Almaza, a new year with a fresh start

Are they talking elections? Are they talking freshness? Are they talking new beginnings? Are they talking about all of this? Or none of this? The new Almaza ad is up for interpretation - or interpretations. It might mean a million things. I am inclined to think this might be about electing a president - supposedly tomorrow January 9th! But again I could be mistaken, I guess all this continues with the Almaza of several years yonder - just try it. I do miss when they used to do great ads - and I remind everyone, why not reissue older classics, because you know, the brand does own them by virtue of having paid for them? In that sense it wasn't broken, so why try to fix it?

Politics - Mix and mismatch

I admit it has been long since I shot ads throughout town in vivo. But here you go - Politics is everywhere. There are signs from the time of the war in 2024, there is a sign for electing a president (apparently 2 days from now on the 9th of January), there are signs with neutrality signed by Paulette Yagopian aka Paula Yacoubian (see here), and one by Lebanese Forces (or is this Kataeb?) with "Lebanon first" as a message (which is not too far off from the Yagopian/Yacoubian one) and all of this begs the question - who is paying for this and with what money. Because many message stand there, with hashtags and all, yet there is no party/politician/entity signing with a logo. Obviously my arms are not long enough to pursue the financial paper trail, but even that - it could be a company owned by a company owned by another to hide the actual source. I still find this very interesting truth be told, how messages are plastered, both innocently enough and meaningfully enough yet no one tells us who plastered though and for what purpose.

Compare and contrast Wolfofbey Vs. The Economist

So here we go - again. I am not saying they did, I am not saying they didn't....

The iconic The Economist ad. Then comes Wolfofbey.

A pastiche? A copy? An hommage? You decide.

Spinneys, how about that for fishy

In the plethora of writing about the Michel Hayek debacle, this slipped through the cracks.

But yes, Spinneys has a lot of explaining to do. Out of respect for my readers I shall not explain what the problem is. But interestingly four male readers pointed this out to me. The innuendo is simply too much.

I am wondering how come no one - male or female from the marketing, executive and communication team either at Spinneys or their agency did not notice this. Again, in the world of communication things are never as they were intended but rather as perceived and understood.

And this one was understood under a very very bad light indeed.

Spinneys - the Michel Hayek edition

And so it had to happen. And it did.

Michel Hayek, Lebanese clairvoyant/psychic said - and I am not even sure when - "Spinneys name is heavy speculation/hitting hard". Cue to the last campaign by the supermarket giant gracing the streets of Lebanon. Now at this point, this goes beyond the campaign itself, but rather linking it to a character Lebanese wait for on New Year's eve and hang to every syllable he utters. But hey, a scoop is a scoop is a scoop and Spinneys are emphasizing on his words. So be it. Advertising is what it is - and now it happened, he is being linked to the chain, for better, for worse, for marketing purposes. Go figure! Watch it here!

For the love of artisans (The Ready Hand and Makers of Lebanon)

Sometimes good news come at once. As Lebanon grapples with - let us not go back to this - two pages popped up for the support of artisans in Lebanon. Not just two pages, two well-designed pages with beautiful content which, thankfully, does not hark on the past but also drags it towards the present and the future. Also, for the Ready Hand, filmmaker Danielle Rizkhallah produced some lovely visual storytelling (here - as one of the beauties!), you can follow The Ready Hand on instagram (here) and Makers of Lebanon (here). Sometimes, we need to take things slow, and really invest in things done by hand - says the man who really is into slow fashion and other things produced by people who love their craft.

Malik's, still trying too hard

Remember when I said Malik's was trying too hard (here), so we start off the year with more of the same. To be clear the ads are not "bad", they just don't appear "organic". As if - not sure how to put this - really, as if the audience wouldn't catch this so they have to be spelled out. I mean do we need to have the pun of "alam" (which can be written as "kalam" which means pen and "alam" which means pain) to be underlined to get it? So the ad goes "hopefully this year this is the only pen/pain" - points were awarded for the effort.

Taanayel les fermes vs McDonald's - Compare and contrast

I am not saying they did, and I am not saying they didn't.

But there's an ad for everyone there. And yes McDonald's was the first.

La d'ou je viens - where I come from.

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

On Christmas Day, at noon, a car was parked in my garage. A car not belonging to me or any potential guests. It was our neighbor J.. He parked without even consulting me. I can see your reaction – what temerity! Actually, during Christmas mass at midnight, I saw his brother along with wife and four children, we exchanged warm wishes. Now by 5 PM on Christmas Day, his other brother F. put a photo of their gathering on his WhatsApp status – everyone was there along with their families. I sent F. proper effusive greetings, he sent his back along with promise he’d be by my house on Monday before opening his salon to do my mother’s hair before New Year’s Eve.

