What's wrong with being old school?

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly (2020)

In 2013, when the now defunkt Cloud 961 magazine held their online awards, apparently I was one of the nominees (spoiler alert: I did not win), but the funny part is that their "editor in chief", the famously bowtie clad arrogant youth, said of me "washed up advertiser turned blogger". Very lately, someone who is in his late 20s said that I was "too agency-centric" and that if I was "smarter and more creative" I would have understood his ads (which mind you are just Behance projects not paid-for by any client or agency). Well, in a major case of IYKYK (If You Know You Know) I am not going to go back to my career and the exciting moments I have lived, and still hope to live again, albeit differently. But all of this makes me think - every decade we used to have titles such as "advertising is dead, a new advertising is born" or "this will change advertising forever" etc... Then the timeline grew shorter to half a decade, then two years, now every other couple of month there are seismic shifts apparently in the industry. Apparently that is.

Of course, if "you can't teach old dogs new tricks", then yes I still use Paintbrush to do my artwork (and one of the most frequent questions I get asked is "what effect on photoshop/illustrator/etc... did you use to get that effect?"). Oh and because I write almost daily, word software is still word software. Now mind you I also analyze daily but cannot recall the last time I downloaded the brain software update. Again, lately someone mentioned that there is a "generational gap", which mind you I still have not noticed. Not because I don't use the latest upgrade on the AI model (hint: Claude is the name of someone I knew at school, nothing else), or follow the newest microtrend as suggested by Tiktok (another hint: I don't have Tiktok), and the list continues.

Well, I am a self-confessed luddite, way before "digital detox" became a fad. Yet, here we are - to misquote that old cooking show with Yan, "If I can blog, so can you". So, what I am harping at here? People, I am indeed old school, but so is advertising. The fundamentals are immutable. The tools change. In the words of the great late Vahe Ashkarian who was one of my teachers at AUB, "I don't know how to use a computer, but I know what a computer does", so yes, I have not used AI nor am I interested to, but I know what it does and I know what it can - and cannot - get me.

Maybe just maybe, old school is here for long run.

Farrouj Al Shams takes "everyone" too literally

Farrouj Al Shams wants to know that "the sun brings everyone together". You know because Al Shams is the sun. Now if you did not get the message from the copy, try the assembled people on the table instead. Bar a veiled lady somewhere (to indicate plurality of religions), anyone who is anyone is there. The cool leather jacket clad son (with sunglasses to match), the cute granddaughter sitting next to - well, the cute - grandfather, the mother and father both young and looking adoringly at their daughter (interesting there seems to be many seasons on the table due to variations in clothing), and then there's - who is this a daughter, an unmarried funky aunt, a wannabe Marilyn or 80s Madonna? See? I did tell you they assembled the whole gang of stereotypical characters with a lot of food (no alcohol in sight though), and - a bit of an off-angled roasted chicken. So here we are, everyone is everyone.

Rexona - the copy that never lets you down

Yes, this is mainly for Iraq and Lybia, but honestly I couldn't skip talking about the copy. Majestic. Well, how come? Because it focuses on the negative, which is mostly avoided in ads. No, no, the ad spends more than 2/3 of it on the art of falling face down, but does it with such nobility, compassion and determination - "because you need to prove yourself to yourself". Sure, the visuals are a little common but that was expected because the ad needs to touch everyone (bonus points for the shot that says "anyone who believed in you"). Also I loved how the packshot arrived gradually, bit by bit, then "Rexona never lets you down". A very good, solid and single-minded effort for the brand from Pimo. Watch it here. 

Hajj Nasr - father's day: Simple does it.

Honestly why complicate what is simple. Hajj Nasr, the eatery known for its wraps, just goes "today, we celebrate the two most famous who wrapped wraps... Hanna Hajj and Nassif Nasr! May every Father's Day find you well". See? Poised, smart, warm, polite, and very affectionate. The above is part of a story on their Instagram so sadly not link but good on them. Because (hear me out Almaza - here) this is how we celebrate Father's Day. The copy is so honest, one would think one of their own children wrote it. So again, sometimes the easiest way is the most honest one. Here's to Mr. Hajj and Mr. Nasr.

