Mohammad Halabi and myself only met once. Further attempts
to meet were hampered by health setbacks from my part, and then war issues for
the country at large. But the contact is ongoing however. One of our first
emails – over Linkedin mind you – was for me to inquire what pushed him to go
to the US. He said he wanted to immerse himself in jazz, and “ended up falling in
love with classical music.”
When it comes to jazz – he discovered Chick Corea in one of
the Transtel Cologne documentaries that TeleLiban used to air in the late 70s
and early 80s. This sent my antennas buzzing, because normally when I talk of
such documentaries, the ubiquitous reply is some sort of “rez2allah” or “that
used to be my childhood” or whatever some sort of generic feedback. But Halabi
was listening and paying attention. As a gift I sent him the iconic video of
the closing of the Transtel Cologne works.
Perhaps the click had already happened earlier, but to me
that was the defining moment. Knowing he did not sell me short but rather spoke
about the content of the program, as someone with an obsessive memory like me
would do.
As for the origin of his name? Halabi refers to the Syrian
Aleppo, “well, seems my grandfather was a troublemaker so his mother shipped
him to Lebanon and here we are” and since the apple does not fall too far from
the tree, Halabi himself is a troublemaker of his own right. Opinionated, very
frank, carries his thoughts on his sleeves, and advertising agencies hate that.
After having worked decades on Apple, he currently criticizes
the tone of voice the brand is carrying right now. His usual classic sentence when writing about the Cupertino behemoth is “Has the brand that was once (insert appropriate epithet related to context)
gone awry or…” and underneath expect a collage of the current ads which do not
sit well with him, hence him terminating his Apple contract. A rarity in the
industry, but it goes to show how solid his moral compass is.
In a more recent example, when an agency decided to wave
Emirati flags in a short video – you know, as a mercantile act of allegiance to
the country – Halabi did not hesitate to comment “how to uncover a Phoenician”.
The agency did not like his thoughts so the comment was deleted.
But all these are just tiny examples of how Halabi operates.
He simply cannot give a hoot about people playing double-games or being
sycophantic. His motto seems to be “if you don’t mean it, don’t do it”.
Halabi spent 22 years at Leo Burnett, which only adds
another layer of interest between us. Whereas I did not end up working for the
esteemed agency (even after getting an offer), we both love – as in love
– the chairman emeritus MEA of the agency,
namely – Farid Chehab.
“First day at the agency, he finds me in the corridor and
without even a hello he simply asked “are you knowledgeable in the Koran?” –
this is how Halabi defines his first interaction with Chehab. And yes, our
sadly so far orphan meeting happened with Farid in tow. “We both just listened”
recalls Halabi, and that was true. “That man is an incredible well of information”,
adds Halabi – even if it goes without saying, but to quote General De Gaulle,
“it goes better saying it”.
It is not uncommon for us to exchange whatsapp notes at how
horrible a new campaign is, or how horrible a certain person is, or how horrible
certain agencies have become. Halabi and myself name names, and we often have
receipts in tow. And it is refreshing to know that, at least someone else in
the industry, is not protecting their hide but rather throwing everything out
in the open.
If anyone knows the advertising industry, it is all based on
gloves and manicured talks. So having Halabi shoot things straight is breath of
fresh air. Even if he has to lose considering he is a freelance copywriter
between Beirut, Dubai, and California. He still says it as it is.
And when it comes to copywriting, and – all ego aside –
considering am an excellent one myself, that man knows his craft. In one of our
interactions about Águas de março – the Elis Regina and Tom Jobim version that
we both cherish – I said “oh I did it in Arabic” to which he immediately
replied “you Arabized it or Lebanonized it?” Only an exceptional copywriter
would even think of this nuance. Proud as a punch of my version, I sent it to
him on the spot and passed with flying colors. But the question stayed in my
mind as very few would have the immediate reflex to ask.
Like every other Lebanese, Halabi lost a sizeable amount of
money at the Lebanese banks, “I am horrible with math and numbers, but even I
know how bad it has been, right now, no penny is entering Lebanese banks” –
echoing the vast majority of Lebanese and how we operate as of late since the
crisis hit everyone of us.
Halabi is a bon-vivant without being reckless. He has been
in Lebanon for a while, but the US will come calling soon. “Life catches up
with us” – he simply admits. To be stuck in Lebanon at this point was not ideal
obviously. But Halabi – an American citizen no less – took it in his stride.
Whereas there is still hope for us to meet again – with or
without Farid – at least we keep the conversation alive via Whatsapp and
Linkedin, as we share our frustration over the dwindling standards, the
silliness of some people, the arrivistic attitude of others and many other
thoughts people in our industry refrain from sharing.
Halabi has a reassuring boldness in him. But one filled with
nuance.