RAKTDA ends the relationship with ImpactBBDO for abandoning work entirely, becoming full-time tourists
RAKTDA has terminated its relationship with creative agency ImpactBBDO after the agency “essentially stopped functioning as a business” during the development of the RAK Summer campaign.
According to officials, ImpactBBDO staff swapped scripts and storyboards for sun loungers, spa treatments and dune buggies within hours of arriving at the destination, leaving production schedules in disarray.
“They texted us to say, and I quote, ‘We’re deeply committed to understanding the product… so we’re going to enjoy Ras Al Khaimah all the week,’” said Alka Winter, Vice President Destination Marketing & Communications at RAKTDA. “We thought they were joking. They were not.”
The chaos forced RAKTDA’s CEO to personally record the campaign’s radio spots after the agency’s audio team skipped the studio session to attend what they described as “a once-in-a-lifetime zipline ride.”
Commenting on the unexpected voiceover duties, Raki Philips, CEO of RAKTDA, said: “I didn’t expect to become the voice of our summer campaign. But when your agency is ziplining instead of working, you warm up the vocal cords and get it done. I just hope they don’t make me edit the videos too.”
In the end, the campaign was assembled by anyone within reach: tourists, hotel staff, and even a confused lifeguard. “I was just handing out towels,” said the lifeguard at a Ras Al Khaimah beach resort. “Then someone handed me a camera and said, ‘Congratulations, you’re now head of production.’”
The final ads now bear headlines such as:
- “Our photographer is chilling by the pool in Ras Al Khaimah. So Marj from Finance clicked this.”
- “This should be a great ad. But our team’s still chilling in Ras Al Khaimah.”
- “Our photographer is chilling by the pool in Ras Al Khaimah. So Marj from Finance clicked this.”
- “This should be a great ad. But our team’s still chilling in Ras Al Khaimah.”
An ImpactBBDO representative issued a brief statement: “We sincerely apologise for not delivering, but the beaches were too soft, the mountains too tall and the buffets too tempting. We have no regrets.”
Despite this little break, the “RAK Summer. Unscripted” campaign will continue to run across cinema, radio, digital, outdoor and social platforms throughout the UAE this summer.
