ArabAd.... l'arroseur arrosé

So if you are the region's oldest magazine dealing with communication and the media and you need to advertise yourself, what do you do? I go back to the Lumiere Freres film "l'arroseur arrosé" (the waterer watered), whereby ArabAd eventually advertised itself. Of course I am by no means an innocent bystander, my own history with ArabAd goes back to the year 2000 but again "Communication" does bind us in much more ways than one. I am currently on the helm of Communicate, but oddly, I never saw the two titles in competition because both, and each in its different way, is here for the betterment of the industry at large.

In Lebanon, barely anyone is advertising anymore

In a previous post dated June 22, 2021 I wrote the following story (here):

"You know the old adage, that in times of crisis brands should advertise more. So that when the crisis ends their name would be top of mind for the consumer. In 1989 the father of a friend was working on a very upscale banquet area in a resort in Kaslik. Of course, everyone thought the owner of the resort was bananas. Why invest in such a luxurious thing when the war was raging? Fast forward to 1991 and the war ended, and guess where everyone who was anyone wanted to throw their wedding reception?"

Well, this is indeed a time of crisis in Lebanon and everyone is advertising, not just less, but barely anything. Recently I read this figure that Nestle has seen its sales drop from 300 million to 70 million USD a year in Lebanon. Sure, most of its brands that vanished at the beginning of the crisis - think Nescafe - are back on the market. But people have switched to other brands in the meantime what's with everyone being price sensitive and brand loyalty is no longer a factor in purchase, not to mention local alternatives which popped up in the meantime (this could be debatable though as shown in this previous post - here).

Now, we all know that the advertising landscape is changing globally. But somehow this is more acute in Lebanon as many crises are hitting the market - not just one after the other but in parallel and at the same time. 2023 was supposed to be the beginning of the recovery, but the second half of the year saw a nosedive in activity and that's even before the Gaza events wiped everything starting October.

But the malaise is big. One can feel it. Sure, the situation is "noticeably" better than when the crisis broke in October 2019 when already existing ads lingered for a long time on billboards eventually not to be replaced by anything, and banks - which were injecting massive amounts of money in the advertising sector basically stopped (here). 

But still, TV ads are almost non-existent. Ads for specific occasions - anything from Christmas to Back-To-School are barely there (my round up of Christmas ads last year had a melancholy element to it - here). It's like everyone is trying to wing it and just try to see what sticks - advertising haphazardly, if at all, with no strategy or clear focus behind it.

I clearly remember Army Day in 2018 or so. I honestly had to pick and chose which ads I needed to talk about - and still ended up with around two dozen posts that day. Anyone who is anyone wanted to be part of the fray. With results usually far below what was acceptable. And again, there was a time when ads were plastered on trees or any surface that could handle them. Now OOH companies are begging ad agencies to book their billboards with prices incredibly low (of course, no one admits this publicly but it is true). 

I know I sound pessimistic, and that perhaps as someone is bound to say - everyone went digital anyway (here). But as I asked prior, if they moved digital, where are they? Which brings us to...

In Lebanon, barely anyone is advertising anymore.

Good and bad news: Lebanese ad agencies are expanding elsewhere

Cover of "The Story of Middle East Advertising" by Ramzi Raad

During the Lebanese war, and I mean the long 1975-90 war (as there has been others), Lebanese ad agencies found themselves caught between a rock and a hard(-shelled) place. Stories of ad people almost losing their lives during the war were not uncommon - snipers, abductions, explosions, shelling, all these were truly very close encounters with death.

This meant that at some point Lebanese ad agencies, no longer able to serve their international clients from Beirut what's with electricity, telex and phone line cuts, had to immigrate elsewhere to do it. That migration is fully detailed in Ramzi Raad's book "The Story of Middle East Advertising" of which I have had a copy. Please note the book is for free, it was supposed to be distributed to ad agencies and universities but many did not claim theirs. So there are, sadly, extra copies of the book if you wish to get hold of one. It is indeed a very exhaustive and very well-detailed and researched book.

The reason am writing all of this is because whereas there are elements of similarity in today's landscape, there are also major signs of difference.

