Saturday, December 28, 2024

Did 1750 just do a comparative ad?

1750 has a new ad. Here. A girl is drinking water from a bottle and asking her mother (presumably) "where was this bottled?" (OK, granted, not a question one would ask but this adland).

Tannourine? Higher

Rim? Higher

Sannine? Higher

Barouk? Higher

The answer ends up being "1750" - and the tagline? Our height is our name.

Now here's the issue: Tannourine, Rim, Sannine are names for bottled water brands. And comparative advertising is forbidden in Lebanon (here and here) so naming three competitor brands in the ad is a bit... fishy. I do understand the rationale of comparing-but-not-so but still got uncomfortable truth be told. Maybe to drive their tagline they could have done differently - there was already a hint of comparison previously (here), but this time it is too overt.

Oh and in case you ask - 1750 is Tarshish.