How about this for a brilliant ad? (here) Is there an oil well in every backyard? Do people go to work riding camels? Is it all a sahara? Do they speak English? Do they live in tents? Is it safe out there?
Answer? Yes there are oil wells... in the desert, they ride camels till the finish line (in races!), you can rent a tent for a night, they don't just speak English, they speak languages, and it is only unsafe if you are playing hide and seek. The Arabic copy takes the cake here, the slang is so totally incredible - it is obvious it was thought of as Arabic first.
The ad walks the smart fine line between stereotype and flipping it on its head. It could have been total pastiche or gimmick but the execution is so brilliant it leaves an incredible final product.
The whole idea is: What did you hear about us?... Until the end which goes "it's not about what you hear, it's about being here".
I know this was done for Saudi National Day so I caught it very very late, but seriously, for this to fall to through the cracks is unforgivable.