Solet Tapis goes the paparazzi route

Solet Tapis, right bang on time for when people put their carpets (here) is out with a new one. "Our carpets are such a story" - the line I need to admit does work, it is homely and inviting. For the illustration part - I had expected the carpets to be on the cover of books (makes more sense creatively) - Solet went somewhere else: The paparazzi shooting the carpet as it were a star. Sure, names such as Solet and Tapirama (here) are encrusted in the Lebanese collective memory, but make no mistake, this year - trying to explore if I change a carpet - I was met with a flurry of shops, offers and brands from all across the country selling (sadly) the same models and shapes. Which means that competition is fierce and - in today's Lebanon - people will go to the cheapest.

Barista Beirut Edition, excellence in a capsule.

All right, everyone can go home. Barista just showed everyone how it is done. A msterpiece in design, culture thinking and basically encapsulating the city at large. Just insert the design of a classic coffee cup found in basically any household. Billiant. The best design seems like no design at all.

Am I too old to adapt to the new advertising?

Linkedin - from my series "Tanaklogia" dated 2013

I have been in the communication scene long enough, and I have read the words "old advertising is dead" more often than is healthily possible. Anything from the prisma buildboards (remember those rotating ones which would accomodate, not one, not two but three ads at once?), to the electronic diplays which could accommodate even more than three, to the splintering of TV into many in one household, to advent of social media, and now the explosive ubiquitous presence of AI, and so on and so forth.

When my cousin who studied arts in the US came back to Lebanon sometime in the mid-80s, he took me for a ride and in one of those small villages in Mount Lebanon he looked at the banner above a small shop and simply said "that's advertising! Anything out of the ordinary is advertising!" - the beauty of it is that the banner was one of those that simply said so-and-so shop no more no less, but the street was otherwise barren from any other such sign, which made it very striking in the middle of that road.

Today everyone is going "if they can do it, why can't we?". Everyone who is anyone is trying to keep up with - to be honest I don't even know with what. Sure, sure, I ranted about client servicing in agencies dumbing down creative work out of fear of losing accounts, I have spoken about creatives not being creative because they've been outvoted too many times, about ignorant marketing department heads who have no clue what they are doing, about impolite clients thinking they own the agency just because they end up - very very bleatingly paying their bills. But this is different, there is a huge of sense of we-lost-the-plot-and-we-have-no-idea-what-we-are-doing.

Obviously, don't let me start with Linkedin where everyone is an award-winner and each member there posting silly AI slops and glorifying mundane happenings, and trying to exalt "lessons" from things that otherwise wouldn't register on the radar because "they are building personal brands".

What am I harping about here? I am just saying that eventually, advertising purposes have not changed. Any advertising no matter what the "brand" is does 3 things: 1) introduce the product 2) tell you the product is in the market 3) invite you to try the product. Still, even those simple, ubiquitous and very simple aims end up not being fulfilled.

I am all for creativity believe me. But what is bothering me is the fact that everyone is going for style over substance. I can barely recall any ad that stood out as of late. Has there been any? I am sure there has been, but they are more and more difficult to locate and remember. And throughout it all, the fatigue gets more and more intense. 

From MbS to MbSOS? Saudi Arabia, advertising, and national image

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly, first released as cover of ArabAd in 2024

Trojena Ski Village? Webuild Dam & Lake Project? The Line Tunnel? Moonlight Desalination Plant? The Mukaab? NEOM giga-project? Their common link? Saudi Projects costing several billions each which are either being scaled down, curtailed, or outright stopped. In 2023 I wrote about Ronaldo being a cheap propaganda instrument for KSA (here), and how Messi was also a Messy instrument for Saudi tourism (here), Saudia was flying on turbo engines when they did this flawed ad (here). What I am trying to say is that the kingdom was formerly really thriving, between the (now questionable) 2034 FIFA football bid, the major effort injected in glowing image the kingdom and add to it the Georgina Rodriguez effect (Ronaldo's now wife, formerly girlfriend, who was allowed to live with him despite them not being married in addition to her Holsten campaign - here), without forgetting the multitude of shows and awards - now left by the wayside (the joy awards were postponed (read cancelled) this year along with the Red Sea Festival which was supposed to place the cinema in the Kingdom at the forefront of world events).