On boxing day, the door knocks, it was J.’s sister along with a huge plate of homemade Meghle.

The morale of the story?

Well, I come from a place.

To go back to St.Exupery’s little prince when the rose says “La d’ou je viens”.

Where I come from.

Believe it or not, I often think about it. Knowing you come from a nuclear, extended family but also a village, a tribe perhaps, a community for sure. Sometimes you go to give condolences. Long time ago I used to attend weddings as well. I admit that my “parish activities” are basically very minimal. But I do show up to the major annual feasts.

When I moved full time to the village in 2010 I used to tell my mother “why bother no one knows me!” and she’d say “don’t worry everyone will ask who this is”. And with time, well, people recognized my face. Normally if I am doing my shops run, I say hello to an average of six people – 2 I know, 2 I know by face and 2 I have no clue who they are but they seem to know me for sure.

That same person who parked his car on Christmas Day? Well, a week before I was outside and he crossed the street to say hello. He is opening a new shop – and then he asked “what should I call it though?”… “Ah naming is one of my specialties but am expensive” I joked. A quick brainstorm lead to three very good names, and so a parting sentence I said “well, will send you the bill later” and we both howled in laughter.

Because that’s what people who come from some place do.

They are there for one another.

In case you are wondering, the lamp went off in the dining room, F. came to do my mother’s hair and thankfully I had a spare. He replaced the lamp as we chatted about this and that. Mundane chats that will not influence your world.

But they can park in my garage any day. Unannounced.

Did 1750 just do a comparative ad?

1750 has a new ad. Here. A girl is drinking water from a bottle and asking her mother (presumably) "where was this bottled?" (OK, granted, not a question one would ask but this adland).

Tannourine? Higher

Rim? Higher

Sannine? Higher

Barouk? Higher

The answer ends up being "1750" - and the tagline? Our height is our name.

Now here's the issue: Tannourine, Rim, Sannine are names for bottled water brands. And comparative advertising is forbidden in Lebanon (here and here) so naming three competitor brands in the ad is a bit... fishy. I do understand the rationale of comparing-but-not-so but still got uncomfortable truth be told. Maybe to drive their tagline they could have done differently - there was already a hint of comparison previously (here), but this time it is too overt.

Oh and in case you ask - 1750 is Tarshish.

ParAzar gets Christmas right

Lebanese have been in half-half celebratory mood. Understandably so after the year that has gone by. Christmas ads were too far and in between, but hey, ParAzar managed to land a lovely video - which is neither too over the top nor too out there, in what seems like a retro-TV laden message. Again, perhaps the power of the video was that it was not overdone. It blends the tiredness but also the anticipation mix that the Lebanese are so good at - an incurable hope and stubbornness that characterizes us as people. Enjoy the video here!

End of year card 2024. #merrychristmas

And time for the annual greeting card!!... I know I know, 2024 was not easy for us as Lebanese so here's hoping for a better 2025 (that bar is too low though!). For a recap of older cards please check here.

Boulos - on expanding a stuck identity

For years and years, no make that decades and decades, Boulos hammered us - as consumers - as "zeit Boulos". Boulos oil - extra virgin olive oil. I am not here to debate the quality of their product but you can't stick around in the market that long (apparently 60 years) without proving how good you are.

Actually, for a short while they even went "hip" when Basketball player Boulos Bechara was playing for the Sagesse team in 1999 and won the Asia Champions Cup which presenter Tony Baroud called "Boulos Boulos Boulos" due to his 3-pointers, so they signed Zeit Boulos Boulos Boulos to get on the hype.

On the whole though they played it conservative. Advertising their product eventually coming up with the "iza de2et 3le2et" line (if you taste it, you're stuck), a local expression about tasting anything well-made.

Now Boulos are trying to expand. Their ad literally says "not just oil, but the whole mouneh of the house". Mouneh is a Lebanese term of all edibles people used to prepare before the advent of winter and stock them up in the coldest room in the house to sustain them through the winter months. 

For Boulos, this is a double-edge sword, on the one hand the reach between olive oil and other homemade products is not a stretch, on the other, it has built its identity around the oil (I think at one point the whole company's name was zeit Boulos but I stand corrected) that it might be difficult to get the consumer to think of them as anything else.

It reminds me of Mentos a bit. Mentos was definitely built around the mint flavor, but the success let them to do a "strawberry" flavor... Which seemed odd as a name. 

Boulos is certainly trying to expand its "homemade" line, so here's hoping the consumers are ready to think of it more than just oil.

