Why Great Advertising Is Stayin’ on 'Yas Island'

If you’ve caught one of Yas Island’s new chief island officer spots starring Jason Momoa, you’re in the company of almost a quarter of a billion people. It’s been hard to miss this campaign online in recent weeks, with fans around the world excited to see what the Aquaman star will get up to next. 

And if you’ve really been paying attention, you’ll also know this isn’t a one-off success for Yas Island – a regional destination whose name is quickly growing on the global stage.  

Over the past couple of years, Yas Island and their creative agency Momentum MENA have created the viral phenomenon of Stayin’ On Yas, a brilliant homage to the Bee Gees’ disco classic Stayin’ Alive – and its follow-up, the funky Yas Yas Baby, based on the Vanilla Ice track. 

They got Ranveer Singh dancing his way into millions of hearts across South Asia with Yas Hai Khaas, and last year they made the genius decision to hire Kevin Hart as the world’s first chief island officer with the task of ‘Hartifying’ Yas Island. Most recently, Jason Momoa has arrived to help people #LiveItUpLikeMomoa – a campaign that sees the action star cut loose, embrace his sillier side, and make people love him even more than they already did. 

Such a sustained run of great advertising is proof that something’s up on Yas Island. We’re going to look a little deeper to see if we can find the secret sauce.

Chemistry 

Miral Destinations, the company that manages Yas Island, hired Badr Bourji as VP of Marketing directly from Momentum MENA. This seems to offer proof that mutual trust and teamwork are cornerstones of a strong creative product. 

We reached out to Bourji, who said: “Being a core part of the Momentum team gave me a unique insight into their creative process. As a result, I genuinely trust the agency to deliver, and I know we share a vision to propel Yas Island onto the global stage.   

Creativity 

By standing behind the innovation of its output, Yas Island has managed to rise above a crowded advertising landscape. Proof can be found in Rove Hotels’ hilarious spoof of Chief Island Officer. And seeing Netflix’s recent Chief Action Officer spot starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, it’s hard to ignore the fact that Yas Island did it first.  

Personality

Celebrities who come to the region often overpower the brand they’re supposed to be promoting. But the Chief Island Officer creative vehicle has remained the star of the show, with Hart and Momoa only amplifying the role. Badr Bourji confirms: “Yas Island handpicks based on a checklist of criteria to ensure celebrities reflect the dynamism and bold attitude of the island, complementing our vision.” 

Pleasing your audience 

Here’s Raphael Nassoura, General Manager and Executive Creative Director of Momentum MENA: “When it comes to evaluating our campaigns, we always start by putting ourselves in the audience's shoes. At the end of the day, the court of public opinion will be our biggest judge.”

So by focusing on bringing audiences what they want to see and experience, Yas Island has created campaigns that reward rewatching and demand sharing with friends.

The bottom line 

Perhaps it all comes down to the fact that Yas Island – the region’s top leisure, entertainment, and tourism destination – stays true to its product. By putting entertainment front and center of its advertising, we know exactly what to expect when we visit: pure, unadulterated fun. 

Here’s to hoping that creative advertising will be stayin’ on Yas for the foreseeable future.