Coffee means Nescafe - the cat is out of the bag

Najjar tried, really tied - among others here. But let us face it, coffee means Nescafe. Well, it's not like they are inventing it, but for a whole generation, the two words a synonymous. Nescafe simply said it out loud and shouted it out in the open. Sure sure, they promoting their own 3 in 1 (coffee, cream, sugar) which comes in sachets as far as I know. But that is beside the point, saying it as it is, basically, cuts all corners on the competition because well, it's not like they are lying or anything. Interestingly coming from a behemoth like Nescafe, the campaign was a little "shy" in terms of exposure. I did see it on several billboards but not exactly like if it was a blitz or anything. Still, now it has been said.

Nescafe wins with its new ad

Very few brands can portray their markets without being cheapo. Or overdoing it. Or getting the characters wrong. Or the wrong slices of life that represents them. Nescafe wins on all counts. They even go local with "spilling coffee is a good omen" to "spilling Nescafe is a good omen", without forgetting the football match, the beach vendor, the dad whose daughter asks "want some Nescafe with all that sugar?", or the man who rushes to follow his wife before she goes to work with her Thermos of Nescafe, and the whole multitude of situations one can drink Nescafe in. Truly honest, realistic and believable ad. Please have fun watching it here.

Cafe Najjar - adapts to the times.

Cafe Najjar tried. Really, really tried.

But it came to naught.

Tried what? To convert a new generation to the merit of ground coffee instead of the easy-to-prepare and at-your-beck-and-call instant coffee (Oh, come on, Nescafe!). Take this old ad for example - it was obvious it was replacing the "red mug" with a "blue one" (here). Still, after trying to reach millennials and trying to speak their language, eventually Najjar capitulated.

Introducing not just one, but three different flavors of Najjar instant coffee: red (har har, like.... Nescafe!), decaf, and Gold (all right fine, several brands apart from Nescafe have gold, so I am giving this a pass). Do note, as with everything, these days there are a lot of "local" equivalents - mind you I already spoke about local production and how sometimes it does not match neither quality, nor expectation, nor price (here).

So here's hoping Cafe Najjar is reasonably priced as compared to the competition - and competition there is, even if, at this point, consumer loyalty is out the window for the Lebanese (I spoke about this prior, among others here).

Persil (featuring Nancy Ajram) vs. Nescafe - Compare and Contrast

So this is super interesting. Remember how I already spoke how Persil and Nancy Ajram are match made in branding heaven (here). Well, after a single one-off in Lebanon in January, now the gates of the campaign have been wide open (were are in August mind you!). So apart from the late catch-up, there's also a very strange element: For their comeback Persil decided to reuse the very famous Nescafe line.

Wait, what? Yes, Persil eventually used "sa7se7" - wake up - which has long been the domain of Nescafe. And no, I am not imagining it, the internet is full of images with the famous line. So how come the mix up? Beats me. Honest, they could have used any line (or no line damn it when you use someone as famous as Ajram). But nope, they had to to do a major misstep. Which honestly makes no sense.

Caffecrema, ads that hint to competitors?

Caffecrema is here. Well, the campaign has a line "your coffee is now called...." and then (for the creamer) "your coffee partner is now called..." (notice about me being indulgent not translating it as "your coffeemate" for obvious reasons!). Well, this at least will tell you that these two products come to you from the same company. 

Here's however my headache. Caffecrema (and I am not even discussing how lame the name is), has a 3 in 1 "classic" sachet flavor (that would coffee + cream + sugar), but also a 2 in 1 sugar free option (ergo coffee + cream). Which brings us to - where would one use the creamer alone? With a competitor brand? Think about the ad for a while and you'll understand my gripe. Nowhere does it say I can buy Caffecrema sans crema... Which makes the creamer ad an implicit ad for - dare I say Nescafe or Maxwell House (which is these days more frequently found than the almost always absent Nescafe). Anyhow, with ads being as rare as they in Lebanon, I had to comment on that one!

Magnum #winterpleasures

Ah in a country where all these are basically no longer found in the market (heck, not only is ice cream, certain brands of chocolate are missing, but also Nescafe and even onions - all stores seem to be missing onions where I am!), it is still a winter pleasure as the ad says to indulge in a magnum. The ads - beautiful retro illustrations by Thomas Danthony in a blink and you'll miss it kind of presence (yet the shape is too iconic not be known!). Great, now I want me some ice cream... 

What Nescafe Gold says about Lebanon

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly as part of the "History of Lebanon" project

Nescafe Gold is missing from Lebanese market.

Nothing alarming, just another product to add to the list.

Panadol is missing from Lebanese market.

Nothing alarming, just another product to add to the list.

As per Executive Magazine:

"Since the start of 2020, the poverty rate has increased in Lebanon to an extent where the middle class is practically dissolving, and the lower class has been pushed further into poverty. According to Khalid Abu-Ismail, a Senior Economist at UN-ESCWA, and Vladimir Hlasny, an economic affairs officer at the UN-ESCWA, the moderate poverty head count in Lebanon is projected to have nearly doubled, and extreme poverty, to have tripled. According to the authors, to close the extreme poverty gap, would only require the richest 10% of the Lebanese to levy around 1% of their total assets toward a solidary fund."

The social solidarity thingy is of no interest, we all know it will not happen. A friend of mine who recently started working with an NGO was amazed, "Tarek, no one talks to anyone in these organizations, I though other organizations would share data with me, or would give me pointers. They seem me as a competition and a threat!" - and that is NGOs.

But to go back to Nescafe Gold, one of my very few indulgences I kept. Well, no more. I am, by hook or by crook, one of the remnants of the Middle Class in Lebanon. Growing up, as a family, we always hovered in that category, sometimes falling to its bottom, sometimes rising up higher (anyone who wishes to dumb this down, C- to C+). As time passed, and with all three children having thriving careers, we certainly went to B in terms of socio-economic classification.

Getting my money stuck at the bank was not part of the plan.

On the outside, the façade did not crack. I still dress nice (well, within my style!), but now avoid indulging in new items hanging to a core closet of items after giving away many in successive collects (to poor people, to people hit by the explosion in Beirut and so on). Like everyone else, I spent most of this year indoors. Which helped using the clothes less and keeping them intact. 

I live in a two-storey detached house, but certainly did not anticipate to do the major chantier which imposed itself this summer (sewage, heater, tree which was causing structural problems to be cut down, etc....). But again, am still holding strong. Whereas unsurprisingly work dwindled enormously this year, I resorted to the other best option: Cut down on spending.

Apart from Nescafe Gold that is.

Scratch that.