Creative chief behind the infamous I Sea app, Ali Shabaz, joins Leo Burnett Indonesia as CCO
Ali Shabaz has returned to the Asia region as chief creative officer at Leo Burnett Indonesia. It is believed he will be responsible for the creative product of the entire Publicis Groupe in the country.
Shabaz was chief creative officer at Grey South East Asia at the time when Grey for Good, a division of the agency came up with the infamous I Sea app idea. The app purported to help save refugees by tracking their boats in real time in the Mediterranean, but actually did none of those things.
After the app was outed as being dysfunctional, the resulting scandal saw Grey reluctantly return a Bronze trophy it won at the Cannes Lions, blaming “the unwarranted, unfair, unrelenting attacks by unnamed bloggers”. The agency also pulled the entry out of the Ad Stars awards show in Korea, where it had been shortlisted.
Shabaz shifted out of Grey South East Asia in early 2017, several months after the controversy. There was widespread speculation at the time over whether his exit had anything to do with the I Sea scandal or was entirely disconnected from it.
He went on to become chief creative officer at Grey Middle East and North Africa and was in the role for a little over two years. Shabaz spent a few months as chief creative officer at Rapp Middle East and North Africa before taking up the Leo Burnett Indonesia assignment.
Funny how you ignore all of Ali Shabaz’s achievements over 20+ years and write an incendiary headline describing him as the “creative chief behind the infamous I Sea app”
ReplyWhat are the achievements? You do know that they are all [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]
Reply[Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] did a case study video saying that over 5,000 immigrants died last year and that they had invented an app that could have saved their lives.
The app wasn’t even close to functional. The sea imagery generated were literally copy and pasted from google maps. So not only did this [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]tried to win a shiny award by claiming to save lives with an app [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] knew didn’t work [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines], and here’s the important bit, *never* apologised for it.
Moreover, his career seems to have not suffered one iota. So call me crazy, I think every headline about him going forward should describe him as the “creative chief behind the infamous I Sea app”
ReplySad headline for someone who wants to make a big return to start afresh.
ReplyThere is no big return…I suspect [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] in a digital environment like Rapp where people get boners when you say any sentence with ‘data’ in it. This is simply a case of taking what’s [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]…. I was never a fan of the circumstances that [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]..there’s a whole generation of present CCOs who owe their rise to such activity. Bahhh…irrelevant in todays environment.
ReplyWith a trackrecord like that you should never be allowed to work in advertising ever again.
ReplyYou reap what you sow.
ReplyYea that’s like how people overlook all of Ted Royer’s achievements with a headline about [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]… Shameful right? ugh the nerve…
ReplyI don’t know if you intended it to be sarcastic, but your comment reads like a perfectly non-sarcastic comment on the reality of today’s world of trial by social media.
ReplyI still find that I Sea App scandal as one of the lowest points not just for Grey but for the advertising profession as a whole. Absolutely disgraceful the depths egos will stoop to for a gong. Made me ashamed to be in the industry
ReplyWow really? That headline? That’s so low of you, digging up something that happened a couple of years ago just to get clicks. Shame on you, give this man a break.
ReplyIt was quite appalling and 2 years is hardly long ago. Why shouldn’t it be mentioned as it negatively impacted the entire industry. Amazing people still employ him after that.
Incidentally this guy [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines].
ReplyIn a normal industry it would have ruined a career and he suffered not one bit for it.
It was a serious low point not just for Grey but the industry as a whole. It went far beyond the trade press and was reported in major newspapers.
The app claimed to save lives yet was non-functional. Yet, [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] never apologised.
It’s been two years since Elizabeth Holmes was found out to be a fraud at Theranos. Let’s just give her a break as well while we’re at it.
Reply“something that happened”??
I would argue that this something that happened was far more newsworthy than any of his more positive achievements. You don’t agree? Then prove me wrong – list his headline-generating achievements.
Respect to Mumbrella for this. Other trades have completely ignored the huge stain iSea left behing – not just on Shabaz or Grey, but on the award-chasing industry as a whole.
ReplyThe headline is valid as his most famous work for the Singapore market helped make Singapore famous for all the “right” reasons while exploiting a very real international human tragedy. Thanks to his great but dysfunctional I Sea app, this work helped earned thousands of free media coverage in trade marketing channels. In a way, the app did help the refugees after all so kudoes to his work. Hopefully more scam (no official group signed off the I Sea App) work will create more positive impact in the work.
