Interesting. There are almost no Christmas ads this year in Lebanon. Of course 2024 has been anything but a normal year, as the advertising sector was hit by crisis after crisis since 2019. I have catalogued and spoken about them too many times to count on this page. And 2024 has fared no better what's with - literally - the war that has been happening (try here and here and here). How are ad agencies continuing is almost a mystery.
Sure, some have been branching towards the gulf, others are recruiting new people for a pittance, as clients squeeze budgets further and agencies try to lower their overhead in all possible ways. Working remotely has been one possibility, because the pandemic proved it was doable and possible. You can argue till the cows come home about how this is possible in an industry based on brainstorming, but again, nothing Zoom calls (or Google meets, or Teams) and a WhatsApp group cannot cure. Crisis can be diffused via messages, talks and the old adage - this meeting could have been an email - are literally becoming emails.
Of course, none of this cures the ails of the ad agencies in Lebanon. But somehow everyone is continuing on a wing and a prayer. For better or for worse. If the ads I saw around town are any indicator, they are incredibly few and in between. Naturally, what has happened left everyone in an un-festive mood. After suffering blow after blow since 2019 - and they are too many to count (financial crisis? check. Explosion? check. Pandemic? check. No president since October 2022? check. War and displacement? check. Refugees? check). Every year brings its own hopes, 2023 was supposed the year where things would start re-emerging. Yeah, right. As we plunge in never-ending issues which engulf the country on all fronts, the "bala dmegh" attitude I spoke of earlier (here) seems to be the guiding light for everyone and - oddly - I am here for it despite that very intellectual streak I am cursed/blessed with.
The chocolate ad above is the most prominent campaign I have seen lately on the OOH sector. It does tell you a lot about the mood of the country.