For a long while, if you read any press release coming from the kingdom the sentence "in compliance with the 2030 vision" was a mandate. You couldn't escape it, or go around it, or not include it, no matter what your campaign or product or was. Everything had to be in line with it. Then AI came, then the war came between the US and Iran came, then political and geographical instability came, a perfect storm on all fronts which affected oil production and transit via the straight of Hormuz, the bombing of the airport, and all other cataclysms leading to the announcement today that the UK Royal Air Force is deploying Typhoon FGR4 fighter jets, an A400M Atlas transport plane, and a Voyager tanker to Saudi Arabia to conduct defensive counter-air missions against Houthi drone and missile strikes. 

Read that again.

Advertising is one of the first casualties anywhere in any upheaval in the world. Six months before the 2019 crash in Lebanon, the industry started feeling all the effects as the Dollar was beginning to wobble. In KSA and the Gulf at large, communication (advertising, marketing, PR, etc....) agencies are shedding employees by the bucketload. Just yesterday, the head of a major production firm with heavy presence in KSA told me "between AI, the war, and the infinitely shrinking client budgets we are squeezed on all fronts, thankfully I am Canadian, I can always go flip burgers there for all I care."

KSA is more acute, simply because, by injecting so much money in projects - which as I pointed out earlier are either shrinking or being cancelled outright - and by wanting to go toe to toe with the UAE (let's face it, they did want that) they were deploying heavy artillery (sorry for the pun) even if it went against the grain of everything the kingdom defended in its ultra Wahabi era.

So with the communication sector hit so fiercely, with the national image troubled, with all these glowing meetings and festivals and events and landmarks in jeopardy, Mohammad bin Salman, known as MbS, seems to have gone to MbSOS mode.

France, Lebanon, ABC and Swatch

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

If you did not live in the 80s you wouldn't know what the Swatch craze was. The first time Charles came from Cyprus (because this is where all the well to do Lebanese went to flee the war) wearing a see-through model, everyone laughed at him. To be honest I was intrigued, it was like nothing else I had seen in my life. I don't need to tell you that, when the plastic watch made it to Lebanon the hype was only too real. 

Yesterday I spoke about how people looted cat food cans from Spinneys and still ate them (here), today I will go on with a war remembrance. The war in question was the one that happened between the Lebanese Forces and the fragment of the Lebanese army that was led at the time by General (later President) Michel Aoun. So this put it squarely in 1989, and since these scenes happened in winter so it must have been February (that war started on February 14th). 

If I am recalling too many details, it is because some things stay with us. Today, on instagram I saw a photo of students with Louis Vuitton and Dior backpacks in a class in Saint Denis (of course the image is AI generated). For your info, Saint Denis is not considered a rich area, on the contrary is a heavily industrialized commune with workers as its core populace. The hint? These were looted from the previous days.

The women in the house opposite our apartment building in Achrafieh had, according to Madame Silvart (who was living in the gorgeous house right next to them) "fi boyfriend kitir" as she used to say in her broken Arabic (there are a lot of boyfriends). These boyfriends? Well, just pick and choose. I remember once they were selling saj bread (open air oven bread) during that same war (basically a couple of days before the incident I shall mention) and after about two hours of waiting and just as my turn came, a green militia jeep came, took all the bread left and went.

So what does Swatch has to do with anything? Well, during that time all shops were closed. Banks too. Access to money was incredibly tight. Then N., the (at the time very young) daughter of one of those women shows up to the shelter of our building (which used to house many neighboring people from the street) with a brand spanking new Swatch. The gorgeous one that had the X sign on it. Obviously, something was amiss.

She - in all logic - would not be able to have had the watch bought for her now that the market was inexistent, especially that anyone who had any semblance of money was keeping it aside. Then, rumors started started circulating, the ABC mall in Dbayeh had been looted (interestingly, the news is not on the net). Put two and two together and you get where the watch came from.

I know the Saint-Denis joke upstairs is made up (I think!) but N. was indeed wearing that Swatch.

France, Lebanon, Spinneys and cat food cans

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

So the student manifestations are raging - and all the rage - in France. Note, I am not French, I don't have a Schengen visa, so all of this is foreign to me. Anyone who is anyone on the net seems to have an opinion though - anywhere from agreeing with the students to the usual "useful idiots" activated by someone else et je passe. Interestingly, what started off as a student movement has splintered to something else, with looting agents and many breaking into high end stores (one has to give them that they have taste - Hermes and Celine apparently - from what I understood not Dior though which either did not seduce the masses or that LVMH (parent company) had its own security for the shop). Still, all of this transports me back to Spinneys, which had a very elegant department store in Jnah, the place where the well-to-do Lebanese used to shop.

