Bottom 5 UAE Brands 2006

The choice of the bottom brands may not be a popular one but some thought have gone into the why of it. They may not even be inconspicuous brand rather they are the ones screaming at you, either from billboards to headlines and perhaps that is why they are noticed, or rather tolerated!
2. Etisalat – Etisalat is definitely not even an also ran if we count people’s favourite brand or firm. Yet the logo and the by word Reach tries to do some damage control, albeit – quite poorly..

If previous Etisalat logo was a dull reminder of whatever they do you got to accept it kind, then the new one reminds me of mint "chloromints". Ones you still need to digest, come whatever may!

Couldn’t think of a better sentence.. however, one of their ads using the logo as a post-it note was smart and well designed!! (sometimes you got to give credit where it is due, even if its Etisalat!!!)




2. du - Whether DU stands for Dubai or Dual (as with Etisalat) or Dubious, is still unknown! However, what I Du know is the logo is a classic example of very poor trademark attorney's work.

Ofcourse, legally a logo can still be copyrighted, but from a pure aesthetic and intellectual property view - the logo should either be Trademarked (TM) or a registered mark (R).
Because this does not appeal to a young and learning IP Agent, that I am, DU makes it to my poor brand of the year.


3. Khaleej Times - A newspaper font, that has a palm tree, a dhow and a chimney (definitely from an oil rig) should actually be very good combination and a fairly decent logo, if not innovative. It reflects the culture and the industry that it thrives on.

So the choice of KT in a poor logo is surprisingly. The nomination has thus other factors too. The choice has more to do with KT being associated with self-glorification, poor journalism and yes, news headlines that leaves little room for imagination san words. The Prophet of Islam is credited with the gift of saying far more with fewer words. KT takes the opposite view.

And when the nation changes its outlook, the logo stands old - the three new symbol could very well be Skyscraper, traffic on SZR and inflation chart that rises are well!
Khaleej Times has made a New Year's resolution to cease its baffling use of headlines. On the morning after the execution of Saddam Hussein, your favourite number one fearless KT opted for the subtle and considered "Bang, bang in Baghdad". How Nice!!


4. Ruwaad - A corporate look at Dubai logos without any Real Estate firms. Seems like eating your pizza without cheese! So had to give it away and there comes a worthy contender - what would you call a 2 months teaser campaign - without any imagination nor a logo that conjures up any emotions.. we call it Ruwaad here

Finally they added a line below the logo: "Iconic property developments". With some blog search, I got this on Ruwaad:
Ruwaad simply means Leaders! Just another pretentious real estate developer who claims leadership over whom exacty...Emaar..your guess!

Compliment: The only place on the net where I finally managed to get the Ruwaad picture was at Nima's blogspot. Thx Nima.


 5. Dubai Media City - DMC a regional hub for media organizations ranging from: news agencies, publishing, online media, advertising, production, and broadcast facilities.

I am sure with all media companies conglomate they could have come up with a better design. Or did they miss the Nose!!