Let's start with the similarities. In today's Lebanon, we have the same elements of chaos - barely any electricity, major hurdles in payments, incredible logistic nightmares, the presence of well-trained and experienced talents on the market. 

The local market has been in total chaos especially since late 2019, the crisis deepened and turbo-charged in 2020 what's with banking problems, and ultimately with many agencies losing their places of work following the devastating August 4, 2020 explosion.

This blog alone has written and documented many times the dismal state of affairs.

So many, many agencies have been trying to expand their businesses considering not just that the local clients have become too far and in between, but also that said clients have themselves liquidity issues, payment problems, are barely able to pay their own employee salaries, and literally look at marketing/advertising as a major luxury. And please, spare me the-client-who-invests-when-the-market-is-down-remains-top-of-mind because what Lebanon is going through right now is now just "when the market is down" but rather a literal economic existential crisis where all the indicators are off the charts and barely continuing month to month is in itself a miracle to many companies - and also individuals. 

So finding themselves in such a dismal state of affairs said agencies have been trying to expand. Sure, many agencies are already multinationals - so the Beirut hub has been handling the international accounts. It's a win-win, the local bureaus remain active and the international accounts get served. Of course, no one wants to admit it, but with inflation being what it is, local talents are paid a pittance so clients are having their work done on the cheap from Lebanon. Sure, all advertising managers would wish to sidestep this issue and not speak about it, even if it is true.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the UAE are usual places where such agencies try to land. Naturally, the laws of the countries dictate that this must be done with a local partner - who usually has more than half of the shares. But also Oman and Africa are places where other agencies are trying to secure places in such markets. A few days ago a local agency owner told me "I am trying to open a branch in Lagos, Nigeria. Sure it is just a front, the work will be done from Lebanon but the market there is enormous and it will bring in cash - a lot of cash - if done correctly". The presence of a large Lebanese diaspora in Africa - with some of them owning huge conglomerates of companies - is also of major interest to the agencies in question.

Now, of course, the idea is - it worked once why shouldn't it work twice?

Here's the issue. At this point, the markets in the GCC area have completely changed. Meaning that to begin with, large accounts are already spoken for. Here's a small anecdote, in Ramzi Raad's book he ends up meeting  a young Saudi Youth at a coffee shop, the man in question turns out to be the son of Abdul Latif Jameel, the man who has the Toyota license for the kingdom and the agency in which Mr. Raad was at the time ends up scooping the account. Such adventures are now totally out of the equation - already Abdul Latif Jameel owns its ad agency (Drive Dentsu) to do the work in question (I know so because I was part of said agency - full disclosure).

Now that we covered the major large accounts, the other issue is that, when the first big migration of Lebanese agencies and talents happened, there was basically almost no one else there. Today, to be able to charge an account for a certain amount of money, there are talents already established in the said countries who could it for less - and in order for you not to think I am hiding behind my finger, I am specifically thinking of Indian or Pakistni talents who charge less, still make some profit and the profit can be sent to their original countries for their families to subside on it.

Also there are at this point a different local landscape for talents. Meaning? Since then many local talents have been educated abroad in the said countries and combined their knowledge with what they know from local customs and idioms and slang to establish local agencies and are able therefore to speak to the markets in ways only they can. Such talents, let us be honest, did not exist at the time - or almost did not.

Just to be clear, I am not saying that expanding to the Gulf does not work, or that the Lebanese agencies do not have their own flair or know-how or expertise. They do. But also, as I said this is not the original market that was "virgin" back then waiting to be conquered by the intrepid Lebanese breed of advertisers. 

Far from it. Lebanese advertisers are now faced with a totally different landscape.

But if history proved anything, our local communication professionals are undauntable. 

Elections 2022: Hezbollah stays the course in its communication (thankfully)

Considering I elected it the best 2018 campaign for a political party (see here) Hezbollah adopted the if-it-ain't-broke-don't-fix-it approach to the elections. Their 2018 slogan "we defend and build" is now "we keep on defending and building" - alongside this small change (which in Arabic by the way grammatically keeps their original slogan but only ads "keep" to it) they also adopted the strategy where they coax their people into voting (among rumblings - certified or not - that their own electorate is also feeling the pinch and is not as excited as they ought to be) with words such as "your ballot is a responsibility" or "your trust is a responsibility".

