JEDDAH, 3 September 2007 — Kaswara Al-Khatib, founder and chairman of Full Stop Advertising Agency, recently wrapped up the shooting of two public service announcement commercials.

The two commercials stress the importance of kind treatment of domestic servants. Cases of physical and sexual abuse, delayed or nonpayment of salaries and harsh working conditions of domestic workers have been widely reported in the Saudi press.

The 45-second commercials advocate the rights of laborers, drivers and maids and show their side of the story.

“This is a common problem in Saudi society where people treat domestic workers inhumanely and deprive them of their rights,” Al-Khatib said yesterday in an interview.

The first one shows a man and his arrogant behavior toward his maid and driver.

In one scene, the man becomes enraged when his driver asks him for his salary, which has been delayed for 2 months. He tells his driver to thank God that it is only two months and not more.

A Hadith of the Prophet Muhammad (pbuh) — “Those who don’t give mercy, do not receive mercy” — is the theme of this commercial.

The other commercial, shot at Saudi Fashion Designer Wed Bogari’s boutique in Jeddah, shows a group of seven women who are having dinner together. The hostess is very short-tempered and constantly belittles the maid who is responsible for serving food and cleaning up after them.

At the end of the night, the maid is told, “I want you to clean the house and I want to wake up and find everything clean.” The Prophet’s Hadith — “Show mercy on land and you will get mercy from God above” — is the theme.

The Saudi Binladin group, chaired by Mohammed BinLadin, is financing both projects. Negotiations to show the commercials on Middle Eastern channels such as MBC and LBC are in progress.

Full Stop Advertising’s first public service announcement commercial was in 2005 with “Ghiba” — about backbiting. This was followed by the Abdul Latif Jameel-sponsored commercial “Who Said Work is Degrading” and the patriotic commercial “What Can You Give Your Country?”

The agency also has a public service announcement about orphans who are deprived of their families’ care, which will be shown this Ramadan.