Tech savvy and proud to be Muslim: appealing to the ‘Futurists’

In this week’s AdCritique, Ogilvy Noor is looking at how the new Muslim consumer embraces technology in the practice of their faith, and that traditional symbols can work well when tied to modernity. The new Muslim consumers we’ve called the ‘Futurists’ see technology and tradition as two complementary, not conflicting, parts of their identity.

The context: The Quran stand is a deeply rooted item in Muslim psyche, present in every mosque and almost every Muslim home around the world. It is a sign of respect for the Quran and many Muslims will read the Quran by placing it on the stand. However, with new technologies being developed, the developers want to inform Muslims that there are new – and potential more convenient – ways to read the Quran.

The concept: Quran.com is an online service to read the Quran, and in this advert wanted to promote a Quran CD. The advert is simple, and reassuring about how new technology builds on traditional Quran reading.

What we liked: The advert uses a very powerful and deeply traditional symbol in the form of the Qur’an reading stand. It is something that is familiar to Muslims around the world, and many people will have first learnt to read the Qur’an by placing it on a stand such as this. Therefore it has a deep emotional resonance, often tied with feelings of nostalgia. However, by juxtaposing it with a laptop it demonstrates that the laptop can serve the same purpose. In this way it reassures potential sceptics that this new product is not a detraction from traditional methods of Quran recitation, but rather an enhancement. However, the key target for this advert are the Muslims that at Ogilvy Noor we call the “Futurists.” They see modern technology as part of who they are which includes being Muslim. They are tech savvy and see it as a means of progress. The clean simple imagery of the advert appeals to their faith, their pride in being Muslim and the value that they place on technology.