Interestingly, they also throw a clin d'oeil to their ally the Free Patriotic Movement with "sovereignty, amendment/rectification, your ballot are a responsibility" - amendment and change were the slogan adopted by the FPM for many elections already.

Visually the opted for the "tick" mark (which again the FPM used many moons ago - the 2008 elections but which is commonly used in elections) and inserted the shadow of a person inside "trust"... But all these are small gimmicks. On the whole I am quite pleased that the Hezbollah stayed the course communication wise. Why change what works?

So, what is a blog for?

And so it transpired former president (or current president depending on whom you ask!) Donald J. Trump has a new blog. The blog in question, like mine, has no reply option. But items can be reshared on Facebook and Twitter. Oh also unlike mine "donate" and "contribute" figure widely on the page. 

At least, Trump did not play the Instagram card. Because you know, too many people say they have blogs when the blogs in question are silly pages on Instagram. Sure, they may be getting freebies left and right (or used to as this no longer applies in Lebanon!) but an Instagram page is not a blog.

Well, truth be told, there used to be a flurry of bloggers in Lebanon but most migrated (as in literally changed countries!), others have phantom pages (for paid press releases, or press releases for free as they concentrate on their Instagram - again - and youtube pages). To be honest, technically, I remain the only blogger in Lebanon.

But what for?

I once had a bank as a client and at one point I suggested that they might have a blog where all employees can pitch things to and the head of the bank (also the owner) said "el blog houwe yalli ma 3indo chi y3oulo" (a blog is for someone who has nothing to say) which reminded me of my post "c'est pas parce qu'on n'a rien a dire (qu'il faut fermer sa gueule)". Which of course, does not reply to the question, "so, what is a blog for Tarek?".

In a age where anyone does not want to read, where concentrating on two paragraphs becomes too much, where information is distorted (despite being written and communicated clearly), where narratives are misshapen - blogs are actually superfluous entities barely needed and certainly disregarded (OK, but I have to thank the large number of people who still read this one - or at least make it a point to click massively monthly on its content!). 

Well, "45" speaks of a "beacon of freedom" - good for him. Trust me on this one, I was sued twice for speaking "freely" about facts. Which is a totally annoying experience if you ask me. But still, more than anyone, I ask myself, what is a blog for? 

But as William Carlos Williams wrote in "the red wheelbarrow":

"so much depends
upon
a red wheel
barrow"

And so much depends on the lone blogger still standing. What depends exactly is a different matter.

Happy Supermarket - now sad

Post Beirut explosion, few brands advertised anything from the usual "we will rise" or "like a Phenix..." etc... Interestingly the legend of the Phenix has nothing to do with Beirut, or Lebanon. Which makes the Happy Supermarket a rarity - but a welcome one. The ad says "it's ad, but there's still hope" but the smartness is to simply flip the logo which used to say "happy" and now indicates sadness. Minimal, smart, and effective.

Picasso, Nadia Tueni and the rebirth of Beirut

 "Beirut: dead a thousand time, to be reborn one thousand more..." Nadia Tueni"

And this is how Pikasso the billboard OOH company celebrated Beirut, a city which has been documented to have been erased seven times in history already (excluding the 1989 anti-Syrian war led by General Aoun currently our president, and the inter-Christian war between the Aoun fragment of the army and the Lebanese Forces in 1990 - which both wrecked havoc in it), but which following the massive explosion on the 4th of August is truly beyond devastation. The initiative by Pikasso is admirable certainly, whether this is what the population needs is another matter.

Ksara - Army Day in brilliance

Army Day came and went without a whimper this year, thankfully. For a while, any company that could dip anything in camouflage did so and bragged about it. Which makes the low key Ksara ad "teslam ya Askar Lebnan" (may the Lebanese Army people be preserved) even more punchy. The line comes from a popular song, so nothing new there, but the trick was finding that KSARA and ASKAR are anagrams. Cue, just flip the logo. Easy? Yes. Smart? Without any doubt. Why it took so many years to find it? No idea. Note the Ksara logo is so well known, that the ad did not need to be signed. 

