Dubai: Given that advertising people are supposed to be creative types, there was a surprisingly regular crowd at the 40th International Advertising Association World Congress.
There were a few people with long, slicked-back hair and beards and one or two who had gone for the alternative look by wearing black ties and shirts. You know, just trying to look a bit individual.
And there was even one delegate who was wearing a shiny white piece of clothing that seemed to have more in common with a raincoat than a formal blazer.
But for the most part, they looked just like the delegates you might have found at a conference on, say, insurance or aviation: Dark suits, plain shirts and restrained ties.
Where were the funky haircuts, where were the ghastly brightly-coloured jackets, where were the sunglasses, where were the open-necked shirts with medallions?
Though the delegates may have been a touch conventional, in their dress at least, the spectacle they were greeted with to kick things off was anything but subdued and conservative.
Dubai never does things by halves, and true to form the city created something more akin to an Olympic Games opening ceremony than a trade conference inauguration.
The hall of the Dubai International Convention Centre started off almost pitch black, although a few delegates still flicked through their complementary copies of Gulf News as slightly sinister music played in the background.
Distinguished guests arrived and settled in their seats, the UAE National Anthem played and the world "welcome" then flashed across a gigantic screen in even more languages than are spoken in Dubai.
There were film clips tracing the history of the city all the way through to its extraordinary present, and then a green laser show that was nothing short of spellbinding.
Lights flashed this way and that, faster and faster and faster until the whole thing came to a terrifying, lightning-paced climax.
Probably a few of those in the audience considered bailing out for a cup of coffee and a cigarette to relax their nerves just a few minutes into proceedings.
The speakers themselves then took to the stage and offered a remarkably varied diet for the multinational audience.
There was everything from state-of-the-world pieces predicting the future of the global economy to painstakingly detailed descriptions of the trials and tribulations of setting up a small business.
No doubt everyone has learned a great deal and will go back home fired up and full of inspiration, bursting with ideas for cutting-edge new advertising campaigns.
Let's just hope they show a bit more creativity in the office than they do when choosing what to wear.
