It is Mother’s Day in Lebanon on March 21rst, so many
companies are rushing to produce something (with strict minimum budget) to
celebrate it. Several years back, the internet was flooded with corny ads: We gathered 5 influencers and unbeknown to them their mothers were in a room
nearby… You can imagine the fake fiasco.
Thankfully those days are gone. And this year, Al Wadi Al Akhdar came up with a heart-warming, kind and genuine ad. The idea is simple: Let one mother sit on one couch, and the children on another. Quizz the kids on some simple questions (which are normally addressed to mothers): What’s her favorite dish? What are her hobbies? And so on and so forth…
The result is much more than the sum of its parts, that’s
for sure. The answers are so honest, unrehearsed, and just… Splendid. When one
of the mothers, speaking of her favorite dish said “cheikh el mehchi… But I
don’t do it often enough” – seriously, no copywriter in the world could have
come up with that. When asked about punishments another woman said “but my heart
breaks into pieces” (about when she had to punish the kids). And even the
giveaway, easy, schmaltz-filled question “what do you wish her?” a small child
said “I love you as big as the sky” (talking about his mother). The joke? He
extended his hands so wide to indicate his love, not realizing that his tiny
arms indicate but a small space – seriously, try faking that!
The ad starts with saying that the mother is the cook, the
nurse, the psychologist, etc… And the final line in the ad goes: No matter your
role, you are always the hero, may you remain up to it (do note that role/hero
are cinematic winks for movies).
The beauty is that all this cost Al Wadi Al Akhdar around
ziltch. Two sofas and a genuine cast.
See the beautiful ad here.