Top 5 ads for 2024 on this blog

Ah! It is that time of year again. The top 5 ads for the year. Was this a vintage year? Well, it started off on the right foot... And then boom! (sadly literally). But for all its faults, there were some very good campaigns. So without further ado, please welcome this year's winners (in no particular order):

The IPT Mother's Day!

The Ksara ad released during the war!

Labneh w Jebneh for the post-war ad - which made everyone look!

The Lux Raouche thingy!

And that Omo campaign (like Lux, a second entry by Pimo!)

An honorary mention goes for the combined ads by Ali Alaadeen - here (and yes, I am a fan!).

I realize I am releasing a bit early but sadly there seems to be no end of year surprises. 

On that Three Chimp Studios design agency!

So Andrew Tokatly, Michel Matta and Marc Keyrouz - not they did not walk into a bar as the joke goes - but they rather set up a full-fledged design agency. In their own words: "Three Chimp Studios started when three designers, each with their own unique talents, decided that they wanted more than just the usual work grind. They wanted to create something special together. By combining their skills, they formed a creative led studio focused on innovative digital solutions and design services. With a shared passion, Three Chimp Studios was born." Well, I can't wait to see their evil work, hear about their evil creations, and eventually talk about the evil stuff they are going to create!

The IAA Hall of Fame, now in its second edition (Save the date)

And there you go, you heard it first from me! The IAA Hall of Fame is back this year in its second edition (and yes, I do wonder how they will top last year's incredibly well-coordinated, super-fine orchestrated, totally well-oiled machine - see it here). This year, and the info just fell - the nominees are: 11 in the advertising field, 1 in the academic/advertising, 1 in media, and 2 in production. 

So indeed "save the date" if last year is any indication the Lebanon chapter of the IAA have raised the bar so high and need to top it, for some reason, I have an inkling they will. And watch this space (already dusting my formal costume!).

(A)I, Robot?

Image credit: Design Department Communicate Magazine

The following is the editorial I wrote as an introduction to the Communicate magazine folder on AI which was covered in this issue (full disclosure: I am the editor in chief of Communicate). I thought it was fitting to republish it on the blog. Enjoy!

_______________________________________________

In the Steven Spielberg film “Minority Report” released in 2002, actor Tom Cruise portraying the character of John Anderton, is walking into a mall, and is bombarded with ads that mention him by name, implying they’ve been targeted specifically to him, and only him. Lexus and Guinness beer to quote two of them. Perhaps because he is male and apparently of a certain socio-economic class due to his dress, or perhaps they know he researched those brands earlier. No matter, this was supposed to be “the future”, an abstract, vague notion.

And whereas we are not there yet, perhaps we are not too far off either.

The latest statistics dating back to October 2024 indicate that there are 57,933 Artificial Intelligence (AI) startups in the world. The global AI market is valued at $196 Billion globally, and the AI industry is projected to grow by 13 times till 2030. Neflix, the streaming company makes $1 Billion annually from AI-based recommendations by letting AI hone algorithms keeping viewers coming back for more. Interestingly, 48% of businesses use machine learning (ML), data analysis, and AI tools. AI software ChatGPT reached 1 million users in 5 days – and that was only 2022. By 2023 they had 100 million monthly users.

87% of global organizations believe AI will give them a competitive edge, and during the period between 2024 and 2030, AI is expected to achieve a compound growth annual rate of 37,3%. In 2020, AI generated services generated $19,6 Billion in 2025 this number is expected grow to $126 Billion. Within that same year, 97 million people are expected to be working within the realm of AI. On the ground though, automated emails and chatbots are two of the most entry-level ways companies use AI. Interestingly, AI is forecasted to increase employee productivity by 40%. Apparently 49.21% of marketers believe AI for email market revenue generates more growth.

Not a day passes without a startup announcing novelty technology related to AI. Take Osmo, the brainchild of former Google researcher Alex Wiltschko which focuses on detecting smell. Sure, smell has been a main component of detecting diseases in the medical field, but practically, Osmo also partnered with an unnamed yet well-known second-hand sneaker reseller to authenticate its goods and it had a 95% success rate.

However, on the other side of the coin employees in certain sectors have fears of being made redundant, and such fears might be justified for workers in the transportation and storage, manufacturing, and wholesale/retail industries. The list of sectors might get longer as time goes by.

When the industrial revolution happened, the premise was: Let the machine do the work, the business will expand, and all the people who lost their work will be brought back to the pool. Obviously, that never happened, in the case of AI, apparently there is a loss of 7% of jobs but an addition of 9% - though not the same people for sure.