And with the beginning of the civil war, specifically January 1976 (war broke out officially in April 1975 though it was a long time coming), both the Verdun and the Jnah branches were looted. There is an urban legend, which I have read obliquely and heard from oral sources as well, that when the looters encountered cans of cat food, they still stole them and took them and ate them refusing to believe anyone in their right might would actually have food specifically destined to cats.

All of this is an old tale, but Lebanon is Lebanon, and make no mistake, if you peel off the instagram facade of people having fun and the same crowd going from newly-opened restaurant to newly-opened restaurant, Lebanon still has a very large chunk of have-nots. Watch out for those cat food cans.

Zaatar w Zeit, 100 branches, full score

All right sometimes it works, sometimes - rather most of the time - it does not. This one actually works, sure it is full of cliches, self-aggrandizing statements, stereotypes about the Lebanese, about the immigrants which apparently make it everywhere, yet for all its mushiness this one stands on its feet - it could be the combination of the bon-enfant atmosphere, or the auto-flattering copy which for all of its bravado seems not to take itself - too - seriously. Or, they = like that Indian man - were having on good manouche! See the ad here.

Marché - a whiff of a great copywriting

To be honest I have no direct experience in the area but I heard it outright that the location (apparently facing LAU Kraytem) is cursed. No business managed to get past the 2-year stretch. But this not the scope of this post. As soon as I saw it, I recognized that Marché has a whiff of copywriting genius. "Ready, set, Marché..." in case you didn't get it, it is a mix of English and French, instead of "Ready, Set, Go/Walk" it uses the shop's name "Marché" instead of the French "Marchez" (walk). So there's really something very exciting there. 

Fiat showroom plays geography

Maliks said it without much evidence (here) but with Fiat the facts are solid. With Fiat (and sadly the non-photographed Jeep) we know exactly where the showroom is. You turn right and 50 meters on, and then bang. Funnily for a whole generation of Lebanese the Fiat showroom gave its name to a well-known overpass located in Beirut, Lebanon, near Corniche El-Nahr and Pierre Gemayel Avenue, right next to Souk el Ahad. Back then Fiat was under the Saad and Trad dealership. Well, now that the brand has migrated to Gargour Group, the address has changed. The bridge naming did not however even if Saad and Trad have now focused on Jaguar, Bentley and Lamborghini. Yes, that Jaguar.

Xpeng GX Erev - leave the light on for me

Pity I could not shoot this at night. Well, here's the idea, at night the lights of the Xpeng GX Erev are actually lit! (OK, along with the price - 58,900 USD - but hey, an ad is done to sell). To be clear am not here to discuss the technical specs of the car, but the ad is indeed a novelty. A novelty that could not have happened on a billboard or unipole. I shall let the mechanics of it a mystery but again, something is indeed impressive with the idea. Sometimes you wonder how come no one thought of that before.

Puidor - sauces galore!

Well, like every Lebanese, I threw brand loyalty out the window. Yet, little by little, you start buying the "other" products because you've done your research. Within that category Puidor has been a classic, because after comparing prices and quantities (and yes, qualities), Puidor delivers a lot of product for your buck. So now Puidor is veering from the more usable Tomato Puree and Ketchup to emphasize on their sauces (Pizza sauce · Pasta sauce · Pesto sauce · Salsa dips · Tomato paste/ Tomato purée · Lebanese cooking sauce - Condiment sauces - salad dressings). Perhaps the fact that they are a Lebanese product (produced by Meptico) allows them to compete on price/quantity level (some other brands, famous and less famous are competing on the price level because Lebanese people - apart from the uppity crowd you see on instagram - are truly financially squeezed). 

Tawfeer gets a degree, sort of.

I asked google. Well, yes, turns out Tawfeer supermarket was the (Quality Management System) and ISO 22000:2018 (Food Safety Management System) certifications. But that also Spinneys maintians ISO food safety standards across specific departments. So according to the Tawfeer ad it is "the first supermarket to get a degree", which I guess is correct on supermarket scale, because Spinneys has it across specific departments (if you think this is unique, universities have ISO certification in specific faculties). But the ad in itself is compatible with what Tawfeer has been offering as of late, ads to seduce the masses who are tightening their belts and their their drawstring purses trying to save a buck as everyone is now seduced by prices above all else.

