How Nissan Patrol Took No Sides in the UAE's Most Cinematic Car Ad of 2016
Nissan's 'Take No Sides!' is a cinematic film campaign created by TBWA\RAAD Dubai and published in the United Arab Emirates in October 2016, positioning the Nissan Patrol as an uncompromising SUV that refuses to be defined by any single terrain, lifestyle, or identity.
The campaign launched on October 26, 2016, according to Campaign Middle East, marking TBWA\RAAD's first significant Nissan creative work since 2014. The brief demanded something beyond the category conventions of features-led or lifestyle-led car advertising. What emerged was a single-film production — big-budget and cinematic in both ambition and execution — that asked the Nissan Patrol to embody a philosophical stance rather than a product specification. The film carries a production budget of approximately US$800,000, as reported by Campaign Middle East, an investment that reflects the scale of the creative intent behind it.
In the United Arab Emirates, where the Nissan Patrol occupies an outsized cultural role as both a practical workhorse and a status vehicle, the campaign's refusal to choose a single identity is strategically precise. The Patrol is not positioned against one rival or one use case. Instead, 'Take No Sides!' argues that the vehicle is capable of everything and beholden to nothing — a posture that resonates specifically within the UAE's diverse driving landscape, from city boulevards to open desert. The campaign contains one media asset and was produced by City Films, with direction by Niko Kreiss. It sits within the broader lineage of Nissan and TBWA's collaborative output across the Middle East and North Africa region, though Campaign Middle East's coverage identifies it as a distinct and elevated moment within that body of work. Clapboard.com assigns the campaign a score of 69 out of 100.
The Nissan Patrol holds genuine cultural authority in the United Arab Emirates. In a market where large-frame SUVs function as both utility vehicles and social signifiers, the Patrol competes not only on capability but on identity — a dynamic that made the 'Take No Sides!' strategic premise both necessary and risky.
Globally, the light-vehicle market reached 93.5 million units in 2016, up 4.4% year-over-year, according to focus2move.com. Nissan as a brand sold 4.954 million vehicles that year, representing a 5.4% global market share and 4.7% year-over-year growth, also per focus2move.com. The Renault-Nissan Group collectively moved 8.51 million vehicles in 2016, according to focus2move.com, placing it among the most significant automotive alliances in the world. Within this competitive field, Toyota recorded global brand sales of 8.477 million units at a 9.2% share, per focus2move.com, while Volkswagen posted 6.535 million units at 7.1%, also per focus2move.com — competitors that maintained formidable positions in markets including the UAE.
In the United Arab Emirates, large SUVs from Toyota — particularly the Land Cruiser, the Patrol's most direct rival — command deep brand loyalty rooted in decades of regional presence. TBWA\RAAD's strategic response, as identified by Campaign Middle East's coverage, was to avoid the arms race of specifications and instead stake the Patrol's claim on character. Ali Marashi, Senior Strategic Planner at TBWA\RAAD, contributed to a brief that reframed the Patrol not as the most capable SUV in a list of features but as a vehicle whose identity is defined by the refusal to be categorised. This positions 'Take No Sides!' as an identity campaign rather than a product campaign — a meaningful strategic choice in a UAE market where consumer relationships with vehicles, particularly heritage nameplates, run deeper than transactional.
Director Niko Kreiss helmed the 'Take No Sides!' film for Nissan, working with production company City Films to execute what Campaign Middle East described as big-budget cinematic advertising rather than conventional feature- or lifestyle-led car work.
The creative leadership at TBWA\RAAD Dubai brought considerable seniority to the project. Walid Kanaan served as Chief Creative Officer, with Fouad Abdel Malak functioning as Executive Creative Director — his first major Nissan project for the agency since 2014, according to Campaign Middle East. Manuel Bordé led as Creative Director, supported by a creative team comprising Oswaldo Sa, Alex Pineda, Guilherme Grossi, and Gabriel Gama. On the production and account side, Rouba Asmar served as Agency Producer, Mathieu Khaled as Senior Account Manager, and Saad Gharzeddine as Brand Leader — roles that reflect the structured, high-investment nature of the production. Jan Mettler served as Director of Photography, contributing to the visual language that gives the film its cinematic weight.
