Master curvy, 2 in 1 but make it advertising

Now that's interesting. The above is not one ad. It is two. And the reason I know is that when I was saving it, only half showed up. So whereas the ad continues itself on 2 fragments, it is basically - back when print was still in vogue - a double spread feature. Well, obviously Daher food is all out with the help of Mink. Master potato chips in all its variants, nuts, Sitos, where bags were redesigned and streamlined and made more appealing and easier to spot (here, here, and here as examples). According to ArabAd and the ever-precise Naji Boulos, billboard occupancy dwindled to 20%, so I can imagine how easy for Master to book adjacent OOH, and really push the idea on 2 billboards at once. Apparently though it was not to be, as it seems every flavor has its own unipole.

And despite this not happening,  the idea of an ad continuing on the next panel has been done, and in Lebanon to boot (in 2007). See below.

Sitos from Master has good and bad news

Well, there's some good and bad news on the Sitos from Master front. The good news is that the bag design has been updated, making it sleek, efficient and working. So that's nice. The bad news? Not sure the line or positioning (don't know which) is up to the test. "Badda Sitos" (it needs a Sitos). What does? A hijacking? A suicide mission? A tough situation? An unsolvable advertising brief? (OK fine I invented the last one to poke fun). But my logic stands. Do note there are two ads, for two different flavors, visually as I said - since the bag is now neat - the ads work on that front. But with the perplexing line, I find myself unable to understand the whole thing. Could it be that "it needs a Sitos" for me to understand?

Master kettle cooked crunches differently and goes upscale.

The new Master kettle cooked potato chips went high end, as is very high end. A hidden villa? Check. A model in fancy clothing? Check. A very embellished copy in English? Check. Truly, one could mistake it for a perfume ad (if one adds an opera soundtrack), or a very chic clothing store (if there's a man somewhere in the shadows). 

Now, with the Master kettle cooked chips being really good - on par with their international counterparts - it seems the stress was to point people that they could still enjoy such high quality, yet at affordable prices. Which is sort of worrying because when the ad is so upscale, people might be afraid of the price and hence consumers might feel this might be too expensive for them to try and enjoy. But still, the ad is well done, the velvety ambiance very palpable, and the suggested quality does portray itself in the film setting the product in a different standard that any other local competitor. Then again, considering this is the Daher Food top selling product, the consumer already knows the price, so perhaps it was good to stroke their ego implying they belong to some exclusive club. See the ad here.

Mink goes on a double whammy for Mother's Day

Mink is back at what it does best. Distilling complex elements into easy and creative advertising. This time for Mother's Day it went with Master (using nuts and not potato chips) and Ksara (one of Lebanon's finest wines). The result? Two well done and put together ads which truly say a lot about mother's - funnily these are real slices of life that Mink managed to portray. Good to know Mink still kicks.

Mink and Valentine's: Will the real Mink stand up please?

That I am a fan of Mink is no secret. They landed on my best yearly ads several years - no mean feat I can assure you. Their classic Ksara ad for 2023 is mind-blowing (here).  Which brings us to this underwhelming series for Valentine's this year. Apart from "single and ready to minkle" (which is passable) the rest are - sadly - too below their usual standards (and mind you, it pains me to say it). Nothing works, either they are too forced, or too plain, or too "meh", or too McCafe-already-did-that-just-two-months-ago (here). Which is surprising coming from a team which kept churning hit after hit after hit. Ah well, on to the next, no point getting stuck in a bunch that was really, well, did not work at all. Let's see what's down the line and forget this flop.

Master nuts rejuvenates with a well-shot film and a let-down copy

So now that the Master nuts has been rebranded (here), Mink graces us with the film for the campaign. On the plus side, the cast is very well chosen, the slices of life very believable (bonus points for the luggage that rolls on its own - funny scene), and the whole mood does fit the product. On the minus side, it feels like a coffee ad from the 80s (with the Wadi el Akhdar truck scene in tow)... Old man/woman choosing every grain, artisanal preparation methods, people travelling with the product - OK, fine a Cafe Najjar ad to be specific. My major gripe? The film, whereas truly well shot, with the right colors and all, has such a let-down copy. The internal rhymes made me literally wince. Come on people, sacrifice these silly matching words for something more deep, with better decorum. Pity, the film deserved better wording for sure. Watch the film here.

Master, rejuvenates its nuts packaging

So a new packaging and a line that fits. Here's the issue, the original Master packaging was so over the top, anything new would seem kind of more grounded. Though I have to admit this new packaging (sorry 2 packs did not make the cut in the photo!) is certainly not just "more" minimal, but truly minimal - apparently from the creative minds of Mink agency. Which is all for the better as it creates less clutter visually, and on the shelves. Also note that Master (usually known for its potato chips line) is going full-speed ahead in the nuts department, right bang before the holidays where people do end up stocking on nuts and kernels for their festive meetings among families and friends. What remains to be seen is the pricing, because the Lebanese have thrown brand loyalty out the window and are not are for the most very price-sensitive.

Master - now with gifts

I have problems believing Master has issues shifting its large size crisp bags. Sure like with everything there has been a case of shrinkflation (Gandour as a case model - here) but it does contain quite a bit of potato crisps for 1 USD that being said. Yet, as with Pepsi as of late (here) they felt compelled to include lottery items to encourage people to buy the bags. Children and parents I presume. Which is interesting - maybe Fantasia having had a campaign on the streets lately (here) was a compelling sign?

Master capitalizes on being natural

Well, this is interesting - I mean Master (potato chips) has managed to insert itself right in the middle of the current events all while displaying their product, all without sounding too cheesy (yes, not a small effort). "In this unnatural situation, only Master remains natural" - so goes the major campaign that is practically everywhere (understandably considering that potato chips are a constant presence during family or friendly gatherings during the festive period. Of course visual wise, the brand went for some generic backgrounds indicating potato fields (hence the natural bit) with their product more visible.

Again, I think it was a smart coup for them to allude to the deep crisis Lebanon is experiencing but also being able to advertise itself without being "de trop".

Master - a little Arabic slang to enliven the gifts

Master potato chips managed to enliven their gifts - the one you can find in the chips bags.

OK the "lottery" in question is itself quite banal. But what is interesting is the end tag line.

"Hdiytak bi kissak" - well, the litteral interpretation is "your gift is in your bag" but metaphorically it means "your gift is all to your own". Kissak is a bit like "what belongs to you".

Here's my 2 cents. I think the original line was "hdiytak min kissak" - "min kissak" in Arabic means from your own pocket (you buy the bag of chips, so basically you bought your own gift duh!) but I sense they found it too much at the company so they changed it to "bi kissak". But then again, this is just my thought!

As I said not bad for enlivening an otherwise run-of-the-mill children's lottery.