Pizza Hut - the frozen pizza that never was

So apparently Pizza Hut needs to clarify a point - they do not do frozen pizzas. To prove the point, they launched a new product... Frozen pizza. The ad, which apart from the fact that we ended up with food bloggers and their ever-ebullient mood, is actually truly very well done. You pick up a product from the frozen food section, go home, yet never get to defrost it. Why? Because the box is empty! Remember, they do not do frozen pizzas! Instead in the box, you get a coupon for a real daily-made dough pizza from the app of Pizza Hut. Neat!!! I repeat, here's an ad that works, and that proves its point by going through the negative. Watch the ad here.

Puck & Panzani go on a silly Arabization

Panzani, the pasta brand, went hand in hand with Puck. So far so good. Their ad boasts "perfect pasta partners". Under the logo of Puck the English signature is "you made it special". Again, no fault so far even if it has been used before one way or the other. The Arabic? "You are not special" (mannak ghayr). Sure sure they meant "minnak ghayr" (special from you), but without the Arabic language annotations, this is how it reads. So who is special now? Apparently, not the cook!

e& (etisalat) - go for more platitudes galore

Jason Straham? Check. Lewis Hamilton? Check. Shah Ruh Khan? Check. The big (male) guns. In a very well-shot ad, which, honestly delivers nothing more than platitudes. You can play games on your phone? Scan a code bar? Pay by touch? And have apps there? Sure, immerse this in a "futuristic sauce" and everything seems - Blade Runner-ish. Oh and add a flying taxi and an uber stylish Mercedes in the background along with some "AI" flashing. Do I want Straham's walk in closet? Yes please. But seriously though, the ad, even if well-done plays the done-and-dusted card so much it is almost - insulting. Oh, and Pepsi called and they want their "Ask for More" slogan back. See the ad here.

Penrex, the ad that never was

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

I am often asked why is it that I collect old ads. People simply do not understand that the ads in question are the concentrate of our collective memory. A few days ago a youngster from the village asked me that same question. My answer was "Chou battariytak?" he instinctively answered "Re-O-Vac" (here). So I asked him "do you know that the last time this ad was on TV was about 1981-82?" "no...." "were you even born back then?" "no...." "see, this is our memory as people, as Lebanese, and you know about an ad that last aired before you were even born!". Josyane Boulos is doing a tremendous effort online (here) to revive old ads found in her archives - interestingly, the ads are mostly in her and her late father Jean-Claude Boulos' programs on Tele Liban (such as Malaeb). Like any collector with a mission, I have a lot - and I mean a lot - of ads.

During the pandemic I made it a point to watch 3 hours of Saudi Television archives on youtube to save the ads that were being broadcast in Lebanon as well at the time (80s television mind you). Perhaps you do not know but one of the most active agencies in Lebanon lost its archive when their offices were hit in Mirna Chalouhi center during the war in 1989, and another agency literally threw theirs in the trash. I once met with a major production agency of the time and the manager told me "yes, we still have the old ads, but don't get too excited, we don't have the machines to read them".

From my own archives, a few ads are still missing - Vegetaline, Jebran Metni, Benedicta, but most importantly.... Penrex! The ad, is still remembered by many, though nowhere to be found. The story of the ad is of a young man standing behind an uptight young girl in the bus. When the bus breaks violently the man bumps into the girl who is astonished! The young man immediately takes out the Penrex from his pocket to indicate that it was the pen not his - ahem - organ that actually poked her. The slogan? "Don't say pen say Penrex!"... If my recollection is correct, the whistle and the tune are both from the late Sami Clark.

But go find that ad. It is nowhere!

Digital Youth Leaders International Forum 2024

Some people are obstinate, unwavering, stubborn. I know one such person - Jihad El Hokayem. With Lebanon facing, once more, uncharted territories, what does the man who spearheads Rethinking Labanon do? He goes on and organizes the Digital Youth Leaders International Forum for this year. Is this resilience as the ad goes? (here). No it is far more, it is a belief - an unshakable belief - of forging on no matter the hurdles, the circumstances, and the problems. This is not just resilience, it is faith. A deeply rooted faith in the youth, Lebanese youth and how far they can go.