#YouCantStopUs - Nike

Brilliant and heart-stopping ad by Nike. Watch here.

Let me first say it's been done before. The mix and match technique of two images. But Nike does it brilliantly and perfectly, the way images go from one shot to the next is impeccable. The copy, said in a natter of fact way only makes it better, straight to the point, and completely credible. The film goes from pro. To amateur, to invented and new lockdown ready sports, and makes them all worthwhile, and whereas tailored to the American market, it can easily resonate worldwide. You can't stop sport #YouCantStopUs indeed.

FabricAID the timely initiative in Lebanon.

I am not someone prone to easy superlatives, but without any doubt the crisis currently hitting Lebanon and affecting people so totally drastically is one for the books (notice I did not say "unprecedented"). Still, if this is not the time to stand by one another, then I wonder when is? FabricAID is a great initiative, which gathers clothes and resells them at an abysmally low price to people in need.we all have pieces. We lost or gained weight, we made impulse buys, we grabbed something as a retail therapy and the list continues.... The FabricAID bins are strategically placed and as their ad says "little can become a lot".... Visit their site here.

The history of Lebanon: Simulacra and simulation. (Official release)

Watch HERE:

Based on the philosophical treatise by Jean Baudrillard. This art project is an attempt to retrace the history of Lebanon through signs and signifiers.

Simulacra are defined as copies that depict things that either had no original, or that no longer have an original, whereas simulation is the imitation of the operation of a real-world process or system over time.

Lebanon has not had a common official history book since before the war, students still study in archaic books that end somewhere around 1972. The reason for that is simple, since history is not the real version of the events but simply the narrative dictated by the winner, and since there was no clear winner of the Lebanese war at the abrupt end of it, then the saying by Bill Farrell - the late New York Times reporter in Lebanon - "there's no truth in Beirut, only versions" still holds.

To make things worse, the same political families which ruled Lebanon during the war, are still there and refusing to look at their past and be able to understand what they did wrong or assess their legacies in the bloody events. Still, all is not lost, for - no matter in which shelter one was in the Lebanese war - we were all listening to the same ads, jingles, watching the same soap operas, using the same products, going to (different) cinemas which were showing the same movies, enjoying the same heartthrobs - be they in roman photo (translated Italian photoromanze) or singing sensations, and the list goes on.

Only the signs and signals of pop culture of Lebanon will be able to join us when "politics" divides us. Politics stems from the two Greek words, "polis" and "ethos" - polis or the "heart of the fortress" and ethos which means ethics. So the original meaning of the word meant "the ethics of living in a community" and if that had to go through advertising jingles, then so be it. 

The project aims to use pop culture, in terms of symbols, names, catchphrases as a way to unify the Lebanese around the same concepts and ideas, and using the said elements as emotional triggers to help preserve memories both personal and collective.

Baudrillard has said about the iconoclasts: "One can live with the idea of distorted truth. But their metaphysical despair came from the idea that the image didn't conceal anything at all". Should this be true then the images of this project do not conceal anything either.

The project is composed of "episodes" each being a video art 13,5 seconds long, with each video containing 9 high resolution related images (thematically, geographically or time wise) with a total time of 120 minutes. Along with a two-hour long soundtrack which explores the Lebanese collective memory in terms of audio rarities and songs (specifically related to the war era).

USAID and protecting water in Lebanon.

At a time when any new ad is worth talking about due to their scarcity, this USAID ad about protecting water in Lebanon "no matter what" with the cedar (of the flag no less) in a fluid form is up to my knowledge the only new campaign in town. Campaign is also stretching it as it is just a few unipoles on the road. Long long ago (mid oughts) one needed 600 billboards for a campaign to be simply visible in Beirut. Now only a couple can do the trick.

The Epica Awards 2020 are open for entries

The only global creative award judged by the press goes ahead with its €100 “early bird” discount until August 31st.

