A New Muslim Ad Network – Outside of My Regular Purview

The other day Michael sent me a link to this story.

Desedo are setting up an agency specifically to engage with the American-Muslim demographic. This is an ignored demo with $170 Billion of spending power. And in this recession, brands are aiming to engage ‘new’, niche consumers.

I wouldn’t normally have written about something like this. It’s a bit too thorny for me. On the one hand it sounds like a very smart (or hugely cynical) move. But on the other when I see McDonalds doing Eid ads like the one above I feel really really dirty.

From up here in my broadband-enabled-post-advertising ivory tower of judgementalism it feels like another cultural landscape about to be trampled by the marketing hoards. On a mission to try and extract cash from the smart people who haven’t got themselves up to their necks in cheap credit.

Nonetheless I’ve blogged it now. But for why you may ask? And I shall tell you for why. Because Michael used the word purview in his email.

Not totally your purview, but thought you might be keen to know about the first US advertising agency that will target the overlooked American-Muslim consumer and their $170B of spending power.

I ain’t never heard the word purview before.

It means:

• The scope of the influence or concerns of something : such a case might be within the purview of the legislation.
• A range of experience or thought : social taboos meant that little information was likely to come within the purview of women generally.

I shall now be using it often.

So here’s a tip for all you blogger-outreachers. Teach me a new brilliant word in context and I might be more likely to post your story. Or then again I might not.