Politics in Lebanon: Let's hear it from Ricardo Karam, Makram Rabah and Alexadre Paulikevitch

Make love not war - Artwork by Tarek Chemaly date 2018

Politics in Lebanon. You are always torn between a rock and a hard place. I know people who wanted to liberate Lebanon from Syrian influence but also loved Saudi Arabia which basically was the de facto power which gave the Syrians a free hand in Lebanon. I know others who hate Israel viscerally and also hate the hizb with the same zeal, even if technically if it is the hizb that chased the neighboring power away. Of course, the current negotiations between Lebanon and Israel are not going anything to end the beef between the two factions. Accusations of being defeatists to traitors, are slung from both sides.

So everyone is right and everyone is wrong. As Alexandre Dumas eloquently said in The Count of Monte-Christo, "The difference between treason and patriotism is only a matter of dates". Yet, take it from someone who no longer votes - because, no, voting with a blank vote means you believe in the process but not the candidates, when all the process makes no sense to me at this point - yes, everyone's point of view does make sense. Even if each side has no idea what to do with the other.

Recently, Ricardo Karam, who is a respected media figure, basically stated - and I am giving you the gist of it - that he considers Hezbollah a Lebanese political party that is represented in Parliament, arguing that this is a "factual reality" rather than a political declaration. Makram Rabah, assistant professor at the American University of Beirut was having none of it, in a recent publication (here), he went all out against Karam, emphasizing the many literal martyrs AUB has offered to Lebanon, and - considering Karam was part of the board of trustees of the university, and in light of the recent threats to the university to have it bombed - it being at the forefront of the American values in Lebanon (supposedly, and it is my Alma Mater too as a full disclosure) - to Rabah that a major no-no.

Which brings Alexandre Paulikevitch to the melee. Pauliketvitch, a Lebanese artist, is nothing but the major antithesis of everyone ultra conservative. Like him or not, he expresses himself on stage in ways that might ruffle too many feathers. Lately, in an interview, Paulikevitch dressed in what seemed like a Y2K floral feminine top, said that he hinds himself confused. He had always had a major hate-hate relationship with the Hizb. But he also finds that they are truly the only power capable of chasing Israel away. And now he finds himself defending them as a "resistance" all while understanding that he represents all the liberal ideals they hate.

Paulikevitch makes sense. The problem? So does Karam and Rabah. "I see both sides like Chanel" said Frank Ocean. And I can, I swear. Oh scratch that, I can see all sides, not just both. 

Recently, I was hoping to do the major weed clearing behind my property and perhaps putting some cement to cut the weeds from returning, my Dutch friend said that "the government of the Netherlands is encouraging people to keep such spaces, so that insects can grow" to which I replied "can the government of the Netherlands please come and do the weed pulling then? I pay 5 USD per hour".

You see, away from the major threatening problems engulfing Lebanon, for some of us like Voltaire ended Candide, "but we must cultivate our garden".

Deek Duke, and a very dispiriting ad at the gates of summer

Photo credit Stephanie Abou Jaoudeh

I don't think I understand this ad. Maybe because this ad is not directed to me. Or maybe this ad does not make sense. Either way it left me confused. This menu lifts. Why? Because it has high protein, low-cal? I mean I admit I took two nutrition course at AUB and I was good in neither one of them, but I still don't get it. Worse, what kind of imagery is this? Yes yes I know it is a "Deek" because the brand is Deek Duke (literally rooster roosters). Still, the ad is neither appealing, nor sexy, not indicative of anything at the gates of summer. Pity, I do remember when the shop was one branch only in Achrafieh and was truly exceptional in everything. But then novelty wears thin after so many years.