Almaza - flunk I'm your father.

Sorry for the insult Star Wars. But what a flunk this is. Seriously, this is a level of - what's the word here? - unseen prior. Not for the lack of effort mind you. But this is honestly beyond comprehensible. So Almaza is celebrating Father's day. So far so good. Then it goes with a crushed can and a line that goes "inta bayye ktir raso tenke" - in Arabic "raso tenke" is someone opinionated but out of ignorance, lacking facts but still unmoved by logic, basically - not exactly a compliment. Seriously, I am still scratching my head over this just to understand any ray of logic or positive sentiment in this. But it fails on all counts. Hopefully this was not a paid ad for Pikasso because otherwise I can see a Pikasso Gold coming. Sigh.

Ksarak - smart idea for a questionable execution

Ksarak, yes, we have not seen that one for a long time. But it is here. And kicking indeed. Now Mink graced us with a new ad for the - legendary - Arak brand (which obviously comes from Ksara - incredible name mind you). The idea is simple, you can cheer on the world cup using Arak - instead of the customary "unbranded" alternative (Almaza bottle we see you even without the tag on). Also whereas this does not play into the forbidden comparative ad in the Lebanese law, because comparing Arak to beer is literally apples to oranges - this is basically the failure of the ad, that it went cheap comparing beer to a much more noble drink such as Arak. The original idea that yes, you can drink Arak with its accoutrements to cheer on the World Cup is very smart, why they had to compare it is beyond logic. Also "cheer for your country" is so much on the nose, come on, whatever happened to smart lines? (Mind you this is not even a double-entendre, because Lebanon did not make it to the World Cup). See the ad here.

Promomedia, to the left, to the left.

No I am not obsessed by Beyonce but I thought that was a nice title. Promomedia has literally, a cheeky reference. They have ads. And they have other ads. It sounds simple but it is actually quite smart. The ad in question is on the way leading to Dora from Karantina. Promomedia says - on their own space - "Check your ad to the left." Why? Because on the left is they are launching the 3D LED billboard where your immersive storytelling ad is. So Promomedia took one for the team by sacrificing its own banners to uplift its (arguably more expensive if you count the rotating cumulative ads rendering them more lucrative) which are "to the left". Who would have thought anyone in Lebanon would do it? Promomedia did.

Marie - from biscuits to Aunt

Interesting. Mastro has a new ad for their Marie biscuit. A part of any childhood along the 555 from competing Gandour (here). Well, the idea - coming from Mink ad agency - is that they made "Marie" into "Tante Marie" - a generous, kind, and very welcoming neighborhood aunt/grandma who is not bothered with the ball falls on her balcony, or the towel, or the singlet, or... Wait is the boy doing this on purpose? I mean - the lady does have a few tricks up her sleeve with the biscuit thingy so it is tempting to just keep knocking on her door. Well the final line is very generic "for every nice moment". Lovely, genuine ad - with one small flaw is that Marie has always been associated with the "other" brand, so not sure how one could switch up to Mastro. See the ad here.

Heineken - between Amsterdam and Beirut

Apparently, despite selling back its majority shares in 2022 of the Brasserie Almaza to the Jabre family, Heineken never left the Lebanese market and the said brewery still retains the sales and distribution rights for all Heineken products on the Lebanese territory. So it is a pleasure to see a Heineken ad at the gates of summer - and especially with the World Cup kicking off soon - somewhere in Lebanon. As far as I saw the ads were not plastered all over, perhaps Brasserie Almaza wishes for its star product to remain center stage, also this could be down to the price factor - with Heineken being 0.5 to 0.6 USD more expensive than its Lebanese counterpart. Still, "born in Amsterdam, enjoyed in Beirut" clearly wishes to differentiate the two products giving one an international cachet. I think this might be to distinguish between the two target audiences.