Post-production was handled by Dutch studio Ambassadors, which completed visual effects and finishing work over a period of three months, according to Campaign Middle East. This extended post timeline is notable: for a single-film campaign with a production budget of approximately US$800,000, a three-month finishing period indicates the depth of compositing and grading work applied to the final product. The result is a piece of automotive advertising that prioritises atmosphere, movement, and emotional register over product demonstration. In the United Arab Emirates context, where large-format outdoor and broadcast advertising routinely competes for audience attention against international campaigns, Kreiss and TBWA\RAAD's decision to invest in cinematic finish rather than conventional car-film conventions — the golden-hour drive, the specification overlay — is a deliberate act of creative differentiation.
No verified performance data for the 'Take No Sides!' campaign is publicly available. Campaign Middle East covered the work at launch in October 2016, and the production's scale — approximately US$800,000 budget and three months of post-production at Dutch studio Ambassadors — is documented, but audience reach figures, brand tracking results, and sales attribution data have not entered the public record.
Structurally, the campaign demonstrates several qualities that advertising effectiveness research associates with durable brand impact. Single-film campaigns with high production values and a coherent philosophical premise tend to achieve stronger brand linkage than multi-asset tactical work, particularly in markets where the brand already holds a recognisable cultural position. In the United Arab Emirates, where the Nissan Patrol is a genuinely embedded part of consumer culture, 'Take No Sides!' amplifies existing brand equity rather than attempting to build it from scratch — a structurally efficient approach.
The decision to position the Patrol through identity rather than specification also insulates the campaign from competitive response. Toyota Land Cruiser advertising in the UAE market tends to emphasise heritage and reliability; by staking out the territory of philosophical independence, TBWA\RAAD created messaging that is both differentiated and difficult to directly counter. The campaign's cinematic execution, anchored by Niko Kreiss's direction and Ambassadors' three-month finishing process, also gives it a shelf life beyond the immediate broadcast window. Clapboard.com scores the campaign 69 out of 100, reflecting competent, well-resourced execution of a sound strategic idea within the automotive category.
'Take No Sides!' is a cinematic film campaign created by TBWA\RAAD Dubai for Nissan, published in the United Arab Emirates in October 2016. It positions the Nissan Patrol as a vehicle that refuses categorical definition, using big-budget production rather than conventional features-led advertising to make its case. The film was directed by Niko Kreiss.
TBWA\RAAD Dubai created the campaign. Walid Kanaan served as Chief Creative Officer and Fouad Abdel Malak as Executive Creative Director. Manuel Bordé led as Creative Director, with Niko Kreiss directing. City Films was the production company and Dutch studio Ambassadors handled post-production over three months, according to Campaign Middle East.
The production budget for 'Take No Sides!' was approximately US$800,000, according to Campaign Middle East. This investment supported a single cinematic film, with post-production completed by Dutch studio Ambassadors over three months. The scale reflects TBWA\RAAD's intent to position the work as cinematic advertising rather than a conventional automotive commercial.
TBWA\RAAD chose cinematic execution to differentiate the Nissan Patrol from competitors including Toyota, whose Land Cruiser holds strong UAE market presence. By avoiding specification-led advertising and investing in atmospheric filmmaking, the campaign claimed identity territory that rivals could not directly counter, according to Campaign Middle East's coverage of the work at launch.
Clapboard.com scores 'Take No Sides!' 69 out of 100. The score reflects competent, well-resourced execution of a sound strategic idea within the UAE automotive category. The campaign demonstrates strong structural qualities including high production value, clear brand linkage, and a philosophical premise that differentiates the Nissan Patrol from direct competitors in the market.
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