Ksara comes out swinging

One of things I am loving about the ads coming out these days, is that most of them are actually not even trying to sell me anything. The majority of them are being tactful, respectful and just showing support - much needed support to the Lebanese in this time of crisis. Ksara is the last entrant in this proud category with a copy for the ages, which is very connected to who they are and what they do. The gist of it? "This is our land, here with every new dawn new dreams are born, (dreams that) neither the winds would kill nor time would disappoint, we won't leave this land, neither the land would leave us". This ladies and gentlemen is the way to do it - proud, entrenched, with the head high. See the ad here.

IPT, because it is always time for your health

Oh so IPT has a new hit on their hands right bang after the one they just released (here). Yes, yes, no one has time for "this". And this is precisely what makes the ad timely and interesting. "Now is not the time, I barely have time to look at myself in the mirror. Now is the time to take care of my children, protect them, and not let them worry. Now is not the time, let me handle the household expenses. Not the time, I need to keep my business moving, am afraid it will stop. Keep the cancer mammography among your priorities in all cases, because it is always time for your health". Because, yes, Pink October! Because of course, what's with everything happening in Lebanon, the government pitching in the price of mammography is not on anyone's high list. But, as the ad goes "it's always time for your health."

50...

50.

Originally an installation, 50 is more easily shared as a video. Yes, 50 seconds looped 4 times for easier viewing. Boxes, and contents, and souvenirs and mementos and that obligatory Proustian endeavor that comes with time and age. Not just any age, 50.

IPT, manages to turn the negative into a positive

IPT (here and here and here) is now back with a patriotic ad - la situation oblige. Their idea is to turn the negative into a positive. Usually when someone asks you "how are you?" and you reply "mitl hel balad" (like this country - same as the country is) it means you are not doing that well at all. And yet the whole copy of the ad centers around this idea - that "mitl hel balad" "means we are standing strong, unwavering, unmoving, to still be able to serve you from the bottom of our heart as we go through this phase together, because no matter how much the times flip, there's nothing.... like this country." To be able to harness the negativity into a positive element - and also portray the many different IPT stations which were destroyed is no mean feat. You can argue this is not an "ad" per se, but since it is signed by IPT, then message of hope or ad becomes a technicality. Good on them looking it at this way. Watch the film here.

And we go on with those who remain

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

For some reason the song is not leaving my brain these days.

بدنا نكمل بللي بقيو

Here. Taken from the Rahbani play "Jbal Al Souwan".

We shall go on with those who remain.

The song reminds me of the war. By war I mean the 1975-1990 one - not the other iterations. Because Sawt Loubnan (Voix du Liban) would play it all the time.

Here is a former writing about Fairouz and the war (originally here).

It’s Fairouz again on the radio. She comes frequently between news flashes. The ex- militia man once pondered that Fairouz was a bad omen for the “boys on the front”, whenever she was on the radio a hundred of them were killed. Someone replied that it was the opposite that was true: It was when a hundred “boys” were killed that radio stations played songs by fairouz. They never did resolve that one. Just like many other things stayed unresolved. I always needed a straw for my bottle of “Crush”, it was too risky for me to drink directly from the bottle.

There is no sense explaining to you why the war flashbacks are going back to my mind. We all know why. And that incredible feeling of both, euphoria and powerlessness. Of missing normalcy, when the abnormal becomes normal and we have to live with it on day to day basis. Of insanity masquerading as daily life as I wait for the bread vendor who comes in his van and try to shield my elderly parent from how bad the night was in Beirut.

We shall go on with those who remain. Those who remained. The idiotic, imbecilic, pseudo-crazy ones who carry generational trauma and get on with it. In England they had the Blitz Spirit (here) some form of "just get on with it despite everything". In Lebanon we talk a lot about that wretched term "resilience". I am tired of resilience, but apart from going with those who remain, what else can we do?

The parishes are sharing a new Mansour Labaki hymn, seriously.

I am, believe it or not, on my parish official whatsapp. Why? Because I need to be notified of death faire-part to go and offer condolences (I said it before, I am the oldest non-married male from the "male" part of my family (including cousins and what not) so I offer condolences on behalf of the whole "jebb" or trunk of the family). Long story short, the parish also shares other news on its whatsapp. If you are not aware tomorrow is the canonization of the three Masabki brothers (here). I have spoken prior about Msgr Mansour Labaki (here) and how difficult it is to separate the art from the artist.