Khoury home has a great new selling line

A lot of you were either not born, or in diapers, or do not even remember, but Khoury Home, eons ago, started off with "Khoury Home, ma bi sakker wala yawm" (Khoury Home, doesn't close any day). Add very slapstick ads such as a man with his eyeglasses tilted on his face and a shocked look on his face with a line such as "look a the price!" (in English) and you get the drift. Well, that was then. Khoury home, has a new selling line - which I find both pertinent and very smart - "min ghayro?" (who else but him?) because considering the top of mind Khoury Home has for many people, the question does indeed ask itself. As soon as you think for any electronics, home appliance, this, that, one of the first names to come to mind is actually Khoury Home. So yes, "min ghayro?" does stand to reason. 

Sitos from Master has good and bad news

Well, there's some good and bad news on the Sitos from Master front. The good news is that the bag design has been updated, making it sleek, efficient and working. So that's nice. The bad news? Not sure the line or positioning (don't know which) is up to the test. "Badda Sitos" (it needs a Sitos). What does? A hijacking? A suicide mission? A tough situation? An unsolvable advertising brief? (OK fine I invented the last one to poke fun). But my logic stands. Do note there are two ads, for two different flavors, visually as I said - since the bag is now neat - the ads work on that front. But with the perplexing line, I find myself unable to understand the whole thing. Could it be that "it needs a Sitos" for me to understand?

Tomohi - the app that links people to experts

As they say, there's an app for everything. And here we are. For anyone who needed to be in touch for an expert, Tomohi (which translates to "my ambition") is here. Some ambitions are "to be the most knowledgeable in the office" others include "making my salary last till the end of the month" and so on and so forth. Whatever it is, apparently Tomohi can link you to an expert to talk it out. I am not sure I was either seduced by the design or the typography. But perhaps someone else, meaning someone who wants to talk to an expert, might find this interesting.

Dunkin', the World Cup, and small Hallab story

As reported by Mohamad Haidar (here) Dunkin' has a new beverage cup for the World Cup. As he suggested, we ought to look closely because not all countries are represented. How come? Well, Saudi Arabia, Iran and Iraq are all missing, because their flags contain the word Allah, and since the cup is disposable, the name might end up in the trash. A very sensitive and sensible move. But as always with me, a certain hidden story related to the Lebanese story.

Long long time ago when Abdul Rahman Hallab was executing its branding, eventually the name (which now mostly trades under Hallab 1881) made it to the napkins of the store. Obviously one cannot anticipate all feedbacks, and since "rahman" (merciful) is among God's 99 names in Islam, and this created a scandal with the sheikhs who took the whole thing to heart and very badly advocating for people to boycott the shop. Obviously peace meetings did happen and eventually, at the time, it was agreed that only "Hallab" would figure on the napkins in Arabic and "Abdul Rahman Hallab" in Latin.

Obviously, on many of their brandings right now Asr el 7ehlo (palace of the sweet) or Hallab 1881 to bypass the original problem. 

Beirut Beer World Cup bottles

Look everyone does it every time so nothing is new. So Beirut Beer is jumping once more on the World Cup bandwagon. For heaven's sake every beer brand does it - for reminder here's a sample from the last edition of the World Cup (here). For this edition Beirut beer titled the bottles as the teams are usually called (The Three Lions - England - La Albiceleste - Argentina - A seleção - Brasil - Les Bleus - France - Die Mannschaft - Germany). Before anyone accuses me of being a football aficionado, just remember there is something called Google. With this, at least effort was done this time around. I still did not see the Almaza output though. For the copy Beirut Beer went for "The game is international, the cheering is Lebanese" - and make no mistake, Lebanese take their cheering very seriously. 

Bihar, Fries Lab, Boneless, Crave's #CompareandContrast

Thank you Joe Abou Assaly for compiling this (here). I shall file this under my usual "compare and contrast" category. However, this time it does not matter who did what before. What matters is the state we are now at in the ad industry in Lebanon. Seriously, if Oscar Wilde is correct that: "We are all in the gutter, but some of us are looking at the stars." I am not seeing those looking at the stars, on the contrary, I feel the hole is being dug deeper.