ReplySingapore is already known as Scam Central, so what good can more scam do?
Reply“In a way, the app did help the refugees after all so kudoes to his work”
How? List the ways…
ReplyHis career has been [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines], and yet he is never out of a job. Let’s give all those responsible for the most heinous campaign in history the credit they deserve. [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. Is it any wonder advertising people are ranked below used car salesman?
Let’s recap:
Grey Singapore’s ‘fake’ refugee-saving app removed from Apple app store, slammed by client, wins bronze at Cannes
June 21, 2016 9:26
by Robin Hicks
58
I SeaGrey Singapore’s ‘I Sea’ app to save refugees from drowning, which was called out as a fake by technology experts yesterday, has been removed from the Apple Store and criticised by the client for not working, but has been awarded at the Cannes Lions advertising awards show.
The app, which supposedly enables people to scan the Mediterranean ocean for stranded boats carrying fleeing migrants, is no longer available for download on Apple’s app store.
Created by Grey’s philanthropic arm Grey for Good for the Migrant Offshore Aid Station, the app was rounded on by tech writers on Twitter who tested it and found that, among other flaws, an old screenshot was repeatedly being presented as a live image of the ocean, and the weather reading was bogus. One software developer described ‘I Sea’ as a “terrible fake”.
But the app won Bronze Lions in the Promo & Activation category at the festival in the South of France last night.
Grey has not responded to repeated requests for comment, but a statement on the agency’s website declares that the app is currently in “testing mode”.
Grey Singapore’s statement in full:
On World Refugee Day, Grey for Good wants to thank all those who are helping us develop the I SEA app. I SEA – an app developed by Grey for Good in support of MOAS – aims to bring humanitarian and technological efforts together in order to have a concrete impact on the continued refugee crisis at sea. Currently in its testing period, the app is a tool which crowdsources the ability to scan the sea for migrant vessels in distress. With global forced displacement having reached an all-time high (65.3 million people at the end of 2015), any efforts to help those fleeing war and persecution are greatly welcomed.
The I SEA App is currently in a testing mode. At this time it is loading and mapping satellite images to its GPS coordinates and users are able to report an anomaly in their plot of sea. The report function is sending out an alert whenever a user flags something in the plot of sea they are watching. During this testing period, the satellite images available are not in real-time. Grey for Good are still working to optimise the technology, but we are proud of what we have achieved so far and are grateful to all those who have shown interest in helping to improve the app further. The continued interest and suggestions from people who have already tried it around the world, especially on this, World Refugee Day, are all valued opinions which will be incorporated into the final product.
The client, MOAS, has told British IT title The Register that it had not been involved in the creation of the app.
ReplyWho exactly was on the credit list? He didn’t do it by himself lah…
ReplyHe didn’t do it all by himself, but if you have the title of CCO you are ultimately responsible for all work leaving the agency.
But since you asked:
Executive Creative Director: Low Jun Jek
ReplyWeb Developer: Randell Quitain
Head Of Art: Shante Lee
Art Director: Cinzia Crociani
Associate Creative Director: James Dickinson
Anyone creating a fake campaign should be banned from the industry. The advertising industry owes its downfall partly to big egos winning awards with scam. Many creatives have a career entirely based on scam. I wouldn’t want my multimillion dollar business to be in the hands of scamming agencies and creatives. In Asia and the Middle East it’s always the scammers that get promoted, paid highest, get all the attention, best opportunities, etc. A bloody disgrace.
ReplyFunny how all the ad giants of Singapore are back in the news and the resulting outcry should indicate how our industry’s changed and what we now demand from our leaders. And overwhelmingly so, we are questioning their relevance to today’s market and rightly so.
It is a fact that the I SEA had negatively impacted the credibility of agencies in Asia. It is also a fact that our industry had never once requested accountability from the ones involved. Just a rap on the knuckles and it’s back to business as usual. Is it any wonder clients are distrusting of agencies to do what is right for their brands if the top man on the job seems to put their self-interest above everything else?
I challenge Leo Burnett Indonesia to publish Ali Shabaz’s OKRs in respect to their growth ambitions and Shabaz himself, to do a frank interview addressing I SEA and how [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] doing work and leading teams.
