There's a new advertisement for Sharjah's major (only?) airline, Air Arabia, that's popped up on billboards and bus benches around town recently. It features a smiling man looking down at a small baby that he's holding in his arms. The text reads, "Get there on time. Air Arabia." I think I also saw some ads with the same image that said "Don't miss it. Air Arabia."
This advertisement struck me as a particularly UAE-ian construct. That ad is meant to appeal to the huge segment of the expat population here that is male, married, with a wife and kid(s) in a different country, most likely a country served by any one of Air Arabia's many low-cost, direct flights.
And according to Air Arabia, when those guys want to be there for the birth of a new baby, or soon thereafter, they can.
Is it just me, or would this ad fall flat on its face in the US? I know there are people in certain professions in the US (or Americans who work abroad) who do have to be careful about traveling home in time for major events like births on a regular basis, but surely there aren't enough to support a national ad campaign like the one that Air Arabia is running here. What do you think?
This advertisement struck me as a particularly UAE-ian construct. That ad is meant to appeal to the huge segment of the expat population here that is male, married, with a wife and kid(s) in a different country, most likely a country served by any one of Air Arabia's many low-cost, direct flights.
Is it just me, or would this ad fall flat on its face in the US? I know there are people in certain professions in the US (or Americans who work abroad) who do have to be careful about traveling home in time for major events like births on a regular basis, but surely there aren't enough to support a national ad campaign like the one that Air Arabia is running here. What do you think?