As they face rocky economic times in the months ahead, the press and the advertising industry need each other more than ever. The press benefits from advertising revenue, while giving brands a platform for their paid and earned messages.
Epica allows the press to celebrate creativity – so we felt it was essential that the competition went ahead in an effort to thrive and survive despite the crisis. Our international jury of editors and senior reporters from titles such Adweek, Campaign, Creative Review, Horizont, Stratégies and Shots are all on board. Epica covers advertising, design, PR and digital.
From July 1 to August 31 there’s an early bird discount of €100. Entries will close on October 31, but the period may be extended if we decide to hold an online-only jury. The date of the ceremony has yet to be confirmed.
At the request of jury members, we’ve introduced a free-to-enter category for campaigns relating to the COVID-19 pandemic. All proceeds from this category will be donated to Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders).
Epica Awards editorial director Mark Tungate commented: “We know this is going to be a tough year. Agencies are suffering. But it’s also true that there has been an explosion of creativity as governments and brands communicate messages concerning health and safety, support and solidarity. The journalists on our jury are keen to honour this work as well as the other great work from the preceding months.”
They’re also keen to write about it, reinforcing Epica’s natural PR advantage. Creativity is working harder than ever. Let’s spread the news.

Elissa introduces her fans to Magritte

An Arab Child reads an average of 6 minutes a year. Compared to 12,000 minutes to their western counterpart. Am not inventing this, this is the result of a study in 2012. With this in mind, likelihood of non reading, non museum attending Arab child-teenager not knowing Rene Magritte is indeed high. Enter Uber successful Lebanese singer Elissa in the promo for her new album. Bam! "Not to be reproduced" by Magritte redo ("Mirror impossible" in French").

Just to be clear I am all for! Elissa enjoys such a wide following that Magritte and surrealism are suddenly on the lips of every Arab fan of hers I bet!!

Natgaz an ad for the current times in Lebanon

Natgaz sells incandescent lamps and gas lanterns.

Repeat: incandescent lamps and gas lanterns.

With fuel problems, electricity shortages and power cuts, with private generators proving too expensive. We are back to the war days rationale of.... incandescent lamps and gas lanterns. This is truly an ad for the current times in Lebanon.

Really, zero steps forward, ten steps back.

Shtrumpf cooks up a nice ad

Well with ads so rare and in between these days it is great to see anyone doing anything, and so much the better, anything good. So it is a pleasure to see Shtrumpf, our local diner, dipping its ad in the current events sauce. "Well done quality, medium rare prices" - not just one wink, two winks. And they are both so effortless they actually work. Actually, with so many restaurants closing or shooting up their prices to cope with the current devaluation crisis, seeing Shtrumpf thrive or trying to keep abreast is actually a pleasure.

The PHNX festival winners are out!!

Three months later, the AdForum PHNX Tribute is a reality, with a list of Grand Prix, Gold, Silver and Bronze winners. They were announced during an online event in partnership with the UK Advertising Export Group (UKAEG) and the International Advertising Association (IAA).

The Grand Prix winners were:

Watch here

Film: Lacoste, “Crocodile Inside”, BETC, France

Explained here

Digital: Burger King, “Stevenage Challenge”, DAVID Madrid/DAVID Miami

Strategy: Burger King, Moldy Whopper, INGO Stockholm/DAVID Miami/Publicis

There were no clear Grand Prix winners in the Print and Design categories. Overall there were 41 Gold winners, 97 Silver and 191 Bronze, from a total of 4,000 entries. Out of the 35 countries that won awards, the United Arab Emirates came in third with 29 awards, while the most awarded agency was Impact BBDO Dubai with 10 Bronzes and 5 Silvers, but no Golds. The jury was a uniquely diverse gathering of creatives, strategists, consultants and journalists – a total of more than 430 people. Together, they gave over 270,000 scores, which amounted to more than 2,800 hours of voting – or 117 days. Surely an awards show record! My own clam to fame is that seems I clocked 44 hours of judging, more than any of the other jurors...