Otherwise, it’s just another game of chess with clients suffering most of all.
Replyit’s all about integrity.
if you get caught for stealing, the record stays with you forever. why should this be any different? cheating in award shows, misleading clients, exploiting the plight of the unfortunate for your own personal gain. i don’t think anyone who lacks integrity should even be in a C-suite level position.
ReplyFor an industry that preaches clients to be authentic , who can blame them for distrusting and keeping agencies as far as possible from their CEO.
Shame is the price of scam fame.
ReplyStart by digging out all the so called award winning work and analysing it. Usually these tend to be [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. I cant say more but we all know that’s code for XXXX.
The fact that people can rise to the very top on work like this is distressing and a travesty. Such people have no right to be telling clients and subordinates how they think an ad should be done. Or speaking at industry seminars. Because where’s the evidence of their real ads that have rocked the scene? What have they contributed to making advertising better? Thanks for letting everyone know where he’s landed, so clients can make more informed agency choices.
Reply…for a time allowed some very mediocre people to do what they like and win awards with a lot of scam work. That time, broadly speaking, is now over and this forum allows us to call those individuals out for what they are. You will not see any future titans of Singapore advertising with similar profiles built on sand because they’re not that good, they never were that good, they will never be that good. They scammed their way to recognition and now you can’t get away with that the deficiencies in talent in the market and issues with clients, budgets etc are laid bare.
That “app” rode on human tragedy to attempt to make those responsible for it famous – that is despicable and those attached to it should never be allowed to forget that it is a shameful piece of work. Everyone needs to make a living, but to be so unapologetic about it is a worrying indicator of character.
ReplyPeople have been saying this about Singapore for so long it doesn’t even matter anymore. It is hardly worth a which hunt but French is gone, Eugene and the Global Scam King are finished, Droga and Saatchi SG are gone, DDB has been [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] when BLK J left, BBDO is so [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines], Grey hasn’t [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] with Ali’s replacement like ever and the last sad breath of the scams look like they are coming from [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. The work isn’t nearly as fun or creative as it all used to be anyway. Hardly worth stopping over in SG anymore so go straight to Brazil. But yeah this fake app was bad. But NOT fair to name just one guy. Name the CEO of the agency in SG and the creative team. That would be fair play. Nobody has really done that before have they. That App wasn’t even Ali’s idea and the creative team hiding behind his skirt knows it.
ReplyHe’s got a solid career I guess. Networks don’t care at all obviously. Besides, the Rosé always tastes better with a Cannes Lion in your beach bag. If you stack enough of them, you get network agency of the year. Nobody really gives a toss what you won it for anyway. They give out 100s of them now. This isn’t like it was 10 or 15 years ago when medals were rare. Media planners and PR people sit on juries now folks. Keep entering, give us your money and if there is another scam sort it out among yourselves like the Aussies with shame and excommunication.
ReplyPity the LB team.
ReplyCinzia and Ali – if you wanna get on their good side, you better have some real good [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] skills. Be prepared to master the art of [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines], one of the duo’s favorite pastimes (;
The CEO who endorsed and encouraged him in SG
is also in JKt now, with the [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines]. And as we know, [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] has a lot of scope to “be a do-gooder”.
Heaven help us.
ReplyMy earlier post was just being sarcastic. This I See App that Ali Shabaz was responsible for deserves to headline his career in Singapore not just because of his history in scam work. It did put Singapore in the headlight for all the “right” reasons (scam [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines], dodgy digital expertise etc) for exploiting a real international human tragedy which did got thousands of dollars of free media coverage as a result. And apologies for the typo in my last statement “Hopefully more scam (no official group signed off the I Sea App) work will create more positive impact in the world.” After all, all this scam PSR work should hopefully have some effect on the world. If not, let’s just kill this category at award show. if you want to do something to help the world, you should not need an award for it…
ReplyIt’s okay, we don’t care @johntan. It’s just a scam ad. We need some awards down here pronto. So this is the best way. You think [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] was ranked that high doing real Starhub ads for blind people? Or musical pants? LOL.
ReplyThey must be desperate and this candidate ticks all the right [Edited under Mumbrella’s community guidelines] boxes.
ReplyHahahahaha
ReplyHave your say