Loto Libanais or is that Lo-to?

So the Loto Libanais has a new campaign... Not as lovely as "iza mich el tanayn el khamis" (if not Monday then Thursday), but efficient in the short term. The idea was to breakdown the name "lo-to" (Lo pronounced law in Arabic means "if", and "to" added at the end of the word means "it/him").

So the campaign goes "IF I was able to buy it, I would not have rented IT", "IF I was able to pay for the garage, I would have fixed IT", "IF my salary is enough I would have helped HIM", "IF I had the cash I would not have paid on installments for IT"... 

The ad follows the current trend of using animation in ads (as it brings down the production costs), but at least it makes it up with a clever lo-to gimmick. See the full ad here.

Aromate - a jewel of an animation

Now that is a nice, lovely, well animated ad (see here why animation took over 2020). Aromate Mayonnaise delivers a cozy, warm, and extremely easy on the eye ad. Sure, concept-wise nothing groundbreaking but then again, should there be? Basically it is a factory run by sunflowers. Which selects the best ingredients to give you the best mayonnaise done with 100% sunflower oil yet rich in Omega 6, Vitamin E and containing no cholesterol (they make sure to say that). The animation is flawless, the rustic charm is fantastic and the whole retro feel totally captivating. See the ad here.

2020 has been the year of animation

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

Is it just me or every other ad this year was animated? Seriously, not just in Lebanon. Elsewhere in the world the boom in animation has been unparalleled. First let us talk locally, the ad spending is expected to see a 90% drop this year. Actually, am under the impression the figure must be steeper. To keep their Beirut offices open, many agencies are letting their skeletal staff (no surprise that many people were let go of) work on Pan-Arab accounts, or work for other Arab countries from Beirut directly (either in offices or remotely). The explosion of August 4, with many agencies located in downtown Beirut, only added to the conundrum. 

Naturally you might ask, what does this have to do with animation? Think about it, have you ever been on a shooting set before? Have you seen the astronomic amount of people that need to be involved in front and behind the camera, then later in the editing and post-production part? Worse, social distancing while shooting is a fallacy. The creative director is about an inch away from the director, the actors are too close for comfort, the amount of machinery involved makes the biggest space feels cramped, and the list continues.

How can one remediate to this. What is the one form that is both very-cost effective due to dwindling budgets, which does not require casts, which does not involve a full army of people to execute, which can be adjusted remotely, which can implicate people solely in front of their PC in several locations?

You guessed it. Animation.

What bothers me a little is how little attention to copy and concept is being given locally when animation is involved. Local agencies or freelancers rarely put any effort in that perspective. Which unfortunately means that storytelling is almost nin-existent, which is a shame really. Because animation is really the medium where one can tell a very creatively interesting story to support the visuals.

But then again, here's hoping. Who knows where this can go. I myself feel optimistic as I have always been an arte povera proponent in advertising. Work with what you have, extract the most out of it, and tell a brilliant story while doing it.