New York Fashion Week may have ended for another season, but the Big Apple is still on our minds thanks to Cadillac. The luxury car brand has launched a new campaign, titled “The Arabs of New York” with the aim to challenge stereotypes while spotlighting inspirational Arabs who call NYC home. To kick off the initiative, Cadillac launched a short film.
The film focuses on three entrepreneurs who are breaking new ground in their respective professional fields. Featuring Mohamed Fairouz, an award-winning Emirati composer, Lebanese-born architect and artist Michel Abboud, and Lebanese design critic and curator, Hala Abdul Malak, the video aims to start an important conversation at a critical time in the United States.
The 60-second clip opens with a shot of Abdul Malak.”They say that if you can make it here, you can make it anywhere,” the narrator says. “You were once one of the tired, the huddled masses…But here you are now, fighting a stereotype.” The video then quickly shifts scenes to show Fairouz – who has created more than 40 compositions which have been widely performed across the US – playing the piano, Abboud potentially sketching his next Park51, and Abdul Malak intricately painting a blank canvas red.
“The best of the city isn’t always born in that city,” the ad concludes. “You see, New York is a state of mind, and no one can ever stop you from being in a state of mind.”
Watch the full campaign in the video ahead.