Voice assistants, which basically use Natural Language Processors – or the ability to translate human speech into information computers can understand – are one of the most used forms of AI. Words like Siri, or Alexa have entered the lexicon. Even smartwatches that indicate specific times to do certain activities (such as washing hands during the COVID pandemic) are also built on the AI principle.

But before we put the horse in front of the carriage and get carried away, let us contemplate this example which Apple released very recently:

“Oliver picks 44 kiwis on Friday. Then he picks 58 kiwis on Saturday. On Sunday, he picks double the number of kiwis he did on Friday, but five of them were a bit smaller than average. How many kiwis does Oliver have?”

Obviously, any person familiar with basic maths will say – 44+58+(2x44) = 190. AI models apparently, went with 185. Why? Because they were tricked by the “five of them were a bit smaller than average”. Of course, a human – even a child - knows that a kiwi “smaller than average” still counts as one kiwi, an AI model got confused by the detail.

The bottom line is that AI models are good at mimicking data they were previously fed, but when it comes to “abstract reasoning”, AI models fall short. To put it bluntly, at this point, they are not “intelligent”.

Perhaps we are asking too much of a nascent technology. Maybe with time, machines will get to understand that five kiwis “smaller than average” are actually, still kiwis. Just as right now the AI industry is growing by leaps and bounds with advertisers, producers, film makers, and whatever other specialty in the communication field are trying to harness its power and produce whatever is producible within the limits and hopes of the current AI technologies.

There was a full ad for a new car produced in one day using nothing but AI technology. Was it boring? Yes, it was just beauty shot after beauty shot with little in what can be considered as “idea”. Surreal films abound everywhere on the net to show the prouesse of what AI models can do – from bears in trams to creatures morphing into other shapes, yet none of them can hold a candle to A Chien Andalou in terms of emotional punch. For reference Un Chien Andalou is a 1929 French silent short film directed, produced and edited by Luis Buñuel, who also co-wrote the screenplay with Salvador Dalí. Perhaps the difference lies not just in getting the execution “right” but in the creative backbone behind the works in question.

Or it could be that the AI models still need a human “prompt” behind them. To initiate commands and mimic actions, and “play pretend”. Once more, no one can truly grasp how big this can go. To go back to a cinematic analogy, in the film Blade Runner released in 1982, the Los Angeles Police Department ran the “Voight-Kampff” test to detect Nexus-6 replicants. Deckard, the main character and who identified the Nexus-6 (and played by Harrison Ford) was according to director Ridley Scott… A replicant himself. An AI identifying AI?

Which brings us back to the origin of all of this – the Alan Turing test. One that led him to believe that "machines can think". We could be very close or very far from this scenario.

Right now, to differentiate ourselves from robots, we need to identify images with traffic lights in them.

All quiet on the Lebanese ad front

Interesting. There are almost no Christmas ads this year in Lebanon. Of course 2024 has been anything but a normal year, as the advertising sector was hit by crisis after crisis since 2019. I have catalogued and spoken about them too many times to count on this page. And 2024 has fared no better what's with - literally - the war that has been happening (try here and here and here). How are ad agencies continuing is almost a mystery.

Sure, some have been branching towards the gulf, others are recruiting new people for a pittance, as clients squeeze budgets further and agencies try to lower their overhead in all possible ways. Working remotely has been one possibility, because the pandemic proved it was doable and possible. You can argue till the cows come home about how this is possible in an industry based on brainstorming, but again, nothing Zoom calls (or Google meets, or Teams) and a WhatsApp group cannot cure. Crisis can be diffused via messages, talks and the old adage - this meeting could have been an email - are literally becoming emails.

Of course, none of this cures the ails of the ad agencies in Lebanon. But somehow everyone is continuing on a wing and a prayer. For better or for worse. If the ads I saw around town are any indicator, they are incredibly few and in between. Naturally, what has happened left everyone in an un-festive mood. After suffering blow after blow since 2019 - and they are too many to count (financial crisis? check. Explosion? check. Pandemic? check. No president since October 2022? check. War and displacement? check. Refugees? check). Every year brings its own hopes, 2023 was supposed the year where things would start re-emerging. Yeah, right. As we plunge in never-ending issues which engulf the country on all fronts, the "bala dmegh" attitude I spoke of earlier (here) seems to be the guiding light for everyone and - oddly - I am here for it despite that very intellectual streak I am cursed/blessed with.

The chocolate ad above is the most prominent campaign I have seen lately on the OOH sector. It does tell you a lot about the mood of the country.

EPICA Awards results are out!

It was a great year for both VML and Serviceplan at the 2024 Epica Awards, as they won numerous awards including two Grand Prix for VML and one for Serviceplan Germany. No surprise that they became Network of the Year and Agency of the Year respectively.

