Will the 2022 numbers be better than 2021 for Lebanon when it comes to ad spend?

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

The 2021 numbers were very, very dismal (here).

The official 4.5 USD/per person - a negligible spend if there was ever one - has been watered down to 2.5 USD/per person according to the always rational Naji Boulos. His figures make more sense truth be told than the official 4.5. The billboards are a clear indicator - campaigns last year spent months and months being hanged on the OOH (Out of Home) panels without being changed. This year - there were elections. The parliamentary ones. Yay? Well, sort of - apart from the Lebanese Forces spending 13 million Dollars on a (widely mocked) campaign (here), the spending by political parties was way less than the usual projected figures.

Many political parties are now pariahs internationally (or by their usual patrons from the outside), so the usual financial lifeline was not extended to them. Another reason is that what's with the elections happening on time was hanging by a thread many parties refrained from spending until sure the elections were actually a done deal (so investment in ads started very late). Also, the 2019 "revolution" saw politicians and political parties under a very bad light, so spewing messages glorifying those parties or politicians was not exactly seen as good tactics (oddly, the results of the elections basically brought back the same people who thought they were to be crushed, and the Lebanese Forces investment brought only a dismal gain politically).

In short, the elections were not exactly what should have been a financial gain for everyone involved including - but not limited to - advertising agencies (here) as it was obvious that this time around, and again to save budget and money, a lot of the work seems to have been done in-house (meaning inside the political parties' machinery).

And now what? Back to school came and went with basically little to tell, Independence Day judging from last year was basically little to write home about, and of course then comes the holiday ads (but am discounting end-of-year parties as restaurants and hotels stopped hiring top-tier artists who are seeing their fortunes elsewhere - much in-demand singer Elissa is celebrating New Year's Even in Saudi Arabia this year it seems).

Everything is always an "opinion" rather than a fact. There are a lot of optimists in the scene, and some are more rational (such as myself). Certainly, we all miss the times when we had to pick and choose the ads we reviewed or put on our publications when now there are too little to pick from. Or that perhaps most times we need to track them down on social media rather than outdoor spaces. After the many ads that resorted to illustration and animation to cut down costs - a technique many a company used last year - there is a slight return to live shoots even if of course everyone is trying to cap budgets (the Bellvie ad is a good example - here). 

Well, they say that such crises separate "the men from the boys" (is this a mysogynistic saying?) - then later, hopefully not much later, a new scene will emerge. A leaner, stronger one.

Lebanon: 2020-21 like living in Juliana Seraphim painting

Untitled - Juliana Seraphim 1980 (source)

There, this is the best metaphor I can give: In Lebanon, 2020 and 2021 were like living in a Juliana Seraphim painting. To be living the surreal as if it was a day to day occurrence, some Gabriel Garcia Marquez magical realism. Honestly how can one explain that Covid is not even in your top 5 of problems? The banks, the money or lack of it, the fuel or lack it, the meds or lack of it, the Dollar or lack it, and the list goes on. Did anyone notice I still did not go to the covid situation? I am twice vaccinated but missed the last marathon to get my booster - living outside of Beirut, I need to organize myself well before stepping out of the house (a small calculation led me and my cousin to average 500,000 Lebanese Liras as a budget for any out of home excursion!). I said it before, despite all this, I was one of the privileged one that managed to have a Christmas of some sort (nephews got a gift), the table was not exorbitant but at least present. 

But truth be told, it is difficult to live by comparison. I think in all of 2020 I clocked like 5 nights of sleep. Insomnia was a daily thing, and no sleep would come before daylight for a meager couple of hours. The stress level was off the chart, and the only thing that stopped my mind from going off the rails was working on my "Simulacra and simulation" video about the Lebanese collective memory. Was 2021 any better? Well, to begin with, sleep came back at some point. No, work was not much better (I left university lecturing at end of 2019 due to inflation because I was keeping a lousy sum of money in my pocket at the end of a teaching day!), and projects have been too far and in-between. 

Weirdly enough I have not been pursuing work in full force. Maybe I am still traumatized for having worked for fiercely for several years and lost all the money I put aside in the current financial crisis. So to start anew with the same vein at my age (note, I was born in 1974) is not really palatable. My current plan is simple: Salvage what can be salvageable, play a long game, and not plan much - the last time I planned is precisely what got me into the place I am in right now. 

So here we are, little or no logic, all shapes are distorted, "objects in mirror are closer than they appear" as the side-mirror engraved words so philosophically say. I suppose like everyone else, these two years seem both very fresh, haunting but also in the rearview mirror all at once. I did say that during lockdown, time is elastic. I guess for 2020-21, outside of lockdown too.

Cafe Najjar, an ad for what it is a Lebanese in 2021

And so Najjar has a new ad, and a new positioning as they moved from "abl kil chi fi Najjar" (before anything else there is Najjar) to "kif ma baramet fi Najjar" (no matter what turn life takes there is a Najjar), oh and a new agency to boot! it moved to Ogilvy. A very nicely shot, very well done ad, thankfully well lit (I had had enough of darkness in ads as of late, which, dear advertisers is a big turn off and no - it is not "sexy"). The ad, for all its prouesse riffs on familiar territory, and why not? Family? Check. Friends? Check. Social distancing on balconies? Check. Zoom calls with boxers? Check. The birthdays when in different houses? Check. Actually, it is a big pot pourri of what it is to live in 2021, with the added zest of being in Lebanon. Maybe, as of late, this is also the case of being a human being in the world. Sure, the bit in the copy that goes that "a lot has changed for you, but now has to go on with little" hits home in the middle of our banking conundrum. Funnily, there is a hint of bank/insurance in the Najjar ad, one when these institutions meant something. At least coffee is eternal in our culture. See the full film here.

