Nok Nok, a massive event, but what can Cafe Rio teach it?

To give credit where credit is due, let us start with here and here (and some behind the scenes here), the text comes from Nok Nok app "800+ guests, futuristic vibes, and one bold vision. Our new app launch wasn’t just about unveiling our innovation — it was about sharing a dream with all of you. A dream to make life simpler, faster, and better for every home in Lebanon. Thank you for celebrating this milestone with us and for being part of our journey to bring everything. anything. ONE TOUCH closer to you."
Not to confuse with the other "one touch".
The event was apparently coordinated by "Artists and more", also the text is from their page: "Over 200 crew members, a massive lineup of Artists, and just 4 days to build it all, 100% A to Z by @artistsandmore. Projections, holograms, lasers & special effects turned this launch into Lebanon’s most futuristic corporate event, marking the start of our Live Experiences department now serving 20+ countries."

To be clear, I was not invited to the event, nor was I seeking to (apparently I am not even on the level of 800+ guests, but I digress hihi). 

So what's my point?

Judging from the photos, the event was a total smash. Good for them.

Now, let me tell you this story:

A long, as in eons ago (early aughts), Cafe Rio entered the Lebanese market with a splendid ad.

It had wonderful story telling, hilarious details (a crocodile on the customs?), an sky high production value, a totally wanky cast. 

Within a week, brand recognition among customers was 95%. Unheard of.

The problem? Rio was still in its testing phase. People bought Rio Cafe, disliked the taste and stopped buying it altogether. Rio went through an uphill struggle to regain consumer confidence.

So, again, why am I saying this?

On my Linkedin post about the atrocious ad for Nok Nok yesterday, comes this comment from JC Abi Saab: " That their call to action on the app should have been tested through a Beta period. It freezes. It does not send the verification code. Bottom Line: Failure in the story, on the promise and in the seamless experience itself." Apparently, the experience (or lack of it) was also shared by several other people.

So launching such a massive event for an app which apparently has not been tested rigorously will have a detrimental effect on consumers. 

Just remember Cafe Rio.

Nok Nok, just because you can does not mean you should.

Yesterday, I was kind of nice to Nok Nok (here), but this... Is inexcusable. And I do not care what the rationale is, or what the creative logic is (what creative?), or what they convinced the client with to end up with this atrocity - and that's a kind word for this mess. So it is about the Mona Lisa? But make it Bassem Feghali - lebanon's prime impersonator - in two different roles (his Antika Sursock and Mona Lisa Gherardini). And it goes downhill and incoherent from there.

It all makes zero logic, why would the Mona Lisa was a mixed salad, face cream, and chocolate? Why would this make any sense, for Leonardo to add the Nok Nok cap - why would she grow legs? Why... The questions multiply by the second for this atrocity of - an ad? Does it even merit the moniker?

Watch this at your own risk and peril here.

To be very clear, Scandinavian ads have a penchant for the surreal angle, but they make it work so wonderfully and it all ends up being a farce. Here? The humor is lost on me, and I suspect it did not exist in the first place.

Nok Nok, catchy but with an aughts feel

Seems Nok Nok has a new series of ads. The idea is to insert a product inside a word - since they deliver a whole array of goods (that Spinneys bought them contributes to the push I guess). So the i in cosmetics becomes a lipstick, the o in groceries is a lettuce. A pillow for the o in homeware. The campaign seems to veer off towards a different territory with "one flare" for a perfume and "one scrub" for a sponge, which makes this, two campaigns in one (read: the client wanted both so everything got mixed up).

The art direction is fresh, not too exuberant or anything but it does the job. The idea of inserting product in words however goes back to the aughts (2000-2009 more specifically 2003-5 where it was everywhere back then).

As I said Nok Nok, not the leading deliverer in Lebanon (the honor goes to Toters) is perhaps benefiting from its new ownership to make a wall to wall campaign.

Durex x Good Thymes.... If only

 Well after that Nok Nok ad it could have been worse (here)... But thankfully that was just... An April Fool's.... Oh well, seriously this could have been much worse.