Here's the last paragraph from that post:

But again, ask those elderly women in the sororities, and the middle-aged men (yes, this includes me as I was born in 1974!) about who did this hymn they memorized and which they might hum come Christmas (am thinking of Labaki's simple, glorious, lovely "Laylat al Milad") and the answer would be a total blank. The artwork will outlast its author, whomever its author was.

All right, but that "before". When none of us knew of the pedophilic accusations about Labaki. Just to be clear, Labaki - and these are not innuendos - was convicted of molesting children by a special Vatican court in France. Yet he was never extradited and instead is serving his "penitence" in a nun's convent in Lebanon. 

Yet, the Maronite clergy, and in extenso - not just my own parish - but many others are sending a new hymn by Labaki for the Masabki brothers (here). I am at this point - speechless. 

Mink, a matter of punctuation

Well, we can safely add Mink to the list of companies trying to advertise in these testy times (Slowear and ParAzar were incredibly good, Crepaway really needed to read the room). Mink is on the bandwagon, basically taking all the emotional angle out. Just to be clear, the company that graced us with superior and impeccable ads (some samples are here and here) does make its "rational" point across. But perhaps they set the bar too high themselves so maybe they fell short of some of their brilliance. I am not saying the idea or copy is bad, just that somehow one does not feel the oomph with it. Very decent outing but again, close but no cigar. See the ad here.

ParAzar, because we will weave again joy

What a tricky time to be an advertiser in Lebanon. Any false move blows in your face. Recently I wrote about the masterstroke from Slowear (here), and the flop from Crepaway (here). But ParAzar manages to pull out a very strong one. The backbone is in the copy. The very good copy. But to give credit where credit is due, in the hands of a lesser visualizer this could have turned slapstick or worse, kitsch (which in this case is a disservice). But the imagery - obviously taken from the very large repertoire of events ParAzar has covered, is nothing short of touching and appropriate. Interestingly, not overly touching, or forcefully emotional, no, just kind and beautiful and appropriate to the copy. The copy ends with a punch - from the threads of sadness, We will weave again joy. So yes, indeed joy we will weave again. See the lovely piece here.

R4, R5, R17, Twingo - Renault is pillaging its past

Renault 4, 17, 5 - images by Tarek Chemaly of existing cars in Lebanon

Renault has just launched electric versions of Renault 5 (here), Renault 4 (here), Renault 17 (not up for production yet along with designer Ora Ïto - here), and Twingo (here). Like any Lebanese, the emblematic Renault is part of my past. Take Renault 12 (here) - it was so ubiquitous one would be mistaken it was assembled in Lebanon. Sure sure, you might classify me as a retro lover who refuses to see new versions of his beloved models. But seriously, if you do look at the newer models, they are stripped from their soul. The cute R5 is completely beefed up, the R4 bigger and Longer, the Twingo thankfully retrains its lovely headlights but there is a lot of lost-in-translation elements, thankfully it was the strong hand of Ora Ïto that kept the R17 incredibly faithful to its roots. 

Yet, whereas I can find the cars above "nice" generally, and whereas I am by no means a motoring specialist, I do have questions about the end outcome - the first is "why"? If you are going to tap nostalgia why bastardize it so bad it becomes unrecognizable? If you are indeed tapping it, for whom? If it is to target people of a certain age, who remember driving such vehicles, they are actually - chronologically advanced at this point. GenZ? Really, them? The generation who will find a fault (ethical, economical, etc....) in anything? Look, am sure the bigwigs at Renault have thought it over, and I truly loved their E-van ad (here) but liking an ad is one thing, and having the past repackaged without a frisson is another.

Al-Futtaim Honda - or how to talk about mental health without preaching

Is it possible? Could someone in the Arab region have cracked the code of how to talk about mental health without being condescending, without the stigma, without the preaching? I am not inventing gunpowder when I say that mental health is not just a taboo but is also dismissed in the Arab region at large and often mixed with "se7r" (magic) and "cured" by talismans instead of being taken seriously and people visiting proper therapists for it. Yet here we are Al-Futtaim Honda comes with an elegant, purposely understated at for the World Mental Health Day, which - thankfully - does not focus on the car with a copy which - at first - refers to the machine, and which works in a bi-linguist fashion. Only for the reveal to come by - that perhaps the problem is not in the car which puts the earlier sentences back into perspective. A brilliant, minimalist ad, which - of course might not erase all the "shame" associated with mental health and therapy in the Arab region - is a wonderful baby steps. See the ad here.