The day we immigrated to Sweden

It was summer, which month I know not. But it was summer. Even the year is a blur, though 1983 is a good estimate. My father came back from work at about 2 in the afternoon, and he had a story to tell.

His colleague was immigrating to Sweden. The government there was offering free houses it seemed, something like guaranteed income or secure jobs. The whole family was in the package. Kids in free schools. The deal was a no-brainer. It was rare for my father to be so excited about anything but he spoke and spoke about his colleague and Sweden throughout lunch.

If a child needed any incentive to dream that would be it. And dreamed I did. Sweden! I went to the Larousse 1981 edition and looked up the country. Oh Stockholm! And indeed, there was effervescence in the air, with my mother even jumping on the bandwagon of stories. Really, there was a bubbling atmosphere all over the house.

And my father went for his daily afternoon nap. By the time he woke up, I needed more Sweden ideas.

There was none.

When he woke up, it was as if the whole thing never existed. He no longer spoke of it, not longer said anything. We were still in Beirut, on the 7th floor, with our balcony overlooking the port and the sea. But there was no Sweden.

If I am telling this story, it is because basically everyone in Lebanon wants to go. To quote that poetic title of the late Pierre Bachelet album - "quelque part, toujours ailleurs". "Somewhere, always somewhere else". Not that I blame them - far from it. When I got my first visa to the US, miraculously I was offered an R B2, that was in 1999 - I could have easily worked there. My brother - who was a resident medical doctor there - asked me if I wanted to stay, but I was a very stable government employee, my consulting career was through the roof, I was dealing with international newspapers as a journalist, making money and managing it exceptionally well. Why leave all this?

By 2001 - funnily after my first very long business trip to Sweden (which had a stamp saying I cannot remain in the country after the end of the visa) - I left all this and went from one day to the next to communication and advertising - which included another very long trip to Sweden. Again, my career took off once more, I was making money and managing it well. Why leave all this?

Which brings us to 2021. I can give you all the reasons to leave all this.

Except, now it is too late. No embassy in its right mind would give you a visa. Our money is basically just paper with all the devaluation. People oscillate between rage and despair. They look to insure the basics but even that is not always a given. 

I said it prior that, somewhere and somehow we will get through this, in what shape or form I know not. 

But I will never forget the day we immigrated to Sweden.

In Lebanon 2021 picks up exactly where 2020 left....

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

Wherever we go (and we are not going anywhere), there we are...

In Lebanon, 2021 is starting exactly where 2020 left off. 

Saluting the medical staff which is fighting covid (wait, haven't we done that enough?).

Cases of covid surging to unprecedented heights (haven't we gone to such heights before? Actually, no, with people being reckless after an original super tight respect for the law - as I predicted here - the number of cases is spiraling out of control).

We are heading towards our umpteenth total (?) lockdown with our (incalculable?) exceptions (again, haven't we seen this enough in 2020 - the best part was the nightclubs open but without dancing).

Banks are still running totally crazy. To begin with there is zero coordination between them. No bank is acting the same, and when a new policy is enacted, clients (remember it's the clients' money in there) are told after the fact not before it. Mind you all banks are acting this way, meaning, a client comes trying to withdraw money only to be told that no, this month the amount changed (usually decreased!) or what not.

We still do not have a new government (what else is new?). The political discourse in Lebanon is still very stagnant at this stage. Interestingly, everyone is waiting for outside signals to come by (mainly the US transition of presidency, which astounds me, because - in case you have not heard - the new administration has bigger fish to fry!).

The advertising scene - the focus of this blog usually alongside with communication - is still in, literally, the death throes. I recognize there are some campaigns running on billboards but this is no indicator that things are picking up. 

Many agencies are either handling their MENA accounts from Beirut (if they have international affiliations), tried to establish satellite offices somewhere in the gulf, are creating systems to avoid having to deal with banks when it comes to payments, and are trying to pick up the debris (literally) of the August 4 Beirut explosion.

Freelancers are really being hit hard. To begin with, companies are recruiting them on the cheap (very very cheap) under the guise of "fresh Dollar" (which means they are paid in new Dollars as opposed to "Lollar" or Dollar already stuck in the banking system in Lebanon) and considering the difference of value between the two, companies in the gulf are recruiting them to do work from Lebanon while abusing their need to survive here. 

Also, banks are blocking all incoming money which these freelancers have gained - the excuse is usually "fear of money laundering", and this only leaves companies like Western Union as a way of payment (the payment is deducted by 2% upon arrival by the way, unless it comes from an American bank). Interestingly, companies cannot send by Western Union, it needs to be individuals - which added a further layer of trying to jump through hoops!

If so far you are not dispirited just by reading this, try living this on day to day basis. 

A Medco Beirut tribute that actually works.

Ah the Beirut tributes! After the explosion so many brands rode the bandwagon of sending tributes to the city - most bland, several of them not sincere, others bordering the horrific (here's looking at you Pepsi!). Which is why, at times, the low-key ones are actually the one that work best. Take this spectacular Medco example - blink and you'll miss it. Medco still sticks to its Arabo-Latin transcription. Which makes the two flags read "forwad! for the sake of Beirut" - the 2021 has a peace dove in it instead of a zero. I personally really love it - maybe the idea they did not plant it in front of everyone's nose is what it makes work, as it comes off sincere rather than show-off.