Halabi goes nuts - and not very smart

File under "advertising is getting too smart for me" - because honestly, either this is too smart or me getting too dumb. So let's recap, "a mix-and-match whose worry is - beach and mountain" for beach you get a bodybuilder (good to know someone has a bigger nose than me) and for the mountain you get a hiker (good to know there is someone thinner than me). All of this with obviously a background of beach and mountain. Seriously, all of this is so first degree, not single-minded, and honestly goes in 19 directions at once. People, please.

Nuts is everywhere in Lebanon

So the title was a double-entendre, but seriously nuts is everywhere. Exhibits 1, 2, and 3.  Namely "Castania made for the good times" (interestingly, Castania and Pepsi are offering a combo as well), Krikita is introducing its spicy party mix, and Al Kazzi is stressing it is baked not fried. Obviously too many angles for the same product - and with summer swinging high, people are actually gathering with nuts as a ritual offering. So here we are, 3 different brands, each with a different positioning and promise. Of course, the big question is - how brand-loyal Lebanese still are? My take is not much. The proof, I buy cricri and roasted corn by the kilo from a brandless sack. They taste wonderful, and I get them at a fraction of the price of any of the brand-heavy ones.

Side note? The first Al Rifai selling line was "Drives you nuts", but that was the 80s, a lot of water passed under the bridge since then.

Halabi Trio... And some local copywriting

Well, as of late everyone has been trying their hand at home-grown copywriting (without much success). But here comes one which made sense. OK, it is too convoluted to explain but the gist of it is this: When it comes to nuts, the ad says "not one kernel or two kernels" - "a trio!". OK "not one kernel or two kernels" is a local expression basically to indicate something worthwhile. So at least someone did their homework. So apparently the stuff comes in three different flavors, apparently each containing three different nuts (hence the trio!) to mix and match at your own taste (all covered in cricri coating).

Rifai Nuts - not just brand extension new packaging too!

I hate it when I am right. A few months ago an agency launched a teaser, I immediately wrote them back saying "so at 1 minute 28 seconds is your concept, a good one" - few days later when the revealer came guess what was the concept?... Another story a friend showed me an ad and told me "this is influenced by this ad", and I said "no, this is influence by this other ad" - when the friend saw my reference he was gob smacked! You see my reasoning was simple the creative director behind the ad worked at a specific agency which did the reference ad so he simply copied it. And so on and so forth, so yesterday when I spoke about Rifai having a brand extension (here) I was waiting for the other shoe to drop... The new packaging.

And here we are, 8 new varieties and mixes in a new packaging. Note that the logo was revamped when the business was sold (the Swedish arm was sold long ago, and now came the Lebanese one about 2 years ago). Anyhow, the packaging is nice and clean. Not sure consumers even look at the bags as long as the logo is there. But still, an effort was made to present a unified look for everything - a bit more "new" than the older bags. Now, all that silly copy on the ad could have been left out, because seriously, who cares?

Rifai Nuts goes for brand extension with butters

My first reflex was... What? Then I thought - wait a minute they could be on to something here. Rifai known "passion for nuts since 1948" (apparently this is their signature) is going brand extension with nut butter. As I said, it took me a bit aback but then again there is logic to it. After all, Rifai stores do not only sell their inhouse brand (you can go from regular to ultra upscale), but also majors "gourmet" accoutrements - sweets of many kinds, etc... So going for nut butter, especially when it is claimed to be associated with such a renowned brand is not too far of a stretch (available in almond, pistachio and peanut butter). Also "no additives, plastic free, reusable jar, 20 gram protein per 100 grams, no oil" or so says the small animated ad online (here). Interestingly these come with a line "spread summer joy" - mind you the "spread" (for butter as a double-entendre has been done before) but interesting these are labelled as "summer products" (whereas peanut butter is an all-year long thing in the United States).

Al Rifai goes back to the airport....

Photo source

Al Rifai and the airport... the saga continues. They previously lost to Castania (here), then reacted in a petty way (here), Castania did not care (here). Now it seems they are back at the airport, with an ad right next to it. OK, so I said it before "drives you nuts" was one of the earliest selling lines in Lebanon (here), which they seem to have hankered back on (nut/not)... Is this a good ad? These days with the spending being so minimum low any ad is "visible", but visible does not equate good.

Halabi Nuts - trying to unsee a phallic symbol

Halabi Nuts.... All right, I am trying to unsee what I saw.

And what did I see? "I-tawt-I-taw-a-puddy-tat" to quote tweetie bird.

I thought I saw a pussy(cat)... And now trying to unsee it with all my might.

Look it could be the case of a "an art director trying to do a stylish image" as my friend said, or it could be - heaven help us - a phallic symbol all the way. Please see the ad here (a little at your own peril).

Look am as liberal as they come but this is an ad for the general public for nuts! (and this is not a double meaning!)

Castania goes World Cup

Ah I am a bit surprised not more brands jumped on the World Cup bandwagon, but then again what's with everyone slashing budgets on all fronts I guess World Cup was among the casualties. Which makes the Castania Nuts ad a bit of a rarity. "The game is tasteless without Castania" - now "tasteless" or "ma elo ta3me" also translates as "boring" in slang Arabic. So it's two birds in one stone. Now do note that Castania and accompanying drinks (I am thinking of beers actually) which normally accompany football matches for Lebanese are now exorbitantly expensive as a combo - so it's not like every other Lebanese is munching on nuts and jugging beer and watching the football games. 

Castania trail mix - no hike necessary

Well, here we are - something not elections related! Castania, a Lebanese leader in nuts is advertising its Trail Mix - you know, those dried fruits and nuts people munch on for energy during hikes. Mind you with many people avoiding hikes due to Coronavirus (and again understandably so), the timing can be a little odd. But the lovely pop art infused visual makes it for a lovely addition on billboards (which again are not very used as of late since the crisis began in 2019 - some billboards still carry the signs of an end-of-year party when we are already in almost mid-March).