Saturday, May 29, 2021

Glenbey, an ad which lacks a backbone

Glenbey - from the Glens of Scotland to the shores of of Lebanon. Here's the idea of the ad: A man takes his dog for a walk in the highlands of Scotland, arrives to a wooden hut, asks for a glass of whisky and the barmaid tells him it is "raised in Lebanon" when he wonders if it is "Scottish". 

Look, I can sympathize with the people who did the ad, in a country where everything is on a shoestring budget, the ad is actually well-done. Though truth be told, there's no fooling anyone about Scotland by way of Lebanese mountains. The worst bit is the lack of concept. Which I find puzzling from the same agency which gave us the KSARA Army Day classic ad. But I digress, the schizophrenia starts elsewhere - a "Scottish" whisky with a Phoenician boat as a logo. Still, there could have been a million other ways to sell this more intelligently. Hint: How about an ad that would go "all the taste, none of the kilt" - with a woman wearing the checkered skirt instead of the usual man wearing the kilt (you're welcome).

I know it seems odd to shoot down one of the rare ads actually produced in Lebanon as of late, especially when I tend to like the output of the said agency, but there's an element in the ad that lacks a backbone and that truly bothers me. Well, I raise my glass to the next one!