The Toronto branch of Halifax-based Extreme Group and Toronto-based Lollipop have been tirelessly working on this unique branding and interactive campaign for a new Toronto business venture. The edgy campaign received final blessings and was about to launch when nature decided to rear its ugly head in Haiti.

So, instead of the massive launch this campaign was about to receive, a highly subdued roll-out took place. I’m being deliberately vague here because I don’t want to spoil your first interaction with this campaign. Go ahead and click on the image below to visit HaitianPure.com (Edit – March 1 2010: website has changed to PureBlackSunshine.com). Turn your volume up, set your browser to ‘Full Screen’, then follow the website prompts and you’ll know what I’m talking about.

While I can understand the potential risk of backlash, I can’t help but wonder if the campaign (and the client) would have benefited from the publicity that would have resulted from any potential controversy. In the end, I think the client and the agency correctly decided to err on the side of safety.

Despite the quiet launch, the campaign’s viral potential will make up for the lost attention. Extreme made sure to furnish the interactive with the necessary tools to squeeze as much social juice out of the site as possible. You can add it to your Facebook or MySpace profile. You can also Digg it and Tweet it (but for some reason, you can’t Stumble it).

Regardless of the outcome, this campaign is surely heading for some award nominations (at least a Davey Award!).

CBC.ca reported yesterday (Feb 2, 2009) that Halifax Metro Transit has refused to allow Humanist Canada to place ads on Halifax buses that said “You Can Be Good Without God”.

CBC reported that Halifax bus transit spokesperson, Lori Patterson, said “the transit authority would reconsider its position if Humanist Canada toned down its message.”

The story has garnered close to 300 comments in less than 24 hours. A similar campaign launched in England late last year sparked an important debate across the UK. The controversy led to 326 complaints from the public to the UK Advertising Standards Authority, which issued a precedent-setting decision in favor of the campaign and closed the case (see ruling here).

This story is obviously of major interest to the public. So why the silent treatment from Halifax newspapers?

If local residents relied on local newspapers, they would have no idea that this debate is taking place, and would have no opportunity to express their opinions about how the transit authority, a publicly funded body, should deal with issues of freedom of speech and religion that are a given right to all tax payers in Halifax who contribute to subsidize the transit authority.

The media needs to ask the tough questions. Would the transit authority allow an ad to be placed on Halifax buses that advertise a ‘Three Wisemen’ or ‘Baby Jesus’ Christmas play at the local church? What if the local Muslim association wanted to run an ad to announce the opening of their new mosque and library and inviting all interested people to join them for an opening ceremony? What about free speech?

Where do we draw the line as to what is appropriate to say, and who gets to decide what a ‘toned down’ religious statement is? Lori Patterson of Metro Transit?

The answer is that unless there are clear bylaws (that were voted on by representatives of the people in this city) against allowing religiously-affiliated advertising in publicly owned facilities and services, then separation of church and state remains the defacto rule.

If Metro Transit was a private company, then they can decide to run whatever ads they want on their buses and no one but their shareholders (and the advertising authorities) can say anything. But the transit authority is publicly funded, and therefore it must conduct itself in the best interest of the public, following the established bylaws, and removing personal opinions and religious affiliations/preferences when determining what is appropriate to be shown on the buses to the public.

The Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms lists that “Everyone has the following fundamental freedoms”:

• freedom of conscience and religion;

• freedom of thought, belief, opinion and expression, including freedom of the press and other media of communication;

• freedom of peaceful assembly; and

• freedom of association.

Are we going to see the appropriate attention and debate take place regarding this issue? Will our understanding of applied freedoms be enhanced by this event? This is a call to the Chronicle Herald and other media outlets in Halifax. Please give this issue the attention it deserves. (Edit: The Chronicle Herald published the story a couple of hours after this blog was posted).

The animated cartoon police officers will begin their patrols on China’s top portals before moving to all sites registered with Beijing servers. Yahoo news reported that “The male and female cartoon officers, designed for the ministry by Sohu, will offer a text warning to surfers to abide by the law and tips on Internet security as they move across the screen in a virtual car, motorcycle or on foot”.

Despite the feeling of injustice, Arabic media and news outlets were still in the infancy phase, with little human or financial capital to internationally combat the negative exposure.

However, I am beginning to notice some signs in the international media terrain of an attempt by Middle Eastern stakeholders to engage in the media control game. After all, ruling regimes in the MENA region know the power of information control and closely direct local media in their respective countries.

Call me a conspiracy theorist, but my observations of seemingly unrelated events do raise the possibility of a coordinated effort by influential stakeholders in the MENA region to go tit-for-tat with the powers that be in the international media control game. Below are 4 recent reasons for my hypothesis:

1. Dubai Media City: Another over-the-top development project in Dubai created to house international media outlets and to upgrade local media talent and expertise. In mid 2003, the ‘International Media Production Zone’ was launched in the DMC.

2. In late 2006, Qatar-based ‘Al-Jazeera’ news channel launched an English version for international broadcasting. After much controversy, the channel was allowed to be accessed via pay-satellite and cable in the USA.

3. In May 2007, Saudi SABIC company acquired GE Plastics for $11 Billion, effectively making SABIC the world’s largest basic chemicals company. Know what else GE has that would be of interest now that good relations have been established with cash-heavy Saudi? The NBC/CNBC news networks and Universal Studios.

4. In June 2007, Dubai-based Capital Plus Holding Co. announced plans to build a media complex in Florida that could rival studios in Hollywood.