Overall there were Grand Prix winners from Belgium, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, the UK and the United States. Here are the full details.

GRAND PRIX

• RESPONSIBILITY: “Call Glenn”, VML, Child Focus (Belgium)
“Rights Against the Right”, Jung von Matt AG, Laut gegen Nazis e.V. (Germany)
• PR: “The Beko Inheritance”, VML UK, Beko (UK)
• INNOVATION: “Animal Alerts”, Serviceplan Germany, PetPace (Germany)
• DESIGN: “Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano”, Landor s.r.l. (Italy)
• MEDIA: “The 100th Edition”, Scholz & Friends Berlin, Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung (Germany)
“The National Sport of Kazakhstan”, GForce/Grey, Ruh Fighting (Kazakhstan)
• DIGITAL: “The Co-Worker”, Mother London, IKEA (UK)
• PRINT: “Capa vs. War”, Innocean Berlin, Robert Capa Contemporary Photography Center (Germany)
• FILM: “Museum Worthy”, BBDO New York, AICP (US)

• NETWORK OF THE YEAR: VML
• AGENCY OF THE YEAR: Serviceplan Germany

The Grand Prix debate took place in Paris. The President of the jury was Claire Atkinson, the author of “The Media Mix” newsletter and a prominent media journalist.

The Responsibility Grand Prix – celebrating work for good causes – was awarded to two different campaigns.

VML in Belgium won for “Call Glenn” for Child Focus. People could “sign” a petition demanding online protection for minors by calling a phone number that belonged to Glenn, a 15-year-old who took his own life after nude photos of him were shared online without his permission.

Jung von Matt AG in Germany was awarded for “Rights Against the Right”, an operation for an anti-Nazi organisation. It involves buying the rights to visual codes used by Nazis, which prevents them being used on pro-Nazi merchandise.

There were also two Media Grand Prix winners. The first went to Scholz & Friends Berlin and the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung newspaper for “The 100th Edition”. A long-running print campaign features notable figures reading the newspaper. This time it showed Holocaust survivor Margot Friedländer and supported the fight against extremism.

The second Media Grand Prix went to GForce/Grey in Kazakhstan for “The National Sport of Kazakhstan”. Popular mixed martial arts broadcaster Ruh Fighting advertised bouts between men and women for the first time – but it was a lure to draw attention to domestic violence.

The PR Grand Prix went to VML UK for “The Beko Inheritance”, a fun campaign in which the domestic appliance maker gave customers a document enabling them to officially leave their appliances to loved ones in their will.

The Design Grand Prix went to Landor in Italy for its striking rebranding of the Orchestra Sinfonica di Milano, which rejuvenated the orchestra’s image and boosted box office takings.

The Digital Grand Prix was awarded to Mother London for “The Co-Worker”, a recruitment campaign allowing Roblox players to show off their skills and earn money at a virtual IKEA store.

The agency commented: “Journalists see every piece of work from our industry, so it feels like they’re uniquely qualified to pick out the great from the good. Winning this Grand Prix with IKEA is a special moment for everyone on the team.”
The Innovation Grand Prix went to Serviceplan Germany and PetPace for “Animal Alerts”. Research showed that dogs instinctively detect earthquakes in advance, so special collars transformed them into a collective early warning system.

The Print Grand Prix was awarded to “Capa vs. War” from Innocean Berlin. For a museum devoted to legendary war photographer Robert Capa (1913-1954), his photos were placed in today’s context to ask why war continues, decades later.

Finally, the Film Grand Prix was won by BBDO New York for “Museum Worthy”. Promoting a commercial production prize – the AICP – the vivid, funny and well-acted film imagines iconic artists facing the challenges of today’s creative environment.

Did Pandora misread the Lebanese market?

Pandora has a Christmas ad. So far nothing unusual. Women (and even men) flock to buy bracelets with charms from the brand during the holidays. But let us be very honest here, and I am speaking as a liberal for whom a lot of things are "OK, whatever", the models in the ad are dark-skinned. And in Lebanon, you are only dark-skinned if you are the househelp. Once more, I am trying to be both open-minded, but also very pragmatic. Almost every summer there is an issue at resorts - can the maid be admitted as well, and if she does can she use the pool like anyone else? I know I am not inventing these issues, these are part of the Lebanese society want it or not. And sadly, one cannot be too avant-garde while trying to sell. Someone just told me "I love Pandora, but now if I wear it I would be the same as our househelp as per the ad." I truly do think Pandora did a misstep here. Nothing that two light-skinned models cannot fix. And again, take it from a liberal, sometimes the market is the market.