Khoury Greek Yoghurt - from simple to football

So just very very lately there was a Khoury Greek Yoghurt ad. Then boom, suddenly it became a Khoury Greek Yoghurt dipped in World Cup sauce. German Precision? Well, with apparently the jersey having 5 stars instead of four (as discovered by Anthony Raad (here) - who also took the photo whereas I took the original one myself) apparently precision is not the epithet we are looking for here. What is interesting is that only few days ago, the ad was - well - a "normal" ad. But there you go, if "we week is a long time in politics" as Harold Wilson famously said, in advertising and marketing it is a century.

So 3anjad ma badda hal2ad... turned out to be... a song?

Remember this? (here) It turned out to be that! (here), a Ministry of Tourism campaign it seems in the shape of a song by Dany Chamoun. The idea - apparently - is that Lebanon is full of wonders in the smallest space possible (though obviously for security reasons, the areas covered in the video clip were simply swatches of Kesserwan so far relatively out of the line of fire - you know cable cars, Casino Du Liban, Christ the King, Our Lady of Lebanon, the views from the sea) and obviously for good measure a lot of stereotypes (the only surviving Mercedes Ponton taxi, the VW Camper, the old stone houses, the tabboule, and all else). Production wise, well, we've seen all of this before in ads (am thinking Byblos Bank (here)) and even video clips (the immensely visually beautiful "Ya Osas" for Julia - here - which minds you dates back to 1994), this does not negate a good production value - even if the song is a little ho-hum (but what do I know? Maybe this is what is au courant these days). Perhaps the video is destined to expats and people who might or might not be planning to return this summer to Lebanon where the situation is always up in the air.

Whomever the "Lebanese Leftists" are, their sense of design is impeccable

A cleaned up version (by Tarek Chemaly) of the posters on Beiruti walls 

Yes, we all heard about the posters being plastered in Beirut, yes, apparently they may or may not be related to the Hizb, yes, it seems that their design might or might not stem from the Hizb flag, yes, the saying on the said posters (between you and us, days and nights and the battlefield) might or might not be related to the said Hizb again. This being said, what an impeccable design. The poster is signed "Lebanese Leftists" whomever those may be, but the throwback to the early designs of political posters (I invite you to see Zeina Maasri's site Signs of Conflict - here - which agglomerates posters dating back to the Lebanese war from many political parties and organizations) is simply beautiful. Clear signals, minimal elements, striking colors, and single-minded messaging, along with some very respectable typography. Seriously, that is one masterful exercise of graphic design.

Happy and Tawfeer go to price wars

Tawfeer and Happy are hitting the sweet spot Lebanese have been lately responding to - prices. Well, since as I often argue, brand loyalty is out the window since the financial crisis hit Lebanon in 2019, Lebanese have become extremely price sensitive, so much that both Tawfeer and Happy (who dub themselves as discount supermarkets) actually initiated a series of billboards with their latest discounted items on them. I managed to capture those of Happy but not for Tawfeer which had other ads for opening in Jbeil by the way. So I resorted to Instagram for the way both are going for the jugular in terms of prices.

On the streets it goes a bit like this:

So yes, each one is just displaying products, the latest price discount, on billboards, on the streets, and obviously, Lebanese find this comforting as they try to save bucks left and right (do note this is by no means a judgement, as most of us are in this situation).

Whereas, a mentioned, Tawfeer has its own products on billboards, now they are also stressing the opening of their Byblos branch, using - what else but? - that lovely house by the sea next to the archeological site.

So all of this is truly a reflection of where the Lebanese people stand now. Incredibly seduced by price reductions, not exactly caring about the brands they buy, and basically just wanting to stretch their salaries as much as they could be stretched.

Petro Elite makes sense in its own logic

Petro Elite (here). Now here me out. 10452 km2 is Lebanon's supposed area (Shebaa farms included if you must know), so Petro Elite which started as "Antelias needed correct diesel" - now goes "10,452 km2 needs correct diesel". Logical in its own logic. But one must be aware of the original campaign, and since it was not exactly widespread, confusion is indeed permissible in this case. To them it was stretching it out, because yes, you start with one area and then cover the whole country (well, supposedly that is, as I have no idea about their logistics), but as I said, independently the ad can be tricky to understand with the prerequisite which - apart from my own coverage - kind of went below the radar.