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.

Advertising awards should be a byproduct not the aim.

Recently for Saudi Day (September 19) Heinz went brandless and colored itself with the colors of the Saudi flag. The aim was to express "our irrational act of love to join our Saudi consumers in celebrating the Kingdom with its rich culture, heritage, and unity,” according to Passant El Ghannam, Head of Marketing at Kraft Heinz MEA. I can already see the case presented to advertising awards - "we allowed consumers to scan QR codes to share their own messages of pride, we hired in situ calligraphers to personalize the bottles so as for consumers to keep one-of-a-kind mementos, and sales grew by (insert impressive number here)". The whole thing reeks of advertising awards rather than a normal campaign targeted towards consumers.
A long long time ago (2003 to be specific), an agency in KSA I was working in was contacted by newspapers telling them that GMC was launching a massive campaign the next day. Since we represented Toyota they wanted to know if we were going to launch anything ourselves. That same day - a statistic fell into our lap: KSA was the second worldwide owner of Toyota Landcruiser per capita in the world after Japan. The client servicing threw it at us and literally gave us about ten minutes to get an ad done as he was off to visit the client. I raked my brains and came up with the Al Mutanabi verse:
وتصغر في عين العظيم العظائم
And the greater things seem insignificant in the eye of the mighty.
I asked if there was a photo of a Landcruiser in the Saudi desert at night and slapped a text that went - we had nothing to do with it, it was all because of you (the consumer) and went on profusely thanking Toyota Landcruiser owners for their loyalty, good taste, faith etc, etc.
To say that the ad took the kingdom by storm the next day was selling it short. The GMC campaign was simply not talked about while every Saudi was congratulating themselves for picking a Landcruiser. Maybe, in today's world this might be an "award-winning" ad. But who cares? The end clients loved it, felt pride in it, of course it does not hurt that the agency client (Toyota) approved it swiftly and was also incredibly pleased with it.
But this is what is happening these days - every other ad is thought of as an award-winning contestant rather than one aimed at the end client, who will buy, take pride, be faithful to the brand, and hopefully will propagate by word of mouth to people he/she knows or cares about. Because awards should not be the aim of an ad, or any ad campaign. Sure, if it does produce awards so much the better, but focusing solely on ads above the precedence of targeting the consumer is truly like putting the cart before the horse.
I said it again and will say it once more, every ad has three purposes no matter what brand it represents: to introduce a product, to entice the consumer to want it, and to tell the consumer that the product is available in the market.
Winning awards is not part of the initial plan.

It's raining again... Sadly

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

So it's raining again. No, this was not the first all-cleansing autumn rain. But it is raining at the most inopportune moment. People are literally living on the streets. Sure - easy for me to say. I have a roof above my head and food on my table. I just gave some mattresses and wraps to a family that has been displaced twice - I said it before, even in the most generous act there is an element of selfishness (will I be rewarded by life, God, the afterlife, etc....). But honestly, at this point I am not even thinking that. I am truly thinking - I have a bed. I do. They don't.

A while back I saw by accident a friend from school. He wasn't the sharpest knife in the drawer and everyone used to mock him, except me to be honest. It was him who remembered me and engaged in a conversation. In the previous month to our conversation, he had lost his sister, and his father. Comparatively, all I lost was all my money. It seemed ridiculous to tell him so. He obviously needed to tell someone about his losses. I felt sheepish talking to him, mostly because he actually remembered me, and wanted to talk to me after all these years (of course, maybe he also wanted to speak to those who bullied him as well, kind and primitive as he was, so I am not really bragging).

Did I make a big deal about losing all my money on this blog? I did. But now I look around me and see all these flattened houses and villages and images of people living on the streets. Literally. Of people sending messages for infant formulas. Diapers. Hygiene products. One is rendered speechless. And rain comes at the most inhospitable of times. To quote the Supertramp song on which the title of this post is based: "It's only time that heals the pain/And makes the sun come out again" but time is a luxury some people do not have as they sleep under the rain - I think of the photo of the little girl sleeping on cement in front of a mosque due to lack of a mattress. I also quote from a different song, this time by Roger Hodgson (the voice of Supertramp, ironically! when he branched out on his own): "Time is always on the run/we've only just begun"... And all seems fleeting.

But as I said, I have the luxury of a roof above my head and a bed to sleep on.

UNDP goes for anti-fake news

UNDP is trying to combat fake (or unauthenticated) news. In a ad on double screens on Instagram UNDP went "count to ten before sharing an unauthenticated news" and "count to ten before believing au unauthenticated news". Obviously, with Lebanon having so many channels, radios, media each trying to propagate its own version of events, some of them happened, some of them not, it is only fair for the UNDP to go with this ad especially that many people now get their news from social media, where clicks and likes and eyeballs reign much higher than confirmed news - so speed goes above all, and damn fact checking. For a small anecdote as to how different channels tell the same story here's one from the archives (here).

And so Hizbollah is alive (according to Iran that is)

Please note, I am not here to promote ideas, conspiracies, geopolitical theories or what not (by this I mean the one that is being paddled whereby Hassan Nasrallah and the Hizbollah leaders were sacrificial lambs in a major deal between US and Iran). All I am saying is, there is an ad that is doing the rounds straight from Iran that goes "Hizbollah is alive" with some beautiful Persian calligraphy and the photo of none other than (non-alive) former head of the Hizbollah. Interestingly, these were done, approved, hanged even before there was any confirmation about the fate of Nasrallah from a formal communique (which well, makes you wonder, when they knew what they knew). Whereas it does not show in the photo, they did use the Hizb yellow background (but the original image is a bit skewed). So here we are, the tale - apparently - goes on, with an understudy of the main actor.