Annahar gets itself an incomprehensible selling line

As I always say, advertising is becoming too smart for me. File this under: I seriously have no clue what this means. OK so Annahar newspaper has a selling line which am assuming is perhaps new as not seen it before. Annahar in Arabic means "the day". The line? Clear sight in the peak of the day. Now, correct me if I am mistaken - how would this position the newspaper or give it an edge over, you know, natural light? As far as I can "see" (sorry for the pun) there is none. What does the paper bring me then? No idea. How does this place the paper over and above any other media is mysterious to me. I have spoken prior about the use of the brand inside selling lines (here) with exceptional examples from Kiri cheese, or Fairy washing liquid. Well, suffice to say, this is not one of them.

Turkish Airlines blows the house down with its graphics

Turkish Airlines is announcing that its flights to Lebanon, Syrian and Jordan are back. Could have slipped easily under the radar. But no! They really nailed their graphics to a T. That famous motif on coffee cups from Lebanon? The beautiful Damascene tiles? The specific cross-stitching from Jordan? Yes and yes and yes. Truly one needs to know societies well in order not to put everyone under the same umbrella or just stereotype "something oriental" and get on with it. The animation can be seen here. The small copy accompanying it also says "Our flights are resuming once again to destinations rich in history and known for their unique cultural presence."

Balkis - afandi sans wordplay

Balkis (here, here, here and here as examples). Balkis previously advertised its mandarine (afandi) flavor before. Here's what I said back then: (for) the mandarine flavor - they go "charraf el afandi" (Afandi is a title from the Ottoman era which means "Gentleman" or "sir" and still used in Lebanon as a valuable way of addressing someone, the word also means "mandarine") and "charraf" means "he is here" (do note in my archive I have and ad for Balkis Afandi flavor since 2004 so I guess this is a reissue of an old flavor.

Interestingly, the new ad does not feature the witty wordplay - as to why is beyond me because it really worked. Also, and this is me and my OCD memory: Pity I do not have their first ad - which is not present in my archive - which simply said "3a fekra" which translates as "by the way" or "here's a thought" and it was simply introducing pure natural juice.

Sande - the teaser/revealer we did not need.

Image credit Reva Berbari

Some say it was a stroke of genius. Others - OK fine, just me - are tired of corny teaser/revealer ads. People we are no longer in the 80s for heaven's sake. But hey, it seems brands love it (for a mysterious reason!). So here we are: Sande. The name is beautiful to be clear, the packaging much less so. Sande means some sort of a back up, or someone to have your back. And it is a very fitting name for croissant, chocolate cream pie, cheese sandwich or anything else you have as a filler (the name of the brand is byte apparently and they have been in the market for more than a year but sales were very sluggish). Now, here's the question: if they did a regular ad without teaser/revealer would they have had the same impact? I personally think they would have, the line is strong enough to have carried the ad without paying for 2 ads at once.

Samsung - summer is here with Galaxy A57/ A37 5G

OK, so that's a lot of things at the same time, first Samsung wishes you an awesome summer, in the meantime there's also the Galaxy A57/ A 37 5G, with a lot of visuals in tow, so basically I am not sure if this is an ad for their new generation of smartphones, or for the brand at large, or for just enticing people to enjoy summer, or any combination thereof. Well, the ad repeats itself on many digital screens which is interesting - but no sign of it on any printed billboards. So I guess it is a mix of all the above. And as I said previously with everyone still saying how chilly the weather is, not sure summer is already on the menu.

Vaseline: Winter glow? For spring? Groundbreaking!

So who knew the wrong timing would be right bang on time? Vaseline - with its "own your winter glow" in May could have been a misfire. But considering the freezing weather we had in Lebanon, including 8 meters of condensed snow in Ainata-El Arz where snow ploughs could barely open a pedestrian road, and rain galore and people regretting taking out their carpets already, suddenly "own your winter glow" (here) from Pimo does not seem too farfetched! And so voila, you could still apres-ski at this time of year I suppose, just put on some Vaseline with it.

Toters adds three more cars for the win!

