Najjar Raqwa2 - improvement but still without a soul

Remember the fiasco that Raqwa2 was? (here) To say there has been an improvement is not saying much when the bar was so low. Still, one has to give credit, but again, as the point of Raqwa2 is convenience. A small office break (probably to catch on the latest gossip), a quick cup in between two house chores, taking a breather in no time before plunging in what you were doing, or simply enjoying an Arabic coffee cup without the hassle of doing the Raqwa yourself (I am good and it, but yes, it requires technique and sometimes the patience of a saint). Still at least the woman seems to be enjoying her coffee this time, even if emotions and a soul seem to be lacking (coffee is not something purely visual, and Arabic coffee requires a mindset that instant coffee does not provide, this much I assure you). Oh, the "ahwtak 3a zaw2ak" (your coffee done the way your like it) does not hold a candle to "wayn ma fi ahwe fi Najjar" (wherever there is coffee there is Najjar). Not to be mean, but why Najjar let go of Pimo when it was doing brilliant work is beyond me.

Najjar Raqwa q2 - paint coffee by numbers

At the beginning of my career in advertising a major coffee brand was the client of the agency I was working with. I presented my creative idea so seductively, the owner of the company said when I finished "now I feel like I want a cup of coffee!" - if I say this it is because, well, there are ways to make the coffee (or in this case the coffee machine) desirable. The one used in the ad is not it.

Thankfully the two end lines remain from the previous agency - "coffee as it should be" (el ahwe 3a oussola) and "wherever there is coffee, there's Najjar" (wayn ma fi ahwe, fi Najjar). Still, honestly, the sight of the man and the woman in the ad "pretending" to enjoy their coffee is - truly - a sight not to behold. Watch the ad here.

Najjar Raqwa goes double

I spoke about Najjar Raqwa long ago (here), and well, whereas the ad here is a bit old (because the ad on that OOH gets changes very very infrequently), it is still interesting that Raqwa went double.

So basically, the idea is that the machine produces two cups of coffee instead of one. In a stressful country like Lebanon, I will have both thank you. Joking aside, I always thought Najjar Raqwa (Najjar being known for their ground coffee brand, a ubiquitous product in the Middle East) would be a hit actually. Now of course, with all companies downsizing on expenses, offering free coffee is a thing of the past at this point (yes, all perks are now being taken off from many work places mind you, understandable, when you see how much companies want to really save on all fronts with remote working of course, also changing this idea of gossiping around the coffee machine).

The ad markets the coffee - or double coffee - as a "sobhiye" which is the morning meeting time between friends, family members and - sometimes - colleagues. 

Still, it Raqwa went double it means the single coffee-making  machine was indeed a hit. Which is a good news. As I said, the previous iterations of the machine which included cappuccino and what not produced excellent Arabic coffee. So no doubt Najjar Raqwa does too.