Celebrating the spirit of Ramadan the Nando's way

Click here to view the ad (3MB)

Explains Vincent Raffray of Dubai-based advertising agency, Tonic Communications, "The amount of media money that is spent on creative work during the Ramadan period that just becomes wallpaper is absurd, especially when this holy season, rich in tradition and ritual, can inspire so many fresh ideas. It was this ancient ritual that stirred us to produce an ad... that would put a smile on people's faces, no matter where in the world they happen to be celebrating the holy month of Ramadan."

Previews of the advert to selected audiences, including Nando's Muslim employees, and an influential Islamic Body, confirmed that the ad was well liked by all.

Although Tonic, a Muslim co-owned agency, produced this ad for the Nando's Middle East market, according to Nando's senior international brand manager Sepanta Bagherpour, Nando's believes that it has such real and profound relevance to Muslims around the world, and is of such high creative calibre, that it is being flighted in South Africa as well to show gratitude to Nando's Muslim patrons during the holy month of Ramadan.

The advert will also be flighted in Saudi Arabia - Nando's Saudi management is so pleased with the advert that it has undertaken to flight it in the build-up to Eid in Saudi.

"This is fantastic news for us," says Raffray "It shows that we are more than capable of producing creative campaigns that have international appeal and acceptance. We are even more proud of the achievement as we were able to produce this ad in a very short space of time, thanks to Tim Smythe and his fantastic crew at Filmworks in Dubai. We hope that this level of creativity will inspire more agencies to produce better advertising the next time a Ramadan brief comes their way."

"For once Ramadan advertising is entertaining and relevant to its target audience," adds Bagherpour. "It's a nice break from the clichéd formula of 'crescent plus stars plus lantern equals a Ramadan ad'. Nando's always pushes the boundaries in creativity whilst remaining respectful and mindful, of all races, religions, cultures and creeds.

"I believe that, whilst this ad manages to do exactly that, its honesty and acute awareness of the issues around the fasting period, will bring a smile to the face of Muslims and non-Muslims alike. I also believe that it will trigger positive interest and curiosity among non-Muslims about the religious practices of Muslims thereby playing a meaningful role in celebrating diversity," he concludes.