Remember Toters Fresh and their promise to win one car? (here). Well scratch that because now they are back with a vengeance, or rather a promise to win three cars not just one (apparently, 3 cars over and above the original one) and the ad goes "there is a traffic jam of winning, because we have added three cars!" - well the play on words works actually - you know traffic jam in its clin d'oeuil to too many cars awaiting. Now obviously, Toters - according to statistics controls 71% of the delivery market so they are making heaps of money to afford to offer 4 cars. Interestingly, the brands of the cars are not relevant meaning that the lottery in question is not done in conjunction with any brand wishing to advertise itself.

Beirut Beer delivers summer after/despite diluvian rains

Photo credit Mohamad Haidar

Beirut Beer - and how many times did I say it prior that it is a good thing it is stepping out of the shadow of Almaza and branching out on its own (from here to here and finally here passing through many steps and missteps). Now Beirut Beer has a limited edition summer bottles. The problem is that no one could have anticipated the diluvian rains which struck Lebanon for two days and the very cold weather still blanketing anywhere outside Beirut (where I am - people are still in heavy jackets).

But summer will come, want it or not. So Beirut Beer is anticipating that (again, the incredibly bad weather is still here even despite the sun). But hey, cheers!

So all of us together for unity.

Not sure what to make of this to be honest. The typography is horrible and the layout (what layout?) is inexistent. And the slogan repeats the same word twice. Basically, a very strange head-scratcher. Now I think, though not sure, this is about the refugees. The headline goes "severity does not serve - our unity... serves". Is this directed to people being civilized and emphatic towards those who have sought refuge from the south or the southern suburb of Beirut? Perhaps so. Mind you all this is sponsored by the UNDP, the Ministry of Communication, and Dawaer (Dawaer Foundation is a nongovernmental, nonprofit and nonpartisan organization established in 2015 by a team of dedicated activists who build on their extensive and diverse experience to achieve a democratic peaceful society, respectful of human rights.)

Well, with such sponsors, it is interesting they could not find a decent designer, and a respected copywriter to actually portray their idea in a more flattering manner and for them to actually reach people in a more interesting way.

The AloeLab - summer is here (if only)

Let us be honest, every other person I speak to these days says how cold the weather still is - the Diluvian rains in May are just a proof. So I am not sure about the summer and the sunscreen thingy considering that every evening the fog is so thick one can cut it. Still, it's the time I guess. So here we are, the AloeLab is advertising for a "sun ready skin, oil free, fluid sunscreen" - which honestly is a lot of messages to go into one ad. Normally you get SPF 15 and that is it. Interestingly it is a Lebanese company apparently (here) and from one of their posts is seems you can apply the sunscreen under your make up (I am assuming that this has nothing to do with swimming later).

Children's Cancer Center - because cancer does not wait.

Is the country really engulfed in a million issue? Do we have problem on top of a problem? Are we dealing with literally, an existential crisis? Yes, and yes and yes. But this does not negate that cancer does not give a hoot about any of this. It does not care, it does not wait, it does not take a break. It is here. It is relentless. And the children fighting it also neither can afford to delay or adjourn their chemo sessions, radiation and medicine. The Children's Cancer Center Lebanon (CCCL) has a timely ad. One that is dignified all while conducting the final message without being petty. A very delicate rope to walk, but one they managed to do.

Master kettle cooked crunches differently and goes upscale.

The new Master kettle cooked potato chips went high end, as is very high end. A hidden villa? Check. A model in fancy clothing? Check. A very embellished copy in English? Check. Truly, one could mistake it for a perfume ad (if one adds an opera soundtrack), or a very chic clothing store (if there's a man somewhere in the shadows). 

Now, with the Master kettle cooked chips being really good - on par with their international counterparts - it seems the stress was to point people that they could still enjoy such high quality, yet at affordable prices. Which is sort of worrying because when the ad is so upscale, people might be afraid of the price and hence consumers might feel this might be too expensive for them to try and enjoy. But still, the ad is well done, the velvety ambiance very palpable, and the suggested quality does portray itself in the film setting the product in a different standard that any other local competitor. Then again, considering this is the Daher Food top selling product, the consumer already knows the price, so perhaps it was good to stroke their ego implying they belong to some exclusive club. See the ad here.