Mercedes-Benz goes winter mode

Mercedes-Benz has gone winter mode, and by that I mean changing tires. Now, the ad is pretty low-key offering 4 tires for the price of 3. An unusual move from a behemoth such as Mercedes. But desperate times call for desperate moves. So I guess even the high-end Mercedes customers need to be enticed to change their tires what's with the financial crisis hitting everyone left and right - yes, even at the upper echelon of society. In a smaller font though, the service is available at their Thoum Service Center and - in case you didn't know it - only valid for Mercedes-Benz vehicles.

Happy - went all basic with offers

Let's be honest, you are not going to register the offers of Happy supermarket but you are going to be submitted to the barrage of its different visuals on the highway convincing you that yes, there are "uff" offers with stimulating prices. Note that I never compared the prices to any other supermarket or shop. Back in June - Happy and Tawfeer were both vying for the wallet of the defrauded Lebanese (here) and now that the price of petrol has gone sky high, the wallets are tightening further and further so Happy seems to be more accessible than other supermarkets. With Tawfeer this time not being on the ad menu there is no enticement to compare prices, but Happy has always built its fame on more competitive prices.

Roadster - either a prelude or a campaign

Roadster is on it, again.  The campaign goes - in many iterations - "We're either geniuses or unemployed", "Are we seriously approving this?! Bold", "The biggest mistake of the year"... And on it went, the bigger question is, are they doing a campaign, or is this a prelude for a campaign? If this is the campaign good for them, there's something unhinged here and daring, not sure if enough to make us forget the head-scratching and totally illogic NYE collab (here). So here we are, not sure what it is but it draws the eyeballs. A redeem for a disastrous collab if there ever one. And apparently all this because they changed colors but even this is very sketchy as an excuse.

Abed Tahan - not yet 100...

Abed Tahan has a new campaign in several executions. The idea is that... as we say in Arabic "may you turn 100", well at 96 years old, Abed Tahan is close enough, and again as the saying goes "for us and for you"... But not for "it". The it is that good that we keep using way beyond its life expectation - because, well, because you're Lebanese. So, a purely Lebanese ad, from copy to concept to execution. I also saw the TV ad for this one (the fridge) which is also typically Lebanese (here). So at least Joe Fish and Abed Tahan know who they are speaking to.

Tanmia puts its hat in the fray (amended)

Well, what's with everyone advertising their chicken, Tanmia just their ow hat in the fray. "They say I am: Agile - Rowdy." well, I think what takes the cake is their "ghayr chicken" (a different chicken) but a derivative of the expression "ghay checkel" (a line onto itself). Well, with so many chicken ads at the same time, one wonders if each is trying to fight the competition or paradoxically, if this has been timed with the back to school period with overwhelmed parents - financially and time-wise.

In an interesting amendment this is another bit of the campaign:

I am to begin with 1) on top 2) from the baqua'a - the cute bit? "Ana aslan fo2" is a reference to Haifa Wehbe's hit "badna nrou2 chway" (everyone should calm down a bit!) which went super viral with its catchy minimal lyrics.

Toters is on two fronts.

Interesting Toters is on two fronts at once. On the one hand, they have an ad whereby they give 20% discount for anyone paying with Mastercard. On the other Toters along with Toters Fresh is already offering a lottery to win a car weekly till the end of the year. Well, Toters is surely the leading delivery service in Lebanon for goods and fresh goods, but it must be making killer money to afford these financial moves (even in my small village, the Toters delivery motorcycles are buzzing all over). So here we are, two ads all over, to entice more business. 

Y-a-t-il encore du Maccaw dans tous les fruits?

Maccaw... Yes, it has been a while seen we saw this being advertised. AI-created? Sure! Apparently there was a different ad with a guy with 6-fingers, but this one has "only" five. Interestingly, up until 2019, Maccaw was using its famous slogan "Il y a du Maccaw dans tous les fruits" (here), there is a Maccaw in all fruits. I guess they dispensed of it these days, even if honestly, it was actually a good one. So now that Maccaw (the ad above apparently has other executions, all AI, all fruity etc without much concept construct) has gone back to advertising, I guess this is because X-tra has already launched a major campaign (here). 

Interestingly, yesterday I saw a Maccaw delivery truck and what do you know? On the side was...

Hawa Chicken vs Bell Food - compare and contrast.

So just this morning I spoke about Hawa Chicken (here). So I go to town and what do I see? Bell Food advertising that it too, has an oil which does not need advertising. To be clear, I have NO idea who bought the airwaves first (if Hawa Chicken or Bell Food) but seriously, something is amiss here. I am not saying they did, I am not saying they didn't, you be the judge, compare and contrast.