Anyone who says they know what is going to happen is lying

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly (2018)

Another post with a long title. But again, I could not avoid it. I was talking offline to political scientist, a real one not one of those silly talking heads that pop up on TV and start guessing, and he said "no one knows what is happening, this will change from hour to hour" - already the seismic shock of the admission of the death of Hassan Nasrallah by Hizbollah has sent shockwaves on all fronts, not least of all internal. The repercussions of losing such a seasoned player is akin to when Rafic Hariri was assassinated in 2005, It was a puzzle whose parts were thrown in the air and now being recofigured, in a different shape, with a different picture, and same players minus one. But again, just like Hariri had a firm grip on the constituents of the state, same goes for Nasrallah.

And obviously, this begs the question - now what? Late writer John Le Carre once said "society is unconcerned with the aftermath of sensation." We are now on the front pages of newspapers, worldwide, but soon a different crisis will emerge and dethrone us. And if we are going to count on the Lebanese politicians, who have proven to care for no one but their own interests (though, truth be told, their longevity in the business might prove they are doing a good work taking care of themselves - except well, those who were assassinated) then we might be stuck in the same loop.

Because as it is half a million people have fled the south of the Lebanon occupying as many governmental schools as possible (schools which are not equipped to handle them), and - whereas a lot of people are doing splendid work on the ground distributing mattresses and food for them, already the Lebanese society is stretched to the extreme between the financial, political, and economic crash it has been facing since 2019 - not to mention the influx of Syrians who fled their own country for obvious reasons. And now we are at the gates of winter, and people's goodwill shall soon dry up.

Which brings us back to: Anyone who says they know what is going to happen is lying.

Shopping (but make it with a conscience)

In her brilliant book "Beirut fragments" author Jean Said Makdisi wrote about an anecdote whereby she saw her friend, in Hamra, all coiffed. The friend told her about her hairdresser who bought a generator and provided electricity to his shop and women were all getting their hair done. All bang in the middle of war-torn Beirut during the 1982 invasion (where no shred of electricity was present). But Beirut has always been the epitome of contradictions. Airstrikes you say? Yes, waiter please bring me some... And here we are, both PopUp Concepts and Pearl Brands (which among others sell Ralph Lauren) are donating 10% of their sales to displaced people. I mean, a Vetements uber expensive t-shirt at 70% off (only size XS and M available mind you) would be a wonderful addition to your wardrobe, and, it would provide blankets, mattresses, or whatever displaced people need. Let's call it shopping with a conscience. Or retail therapy, because if anything the Lebanese need, it would be therapy indeed.

Happy should learn how to read the room

So people are not happy and for a reason. Happy, the discount supermarket, with a logo that has a smile built-in decided to invert the smile on an ad hooked onto one of its branches with the following line being inserted into a reel "hard days will be over, and the smile will come back". Remember that famous ad by Johnnie Walker? The one that was done in 2006 with the motto "keep walking" but the emblem walking following a broken bridge? (here) One was a masterpiece, the other a flop. The difference is timing. Johnnie Walker did their after the fait accompli, while Happy seem to be gaining from the tragedy as it happens live in an opportunistic way. Happy should really, really learn how to read the room... As people were having none of it.

Pain d'Or goes back to school (sort of)

Well, back to school is no longer back to school. Considering the gravity of the current situation schools - those that opened anyhow - have switched to online learning so did universities. But hey, we are at a stage where any ad is worth talking about considering how far and few in between they are. Is the ad above earth-shattering? No not really. Believable? With a school bag labelled "pain au zaatar" (thyme bread), also not really. Is the gimmick in the copy interesting? Pack to school might as well pack it. And yet, when there are barely any ads this one sticks like a sore thumb. But suddenly all sore thumbs seem welcome.

Dear ad agency, now that you saved democracy, can you bring peace to Lebanon?

La colombe de la paix - Pablo Picasso

I know this is a long post name but could not stop myself.

A certain local ad agency, no names but anyone versed in the advertising scene knows who it is, has - in a case sent to ad festivals on behalf of its client (a prominent local newspaper, again, no names, but come on the hints are too heavy!) - that, by doing a certain activation (which was also very questionable, as it was done prior by other newspapers including one in Turkey), they "saved democracy in Lebanon".

Sure, ads presented to festivals and awards can include boastful claims, like that agency that claimed that its activation for the client (different activation than the one cited above, same client, same agency though) increased female participation as candidates by 600% in Lebanese elections, etc, etc... I sometimes read the cases on Epica Awards where I am a juror since 2016 and have a laugh about the bragging.

But of course, claiming to save democracy goes on a higher level. Who came up with it remains a mystery but this became a benchmark in what not to do in terms of strutting your stuff. Interestingly, every once in a while this comes up on sites like Linkedin - and we all have a hoot about it - so much it sets precedent to how far you can go believing what you have done and communicating it to the world thinking they are gullible to your words.

Which of course brings me to today. Dear ad agency, now that you saved democracy, can you bring peace to Lebanon? I mean all you have to do is just an activation to your client, that's not too much to ask, is it?