Did Turkish Airlines just wish Lebanon a happy Independence Day?

Photo credit: Lorenzo Trombetta

I know this is about 10 days too late, but the ad is still running in town, plus this is my blog and I can post whenever I want to!

Well, where's Alanis Morissette when you need her because this is exactly what would fit under the lyrics of her super hit "Ironic"... Imagine the new verse:

"Like your old Ottoman ruler

Wishing you a happy independence day

Because you took it from the French

So they win on a technicality

(Pre-Chorus)

And isn't it ironic

Don't you think?"

All apologies to Miss Morissette and Glen Ballard who co-wrote the monster hit... But seriously people, I know that "technically" the Lebanon who was under Ottoman rule was basically "mount Lebanon" not the current Lebanon we know, and that yes, we took our independence (sigh, what independence?) from the French not the Ottomans, and that our whole history is a bit of a blur (meaning depends whom you ask you get a different story!), and as Bill Farrell said about Beirut "there's no truth in Beirut, only versions" - you may easily apply this to Lebanon as a whole.

Still, we can all see the irony in this!

Pangea - Turkish Airlines at the Super Bowl

So apparently earth was just one connected continent way back then - and let Morgan Freeman with his suave voice tell it. So before Asia, Europe, etc.... there was no rifting and all this was just one same mass of land. And as the airline shows (I love this shot) you could see lands closing in and distances disappearing. Which brings us to the usual shot of people from different races hugging at airports. Somewhere halfway between cliche but also creativity (I feel the creative force was reigned a bit truth be told), Turkish Airlines does drive (or rather flies!) its point home. See the ad here.