Porsche Design goes back to school

It has been a a very silent back to school period in terms of advertising. The CSR from Kipling (here), the ho-hum from Maliks (here), and that's pretty much about it. So far, and correct me if I am mistaken no campaigns for (relatively cheap) backpacks, or other assorted related items (I think of Picon - here - or Al Taghziah - here or Bic - here). Perhaps it is a question of budget, or a question of lack of effort to market, but this certainly this is not a case of OOH being expensive - here. Still, again, I stand corrected if there is some major campaign I missed related to the back to school.

Actually I was discussing this with someone and boom! In the evening he sends me the ad above. I had actually received the SMS but was not aware there was a visual associated as well So voila... Let's be realistic, when your car is a Posrsche Taycan what sort of a backpack will your bring your kid? And honestly, when you drive such a car, do you really need the 10% offered? I digress because hey, statistics indicate that even the uber wealthy like a discount (seriously, studies have shown that!).

Just to be clear, I own several Porsche Design items, so I am not throwing stones or anything here. But it seems fitting that the ad is presented the way it is.

Picon - covering school tuitions

I know, I already pointed out that CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) was an hypocrisy (see here) and the Picon ad itself has all the blueprint of the usual we-are-here-to-help (see here) so why am I making a fuss about it? Because apparently so far they covered the tuition of 300 students. And this, in itself, deserves mentioning because at some point too many students got left behind this year with the economic situation worsening so bad thousands of them were kept outside of the school system (the Picon ad points out that there are 400,000 students who are not able to "continue their schooling" and their estimates seem to be correct). 

This is a conversation I had myself with a man who studied 3 years of medicine in an Eastern European country (before dropping out) and I am quoting verbatim (he was speaking about his 2 sons aged 7 and 5): "so what? Let them stay at home, many people are keeping their children away from school. At some point feeding them takes priority". I know it seems I am writing this with an accusatory tone, but at some point, judging by his finances, I actually did  not reply. 

On all accounts, if Picon is doing it, good for them. Now is the time for anyone who is anyone to step up to the plate!

Picon does a one size fits all post explosion ad

Picon just pulled its post Beirut explosion ad, emphasizing to how many NGOs and associations it gave its products to. Mind you, being a spread cheese which you can easily roll in a sandwich or an Arabic bread, it makes sense for it to distributed. The ad though, is filled with predictable visuals, which is fine. But honestly, the faux sentimental copy which accompanies it (with truly silly references to "teta" and "jeddo") is beyond irritating (for comparison for a staggeringly beautiful copy please refer to One Act). Honestly, the copy is so one size fits all it could have been any brand, not just Picon, since the majority seem to be adopting this pinch-me-till-I-cry tone. See the ad here.