Tuesday, August 1, 2023

Lebanese Army - nice army day ad with a conceptual flaw

Well August 1rst. Army Day.

Lebanese Army has issued an new ad - and full disclosure, since I was part of an agency that did such ads for years I can tell you they are difficult since you need to come up with a new concept yearly. The new ad is nice - here's the idea: On the "border" with the enemy, in the air, by sea, in every region, in every street, in every alley, wherever the border is, honor/sacrifice/loyalty, without border.

Is the ad good? Yes. Is the ad conceptually flawed? Very. Here's why - and this is something I have been taught at military school during my training as a lieutenant in my military service: The army should only be on the border of the country. This is why we have "internal security forces". Now, for a very long time the army is now inside the land, and it became accepted de facto as such, but this is not part of their original mission - at all.

So "wherever the border is" is unfortunately wrong. You can watch the ad here.