AdForum CEO Philippe Paget, said: “Congratulations to all the winners and of course a huge thank you to everyone who entered. You rose to the occasion. I’d also like to thank our jury, of course, and the Grand Prix panel. I’m hugely grateful to the UK Advertising Export Group, which became a valued partner in the event. As intended from the start, the AdForum PHNX Tribute showed that creativity grows even stronger in a crisis. Perhaps the PHNX will rise again one day in the future.”

Concord - on staying home and patriotic slogans

Concord, the Lebanese white good manufacturer, has an ad that combines staying at home and patriotic slogans. "Stay home and shop online" has obvious meanings and roots. Now the patriotic bit I have blogged about before but may need repeating.

بتحب لبنان؟ حب صناعتو
You love Lebanon? Love its industry

The slogan which was coined when slain Minister Pierre Gemayel was Minister of Industry, has firm roots in an old poster by the Phalangists (which were created by his own grandfather - Pierre Gemayel after whom he was called), the poster in question (circa 1976) is below:

Photo taken from Maria Chakhtoura's book La Guerre des Graffiti

You love it... Work for it.
The analogy between the two slogans is uncanny once you think about it.

Lebanon made in China: Barbarians at the gate

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly based on a Chinese cultural Revolution porcelain statue

Never a dull day. Right after news broke that talks between Lebanon and the IMF broke down, it transpired that China is interested in our electricity company and railway system - or what's left of both. Before anyone goes about the Chinese human right abuses, those enamored with Saudi Arabia, Iran or the United States (the three most popular allegiances excluding Germany-Brasil in football) should do some basic checks. 

A Lebanese saying goes "min ma akhad emme sar 3amme" - whomever marries my mother becomes my stepfather. And well, seems the Chinese will become Mao stepfather. It is really a deus ex Machina situation saving the situation in extremis. But hey, the Chinese are certainly not doing it for the meager money that will come out of our electricity taxes or our now defunct trains. 

As I said, never a dull moment in Lebanon. Am sure the IMF is baffled.

黎巴嫩中国制造 - that's "Lebanon made in China" for you.

On the joys of being a juror at an ad festival

The PHNX festival just closed its jury grading window. I must have graded more than 2500 ads.

The PHNX was a bit of an anomaly though: Being free to enter some people plugged their portfolios to the cringing reaction of the jurors, there was an incredible mismatch in the categories which also sent the jurors over the edge, and many entries were not eligible due to their broadcast date being earlier than was stipulated.

To be a juror means either you are a masochist or you have enormous dedication. Remember, you need to finish the category you started because either your vote will not be counted or you will skew the average if you do not fulfill the whole category. With around 250 entries per category on average this becomes a drudgery.

Yet, again, in my case not only passion but dedication is there. For the PHNX, I was given a full day head start in judging because I am incredibly fast at doing so (when I used to teach at university level I immediately knew if I liked the creative idea the student was presenting or not), and because I was able to pinpoint technical errors and immediately report them.

Just to clear though, the PHNX which was a one time only festival and the Epica Awards where I have been judging since 2016 are no walk in the park. Both online and as a physical juror. When you sit about 16 hours in the same room putting grade after grade, or when you do that at home doing the same amounts to pseudo-insanity. The problem? An ad which is a total disaster in the film category actually has a great use of sound, one with a horrible activation strategy is excellent in its branding, hence the need to be alert as to what category you are judging and to combat mental fatigue.

Another issue? Peer pressure.

Many ads fellow jurors fell in love with left me incredibly cold. At times I would throw another glance at the ad in question only to say - "nope it still leaves me cold". It really takes a lot to make me change my mind. But again, you need to really hang on to your opinion and not say "Oh so-and-so-head-of-agency-liked-it-so-must-I". You have your opinion and head-of--agency has theirs.

Of course, one also needs to be fair. Normally as a juror you are denied voting on work from your own country. But work for the Lebanese market is often presented from Dubai so I end up judging it - often poorly - without playing favoritism.

With all its folly, the excitement of finding the next great ad overcomes all the insanity and frustration. And this alone is a tremendous joy!