Crepaway, either give wholeheartedly or don't

You know the adage "every bit counts"? Well, yes, of course it does. But honestly one gets to a point where this is just.... unacceptable. Crepaway has offered a campaign that it dubs "share a meal of hope". So far so good. The meal is priced at USD 29. Again, no comment there. Now, Beit El Baraka is getting a full blown USD 1 out of every meal. Let me repeat, ONE buck from every 29. That would be 3.4%. Remember when I wrote about shopping with a conscience lately? (here).

Take this example - a man who owns a bakery has refused to take the price of 4 manakish from a girl when he knew she was displaced from the south. In the gloriously wonderful and efficient Matbakh Mariam (here) father Hani Tawk forbids any of the people working there and donating their time and energy to even ask the name of the people being served lest they think they are not welcome to eat for free.

So yes, one Dollar is lovely, but please Crepaway, this is insulting.

al-Awneh, al-Najdeh: have the Lebanese re-learned a lesson?

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly from the series Belvento

Anyone who reads this blog knows I am not a big fan of the Lebanese. Although I am one. Our political system I find was always in tatters, our understanding what politics was has always been skewed, etc, etc.... And still today to give what it is to Caesar what it is to Caesar, I must admit I am - if not proud - at least I am very impressed about us. Forget the bloated NGOs, but the initiatives on the ground are mind-blowingly insane. People hosting, cooking, feeding, distributing anything from mattresses, to milk, to diapers, to medicines, some closing their restaurants and doing a common kitchen to cook. I know I know this is a short-term band aid on a huge hemorrhaging wound, but still - the scale and impact on the ground is.... incredible. As I said this is not some publicity-hungry NGO justifying its salaries, no, it is just people coordinating, volunteering their time, energy, and resources into making it happen.

Of course it is not perfect, neither should it be. But seriously, every time I turn to Instagram I cannot but try to stop my heart from being squeezed. A barber and his team went and cut children's hair in one story, this almost made me melt. Of course, you can argue till tomorrow about if this was a priority or not, but to me watching the video and seeing the kids go ballistically insane from happiness (and I measure my words), feeling "human", like everyone else, regaining a sense of normalcy as they were uprooted from their usual surroundings and homes which most likely no longer exist - was worth every iota of buzzers that was spent.

Sure sure, pessimistic/realistic me will give you a thousand reasons why this won't matter in the great scheme of things. Charles Hayek in his beautiful feed on Instagram spoke recently about al-Awneh or al-Najdeh (basically help and rescue) two virtues rooted in the culture of the Lebanese village (here). Perhaps the Lebanese village is morphing and changing, that is for sure, but what is happening in all these endeavors is the same: People are sticking to one another regardless of sect, religion, or geographical origin.

Maybe, just maybe, the Lebanese have learned a lesson after all.

Alternative uses of bombs #flashback

Originally published Dec. 9 2014

Ah the power of recycling!!!

Smallville Hotel - now with a condolences hall

Well, desperate times call for desperate measures I presume. Smallville Hotel is now advertising its condolences hall, no, this is neither a pun nor a joke but rather how the hotel evolved with the current times and is adapting to the dismal situation in Lebanon. I am not even sure if this is a smart move, a total folly, one born from financial desperation, or what not. But here we are - a hotel with a condolences hall. 

Honest Petroleum - with a hint of basic instinct

Let's face it, Honest Petroleum just did what no ad should do - rely on sex appeal, shoot with whatever means, play on cheopo visuals (see the ad here). Say whatever you want about exploiting women, and give as much as you want about gender abuse. I myself saw the ad about 6 times, and now can lecture you, less effectively to be honest, about the merits of green diesel being sold at the best prices. Of course, in 2024, as I said - you can go ethics for days, or just simply capitulate and say the ad works. Very well actually. And yes, I still saw hints of Sharon Stone in Basic Instinct with that white dress.