This attempt by MENA outlets to venture into mainstream international broadcasting doesn’t always bode well in some circles, specially when the programming of channels like ‘Al-Jazeera’ is not in line with party stories coming out of the White House and the Pentagon. Does anyone remember what happened when the US asked Al-Jazeera to stop reporting what is going on in Iraq? The US forces bombed Al-Jazeera office in Baghdad with a missile in 2003 (only 2 years prior, the US bombed the Al-Jazeera HQ in Kabul). Then a US tank fired on the Palestine Hotel that was housing about 200 ‘non-embedded’ journalists. Almost all of them left the area after this incident. Hurray for censorship!

Do you see what I see?

Online marketers should pay special attention to what sites are on this black list if they plan on reaching consumers in the MENA (Middle East & North Africa) market through viral or non-viral online marketing initiatives.

The folks at code.ae are having fun with the impact of internet censorship in the United Arab Emirates.

Despite the inconvenience of censorship, an OpenInitiative study cites an interesting statistic from a 2002 UAE government survey of subscribers to the government-controlled internet service provider ‘Etisalat‘. Etisalat (Arabic for ‘communications’) blocks anything “inconsistent with the political, moral, and religious value of the United Arab Emirates.”

60% of survey participants indicated that “its (Etisalat) role in protecting users from offensive material is considered to be an acceptable form of censorship.” Government intervention is seen much like Parental Control options offered by Canadian ISPs.

Many North American ISPs have fallen into controversy when providing services in countries with ‘unique’ cultural requirements. Anyone remember last year’s controversy over Microsoft deleting all the intellectual content of the Chinese blogger Zhao Jing? Or in 2005 when Yahoo! released personal email information to the Chinese government of Chinese journalist Shi Tao, who was then charged with “leaking secret government information” and sentenced to 10 years in jail?

Are you or someone you know affected by internet censorship? Do you have a story to share?

In a 2006 ad campaign, a Dubai-based creative firm came up with this ad. The ad simultaneously takes a jab at censorship policies, and emphasizes the Wonderbra “advantage” (in case you didn’t notice, the black marks are ridiculously extended).

You can click on the picture for the full view. What do you think of this strategy?

Agency: Tonic Communications, Dubai
Creative Director: Vincent Raffray
Art Director: Peter Walker
Copywriter: Vincent Raffray

Sanaa, Yemen’s beautiful capital city, is realizing the alarming introduction and popularity of mixed-gender coffee shops and smoke (sheesha) parlors. Women and men share the same space and enjoy the services offered by these establishments. In some cases, entertainment is provided in the form of live music, and accounts were sited of women and men dancing in the presence of each other.

While the phenomenon may sound shocking to many given the relatively traditional social and value systems observed in Yemen, a few know that it has existed in the shadows of the big city for quite some time. A subculture in the form of gatherings and late night soirées that involve anything from simple celebrations to full out club-like events with live DJs, alcohol, dancing, drugs, and sex is not a new introduction to the city of Sanaa.

As expected, government intervention was not far behind. Owners of the above mentioned businesses were “reminded” of the social norms by frequent visits from Security elements and other arms of the government. Their very legitimate businesses often dealt with the constant threat of having to close doors in the middle of a busy evening, despite the absence of any law that prohibits such establishments from hosting customers of both sexes.

Surprisingly, more businesses of the kind began to surface. After all, where demand exists, supply will follow. Sanaa’s youth and new age metrosexuals are seeking to connect. They are getting curious. Will the government be able to set back the clock and revert Yemen’s youth to traditions? Or will today’s youth shape the culture of tomorrow?

If Sigmund Freud was alive, he would say that the culture and social norms in Yemen subconsciously revolve around Sex. The taboo that engulfs the subject helps fuel its prominence in the minds of every person living in Yemen. Mutual tension between the sexes brews deep as the apparent lack of knowledge drives the country to lock itself in a strict policy of segregation. The social divide grows wider while society surrenders its progress for fear of the unknown.

In Yemen, girls/women talk about boys/men, and vice-versa. The problem is that boys and girls do not talk to each other, so no one is cross-referencing their information. We find ourselves trapped in perpetual stereotyping, and framing each other in pre-defined square boxes that fit the image we create about the opposite sex.The very first form of instilling social norms, positive or negative, in Yemen’s youth is the school system. Why do we feel the need to enforce segregation in our schools? Are we afraid that we did not raise our children with the value systems and moral concepts they require to make basic decisions regarding what is right and what is wrong? Yet, as a predominantly Muslim country, we are the first to use (or abuse?) our religious affiliation to put ourselves on a pedestal of moral superiority in contrast to other nations.Perhaps the reason society enforces segregation is to combat what is deemed as the natural tendency of opposite sexes to want to connect, interact, and explore each other intellectually, spiritually, and physically. Then again, if the tendency is “natural”, then who is responsible for making us feel “unnatural” about it? Is it Government? Religion? Guardians? Parents today are less traditionally inclined than their parents, and their parents less than their grand parents.

In a free-market economy, buyers and sellers are allowed to interact freely and determine their own best interests. Equilibrium between supply and demand is achieved in homogeneity. If segregation was a choice, not a rule, there are those who believe that society will eventually realize a similar effect.

If the cloak of mystery cast by segregation is revealed, then perhaps both sexes in Yemen will eventually come to stand in front of each other, naked of presumptions, and realize that both are equally creatures of flesh, thoughts, feelings, and mutual misunderstandings.

Only then can we, as a society, begin to truly grasp the reins of progress and ride our civic chariots into the future.