org.om

Bic Campaign

In true Tonic style and simplicity, we bring you our latest campaign – Bic. What a great brand and what a great client for allowing us to do work like this. If you say Bic to someone, immediately you think pens. After this campaign, people will know that Bic are more than just stationery. Carefully illustrated by Satwik Saraswati and Art Directed by Diya Ajit and Peter Walker, these ads give new meaning to simplicity. Visit www.bicworld.com for more details on Bic and their amazing range of products.

Animal rights and wrong

Not only are we lucky enough to live in a place where the sun shines almost every day, but we also get the opportunity to brainstorm on the beach and that’s exactly where we were when we came across this cheetah. Yes a cheetah on the beach, in the water, on a lead – only in Dubai. My dog was crapping itself. She belongs to one of the Sheiks that live nearby and her handler was taking her for a walk. The locals often keep wild animals and as an animal loving, vegetable eating (well almost) South African, I had a few words to say to the handler. A beautiful animal like this deserves to be running free in the bush chasing gazelles and climbing trees. It shouldn’t be someone’s play toy attracting attention on a public beach.

Fresh Stock

Finally a Middle East stock library that we can all use without having to stick needles in our eyes. A lot of thought has gone into the production of these images and for this region, it’s a breath of fresh air.

DarylStock is an image library focusing solely on the needs of the region and was passionately created by Dubai based photographer Daryl Patni. Over the years of shooting, Daryl noticed that local image libraries were basically crap and he
wanted to change all that by offering quality images. We think he’s made a good start.

Visit darylstock.com and check out the site.

What if... Instead of pitching for clients we asked them to pitch for us?

What would we ask? Is it really too arrogant? After all they do it all the time...even the most pathetic excuse for a client will dare ask 15 agencies to compete??? sometimes I wonder.

It’s not a joke, we are actually seriously considering asking clients to pitch for Tonic. Especially property clients who out number agencies 4 to 1 in this town. It could go like this:

• Send us the CV of the people who will judge and approve our work? We want a full organisation chart. Referrals would be much appreciated.
• What is your agency background? List the last three agencies you have worked with and the reasons the relationship ended?
• Why do you contact us and the other agencies on your short (hopefully)-list?
• What is the favourite campaign you have seen from us? The one you hate the most? Why? Please no less than 150 words per campaign, and no less than 3 per category.
• Do you think you can buy the work we will send your way?
• If you could work with any agency around the world, who would it be? Why do you think they would work with you?
• How much do you think you will have to throw at us to make us swallow our creative integrity?
• How much do you intend to spend in media, production, agency fees? What research model do you use to justify the breakdown?
• What are the criteria you will use to judge / evaluate / consider / dismiss our work?
• What remuneration principle do you recommend?

You might be laughing but wait until we start implementing this. In a town where every Tom, Dick and Harry thinks he can call an agency and have it begging to entertain him, it’s not so far-fetched a possibility.

Maybe it is time, we either introduce a pitch fee, like in any other developed market... or we introduce a client pitch concept.

What do you think?

A good dose of inspiration from Crispin Porter and Bogusky

There’s nothing like starting the new year with a little inspiration. And for me at least there’s no better inspiration than visiting what I think is the best agency on the planet: Crispin Porter + Bogusky. If you don’t know them, they are the guys who reinvented Burger King, launched the Mini and VA in the US, made millions stop smoking with the Truth and all this out of Miami.

So while I was on holidays in El Salvador, I decided to hop onto a plane and accept Chuck Porter’s invitation to drop by. I first circled around their office feeling the vibe. The kitsch pink flamingo fountain on one end and the giraffe trying to French kiss a horse on the other where good signs. Yet they did not prepare me for the gentle and humble attitude I found in CP+B. I guess these guys are so good they just don’t care about false airs of grandeur anymore, they are just chilled, polite and fun to be with. Mr. Porter was a pleasure to talk to and I almost wet myself when he said he liked our work. I only spent 90 minutes with him but this is going to stay with me until I am 90. Although he kept saying that they were only a small agency, I could not help thinking that I was in one of the biggest creative centres of the world. If they call themselves small...who the hell are we...

A few lessons for all of you aspiring to greatness out there: when you get there, don’t forget where you came from. This way I guess you can continue growing with the things that got you there in the first place.

Enjoy the pics from a humbled planner.

Posted by Arnaud Verchere