Tuesday, August 23, 2022

Lebanese Forces annual mass ad goes for the jugular

Ah, the Lebanese Forces just got sneaky.

I said it before, these ads (for the annual mass of their martyrs) work for the specific target audience they have in mind (here) and as a full disclosure I myself did an ad for such an event in 2004 (my take was "they did not become martyrs for us to leave our land" - and it was a total smash hit as well). My point is that this year the Lebanese Forces went after their arch-rival the Free Patriotic Movement.

The FPM have been paddling the words "el 3ahd el awi" (the strong mandate) ever since General Michel Aoun was elected president (it is his party after all). But "3ahd" also means "commitment/promise/pledge" by giving their ad the headline "el 3ahd lakoum" (the pledge is for you - note I picked the most fitting translation) the LF really went on to riff to FPM with what they hold dear.

Actually after the risible elections campaign (here) the LF displayed, this a return to form.

Do note that usually in these ads the "visuals" are more generic, in this case it is the sun coming after the dark clouds. Again, something simple and suggestive and easy to swallow for the base.