Balkis - afandi sans wordplay

Balkis (here, here, here and here as examples). Balkis previously advertised its mandarine (afandi) flavor before. Here's what I said back then: (for) the mandarine flavor - they go "charraf el afandi" (Afandi is a title from the Ottoman era which means "Gentleman" or "sir" and still used in Lebanon as a valuable way of addressing someone, the word also means "mandarine") and "charraf" means "he is here" (do note in my archive I have and ad for Balkis Afandi flavor since 2004 so I guess this is a reissue of an old flavor.

Interestingly, the new ad does not feature the witty wordplay - as to why is beyond me because it really worked. Also, and this is me and my OCD memory: Pity I do not have their first ad - which is not present in my archive - which simply said "3a fekra" which translates as "by the way" or "here's a thought" and it was simply introducing pure natural juice.

Balkis... Goes for the word play.

 Balkis... A national brand of juice has always relied on word play. Pity I do not have their first ad - which is not present in my archive - which simply said "3a fekra" which translates as "by the way" or "here's a thought" and it was simply introducing pure natural juice. So here's Balkis today with 2 ads (on the 2 sides of a mupi in downtown Beirut). 

In one of the ads - the orange flavor (which is their first and their flagship one) - they go "it's not natural how fresh it is". OK this hits two nots the "not natural" is because it is a "natural" juice, and "fresh" as a wink to the "fresh Dollars" as opposed to the "Lebanese Dollars" sitting rotting in accounts at the banks. In the second as - the mandarine flavor - they go "charraf el afandi" (Afandi is a title fromt he Ottoman era which means "Gentleman" or "sir" and still used in Lebanon as a valuable way of addressing someone, the word also means "mandarine") and "charraf" means "he is here" (do note in my archive I have and ad for Balkis Afandi flavor since 2004 so I guess this is a reissue of an old flavor.

3a fekra indeed.

Le pré - sips of nature

Well, this is a surprise: As far as I know, Le Pré is a new brand in the Lebanese market and I stand corrected if it is not so. But launching a natural juice at this time is nothing but gutsy (do not know if it is natural juice but certainly the packaging and branding both imply upper bracket juice - hence "natural"). With a signature like "sips of nature" as well, this certainly implies a "fancy" brand. Well, whereas limited, the ads show immediately as the absence of other ads in town makes any ad prominent these days! Here's my two cents: With a name like Le Pré, they missed the opportunity to use the classic French expression "le bonheur est dans le pré" - I know what you will say, "this will make it uppity French", but ahem, what language is Le Pré to begin with?