Father's Day ads - some effort was made

So Father's Day, which technically is today, came and went with very little interest. Well, maybe the word interest is misplaced, as many - too many - brands simply just plastered "happy father's day" with some discount or special offer. 

Very little effort was deployed, which made those who tried something - anything really - stand out from the crowd. Above are some of the rare examples who dared. We have "BAM" an app which showcases events and activities - to be honest the cake is a bit of an oddity but it was interesting enough to make you look at what the app does... Middle East Airlines has a nice take on their raison d'etre - "to the ones who carry us all our lives" (the pilot with his two kids just in case you didn't get the innuendo). Dubizzle cars, attempted an incredibly difficult feat: Inserting their product inside the ad. Something most brands try to do but fail. The line "to the one who gifted me my first car". Smart and touching indeed.

But it was Wooden Bakery which takes the cake. Pardon the pun. The idea? Celebrating "al ab-tal". "Ab" in Arabic is father. Abtal are heroes. All right, the English version does not work (they made it into superfathers - which makes the joke go stale). And indeed they offer cakes in the shape of superheroes (Superman, Batman, etc....). Well, omitting the fact that the others did not try this year, this one does stand on its own merits and is a great ad.

So voila, not a vintage year, but clear Wooden Bakery tried. And it worked.

Elections 2022: Wooden Bakery has no favorite candidate

Wooden Bakery has woken up to the elections. Using that electoral law whereby you put an X next to your favorite candidate (though you have just voted for the full list as the law requires) and whereby this is called "al mouracha7 al tafdili" - the favorite candidate - Wooden Bakery assures you, there is no favoritism in its products. Actually, yes I'd have one of each please! 

Wooden Bakery and its tasteless discount ad. Moulin d'or Rebukes

Well, I have no solid statistics but I know for a fact that what's with poverty climbing to 55% of the population, what's with inflation hitting all prices, what's with devaluation wiping chunks of purchasing power, and many other factors compounded, a large percentage of the Lebanese population desires to leave the country, and that a huge number of those who are dual nationals have already left, and day on day off we hear about those risking their lives at sea with the "death boats" sailing from places such as Tripoli where people pay smugglers to get them across the Mediterranean. If I say all this, it is because of an ad that appeared yesterday and is of totally poor taste (sorry for the pun).

Wooden Bakery had an ad for its 32,000 Manoushe down from 38,000 (thyme or cheese on a dough) that went "those who immigrated have suffered a loss" (implicitly "cannot benefit from this offer")... To say the ad was met with derision and scorn would be an understatement. The satiric account Peter Wen Maken on Instagram issued a funny rebuke whereby planes are seen getting back to "benefit from the offer" (see here), another frustrated person left a comment on the ad that said "stuff your 5,000" (meaning the presumed discount) to which Wooden Bakery answered "6,000" unaware it was adding fuel to the fire rather than appearing funny.

Seriously, at some point, brands must read the room. People are literally struggling on day to day basis, anyone who is anyone is trying by hook or by crook to leave the land. To say that those immigrated suffered a loss is neither sarcastic nor cute, but rather tone-deaf and demeaning when those who are left here are truly barely making it till the end of the month.

Well, to misquote that comment, "stuff your 6000".

And in one of those strokes of genius, Moulin d'or gives Wooden Bakery the perfect rebuke. "Nope those who immigrated did not lose a good deal, we deliver to the world". Well, at least someone did something smart with this!