Can anyone make Alfa stop, please?

Alfa has a new ad (here). And it's not even independence day. The sob, the drama, the - heaven help us that word again - resilience. I mean they got the mandolins to the power n, and the pinch-me-till-I-cry drama cranked to the level 11. Oh and as a close friend said, "now is not the time to dig a tunnel under the cedar" which, along with all other pseudo-creative ideas the ad is brimming with, it is indeed not. 

Does the ad solve anything? As usual not. And no, tilling the soil and dancing dabke while waving the flag as children are on the swing will certainly not fix the country. But then leave it to Alfa to have a much ado about nothing.

Solet Tapis, buy your artificial grass already

Solet Tapis has a very good one. "Chreyto w la terbeyto" - buy it rather than raise it. Meaning get the end result without going through the hassle of the process. And what are they talking about? Well, artificial grass rather than natural one. In the photos one can see the difference - either a woman tanning on a chaise longue with a lovely assortment of potted plants next to her or a man mowing the lawn with uneven results. Which brings us back to the beginning - buy it rather than do it by hand endlessly.

Perwoll goes high on a promise

Well, not sure how this works, but apparently Perwoll - a detergent brand which up to my knowledge is new to the market - promises to "clean and renew colors with every wash". Interesting, with other brands issuing forumlas for black fabrics (especially for women's black abayas implicitly) - Perwoll seems to target all colors apparently. Interestingly, Perwoll is a brand owned by Henkel - yes, the same Henkel that also owns Persil. So perhaps Perwoll is a fighter brand launched to take market share from competitors, or perhaps it is the answer to other competitor companies who have specialized formulas to clean colored fabrics.

Presidential ad - reaffirming positions

There are several ads in town featuring our president. For anyone a bit lost here's the gist of it: Lebanon is having direct negotiations with Israel. Hizbollah does not concede to the existence of such a nation. So the country is torn in between those saying that the negotiations are asymmetrical and irrelevant and obviously an act of treason, and those saying that the country needs to get down from its high horse and face the music as is and try to limit damages as much as possible.

The president and the head of the cabinet (respectively Joseph Aoun and Nawwaf Salam) are of the latter's opinion. Hence the ad in question all over town. "Joseph Aoun... The decision is Lebanon's" - to begin with the ad is not signed (neither by the presidency nor any other official or unofficial body) and it says what it wants to say obliquely (and smartly one has to admit). Because what is left unsaid is "the decision is not for any non-governmental actor with arms but rather with the state itself". As I said, it leaves a lot suggested, but it implies all of it.

Of course, buying ads on networks costs money, so it would have been interesting to know who paid for it just as an act of transparency. 

Furn Obeid, Labor Day with a lovely jab!

What do Zaatar w Zeit, the Lebanese Bakery and Furn Beaino have in common? Well, they are all competitors to Furn Obeid. And since today is Labor Day, Furn Obeid decided "we want to rest today so order from...." - yes, the competitors. Because eventually, loyal clients always come back. Lovely, lovely jab! Not to be mean or steal their thunder but it does remind me of the 2014 Shawarmanji Halloween trick (which was done in reverse, i.e. dipping the Shwarmanji logo in that of the competitors) - see below.... To be clear, both are incredibly smart and well-done.

Vivad - Labor Day ahoy!

Ah that was an unexpected one. 1rst of May, Labor Day. Vivad went with a mix of professions (OK, fine no blue collar ones but one cannot demand too much I guess) only for this to culminated in a Labor Day ad. Which is actually a bit cute (Happy Filmmakers/ Developers/ Bankers/ Pilots/ Lawyers... Day, then Happy Labor Day). As I said, it does lack the - you know Happy Taxi Drivers/ Forklift Operators/ Builders/ Bakers/ Seamstresses Day. Still credit where credit is due, it does work for whatever its intended target audience.