Tarek Chemaly's كون مرا for Women's Day (etre une femme)

Artwork by Tarek Chemaly

Inspired by Michel Sardou's "Etre une femme" please read my own كون مرا - to all you women out there who know their worth:

كون مرا

لطارق شمالي

مبنية على

Etre une femme

 

باحلام اليقظة

يللي بتجيني كل فترة وفترة

حلمت هونيك مرة

انو جسمي صار جسم مرا

 

مرا عايشة بهالايام

مرا مش عايزتك انت كمان

كون مرا

كون مرا

 

مرا شوفورة تاكسي عخط الحمرا

مرا معا اوبر بكعب عالي وحمرا

مرا بسيكس ويل ونقلة باطون

مرا بفستان سهرا بتحكي بافلاطون

مرا سواقة جحش الدولة عالاتوستراد

ومرا توصل بالسلامة ان الله راد

كون مرا

كون مرا

 

مرا فخامة بقصر بعبدا

مرا بالسراي رئيسة وزرا

مرا ماسكة ساحة النجمة

مرا نائب بس بالسابع حبلة

مرا سفير وعارضة ازياء

ومرا بتشرح قانون من الالف للياء

كون مرا

كون مرا

 

مرا جنرل بالقوى المسلحة

مرا سيدنا وحاطة ماسكرا

مرا بايدا سياسة الشرق الاوسط

مرا كابتن بطيران الشرق الاوسط

مرا ترد عليها من برج المطار

ومرا مدير عام سكسي نار

كون مرا

كون مرا

 

مرا بالدفاع المدني

مرا لحام وخضرجي

مرا ميكانيسيين وبنشرجي

مرا طراش على السيبة

مرا سنكري وحداد ونجار

ومرا جلا بلاط ومعلم عمار

كون مرا

كون مرا

 

مرا رئيس مجلس ادارة

مرا بتمشيكن دوبارة

مرا بتعمل فور باي فور

مرا سايقة فان عطريق البور

مرا بتدوبل عنك على الكوع

ومرا بتوصلا بطلوع الروح

 

مرا عايشة بهالايام

مرا مش عايزتك انت كمان

Beirut Beer and a mixed message for Women's Day

It could  be just me but I am not sure this hit the right notes. See the reel here. Cute, Small, big, suave - and proud. I know they are supposed to describe their bottles but the innuendo says they are describing women too. I always say it is very difficult to include your product in "occasions" and this one was really "tiree par les cheveux" as the French say. I am not sure it worked. The above is a mixed image I did myself. Small side note - "Lebneniye w cheyfe 7ala" (Lebanese and proud) is an old - very old - Almaza ad from the 90s.

Almaza - women's day

So today is Women's Day. Not always an achievement sadly. Almaza has gone right on the job (literally) to talk to male and female employees about the role and impact of women on the workplace. On the whole, the total correct notes were hit for both genders in terms of testimonials. You can see the film here. My favorite bit is when a female employee says "we compare ourselves to ourselves" (that would be Joelle el Zein - accountant). As I said, sadly we are still at a point where we need to prove that women contribute to the betterment of companies. I once asked a (young) taxi driver, "does your wife work?", his answer? "iza bt2oul bah bdammema" (which means "if she even thinks about it, I will hit her till blood runs out"). And that was 5 years ago. The good news is that 40% of leadership positions at Almaza are women.

Almaza plays a familiar theme on Women's Day

 Almaza beer has an ad for women's day. On the face of it, it's empowering and bold (though I thought they'd save it for the upcoming Mother's day). The ad goes "she's the basis from the basis/beginning"... A smart word play. But my mind started rolling, I have seen this very very closely elsewhere.

Ladies and gentlemen, not only have I seen it once but twice. Please see here and the image below....

Hershey's Women's Day - a tailor-made campaign

Let's face it, no other brand could do this. Why? Because it is tailor-made to the name of Hershey's. Her/She bars were released withe name of trailblazing women to honor Women's Day. There you go - so specific to the brand it cannot be duplicated. Smart! This was done done in Brazil by the way...