2022-11-18 13:26
Photo by Tarek Chemaly (2007)Well, so unless you have been living under a rock, probably you know know that there's a FIFA World Cup being hosted by Qatar which will open on November 20th.&n&hell…Read More
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Tarek Chemaly Blog
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Pop Culture, POPaganda, and media critique from the world over and Lebanon specifically.
2022-11-16 06:08
His hair had the color of the wheat fields - Artwork by Tarek Chemaly (2001 - reworked 2022)So it happened again last week.For the umpteenth time someone said that I reminded him of the Litt… Read More
2022-11-13 08:07
The poster above appeared in 2008 for a woman posting her candidacy for the Beirut municipality as an independent. Her name is "Nabila Mohammad Saab" Fathallah (Fathallah being her married n… Read More
2022-11-11 09:33
So after importing "black Friday", "cyber Monday" (both sans thanksgiving), "halloween", (thank you we had our own St. Barbara - look here!), "the first look" in marriages, "bachelor parties… Read More
2022-11-11 06:33
John Lewis... Check here and here as examples.Yes, they could go no wrong in their Christmas ads. Except this year, no just to me but to someone else as well, it was all too predictable… Read More
2022-11-09 08:18
Mentos! Yes, that Mentos!Named after its minty breath-refreshing ingredient. Then came... Mentos Strawberry. Today I read that upscale shoe brand Malone Souliers just offered bags for i… Read More
2022-11-08 07:54
Artwork by Tarek ChemalyThere are in Lebanon two politicians of the same name, Farid El Khazen. Both hail from the same village in Kesserwan. To distinguish them the locals call them "Farid… Read More
2022-11-06 06:35
Image tweeted by Elon Musk (source)Ah Twitter!Ever since Mr. Musk himself bought it for 44 Billion, it seems everyone is up in arms about it. Moderation is no longer a thing, the ethics team… Read More
2022-10-31 05:51
Usually, the sentence goes "don't think it, ink it" as in thoughts are fleeting but when one jots them down they become more indelible. If this is what Doculand was aiming at, I think they w… Read More
2022-10-30 05:11
Well, OMT is now sponsoring Beirut Marathon. I said it before (here), Lebanese now trust OMT more than they trust banks. Interestingly, usually it was banks that would sponsor the Beirut Mar… Read More
2022-10-29 06:03
Almaza has finally gone back to speaking Arabic. Something I have long been the advocate of.Now that it's football season Almaza is going back to what it does best. Using the moment an… Read More
2022-10-28 05:25
OK here's a small admission, Tchibo is my favorite coffee brand. The reason why I end up not buying it all the time? Because its distribution in Lebanon was, for a long time, very touch and… Read More
2022-10-27 07:43
Now here's a bit of political mercantilism. Now that president Aoun last presidency days are coming (October 30th). Now there is a rally to support him once he is no longer president. Intere… Read More
2022-10-25 05:43
Well, believe it or not, all our notions of "futurism" go back to the same points - early comics and Andre Courreges designs. Citroen, fresh from revamping its logo - which ironically means… Read More
2022-10-23 09:01
So in case you did not Lebanon has about 5 or 6 different exchange rates for the Dollar - 1500 Liras, 8000. 1200, the sayrafa thingy, the black market, and not even sure what else. So basica… Read More
2022-10-22 05:50
Sometime in 1993, at AUB, I pretended to be interested in football. It was a Monday, and for some obscure reason, I knew Ansar had a match during the weekend, and so I asked "so what did Ans… Read More
2022-10-18 12:45
Nike has got a new film out.One for the region, yet one not from the region.Let me explain, yes the film was shot in the Arab region, yes it supposedly talks on behalf of the region's kids t… Read More
2022-10-18 07:55
Artwork by Tarek ChemalyThe 2021 numbers were very, very dismal (here).The official 4.5 USD/per person - a negligible spend if there was ever one - has been watered down to 2.5 USD/per perso… Read More
2022-10-14 07:56
Who knew? Spinneys actually has a funny ad for the World Cup giveaway. OK, so watch it here. The joke revolves around a man watching the World Cup from his neighbor's TV on the building acro… Read More
2022-10-14 05:21
Sorry this is 3 days late, because world Mental Health Day was on October 10th... Still, a lovely ad by the ICRC (International Committee for the Red Cross) Lebanon for the #worldmentalhealt… Read More
2022-10-12 06:00
Artwork by Eugene CavillIxsir, one of our local wineries which thankfully escaped the appellation of "chateau" along with the boring earth tones associated with it, has collaborated with art… Read More
2022-10-08 08:41
Do you remember La Redoute? Its very - very - heavy catalog. So much I wish I can find back their brilliant ad "cet ete pour etre a la mode prenez deux kilos" - this year to be fashionable a… Read More
2022-10-06 15:26
So Bellvie oil has a brilliant new ad (here). Actually the ad is beyond normal - and to be honest sort of surreal - because the amount of food cooked is today beyond the means of the average… Read More
2022-10-06 05:21
We already have seen it in all shapes and forms. the October breast cancer awareness month thingy... So simply coming up with a new angle is a miracle onto itself. From my archive two iterat… Read More
2022-10-04 04:56
Snips Baked Snacks is having an "open and win" competition - much like all those brands did in the 90s (from Pepsi onwards - interestingly, even Pepsi is now having such an offer!)... Here's… Read More
2022-10-01 06:03
A vintage PVC cut-out illustrationIf you were not living in Lebanon prior to the crisis, then you must have missed the weddings. Someone I knew who was getting married tried to explain to me… Read More
2022-09-29 05:38
Today as I was reading an article in The Guardian (here) a sentence popped up describing a dilapidated house "like Beirut"... and bam it all brought back to me that award that Jad Aoun (at t… Read More
2022-09-28 07:09
Zeno of Citium (Founder of the Stoicism) - Artwork by Tarek ChemalySo lately I read an article about stoicism (here). As a Lebanese person in the middle of the never-ending storm, who lost a… Read More
2022-09-25 13:59
Almaza is either celebrating "akher iyam el sayfiyi" by Fairouz, or literally disregarding the calendar altogether as they're always in summer mood. Sure we are technically in autumn a… Read More
2022-09-22 17:39
Yes I know, the idea has been done before in many ways. But honestly to suggest this in the Lebanese context deserves praise. All right, the concept is fairly easy what you think the image i… Read More
2022-09-17 16:42
Original notes of Gay Talese for "Frank Sinatra has a cold"Ah... Frank Sinatra has a cold.Yes, I know for many this is gibberish. But to many of us this is standard journalistic gold. Why? B… Read More
2022-09-16 06:40
A long long time ago, I was working at a magazine's office, and open on the company's PC among my other files was Meebo. Meebo was a system which allowed you to chat on different systems at… Read More
2022-09-15 05:26
First they did it here, then Almaza went a bit wobbly here, now they are celebrating the Mayyas win for America's Got Talent season 17 quite appropriately. And no, it is not easy to come up… Read More
2022-09-13 09:39
Can you believe it? Brands have seen the light.I mean in the immutable world of "storytelling", and these long (very long) and you did not hear it from me boring (very boring), ads which hav… Read More
2022-09-07 05:22
Artwork by Tarek ChemalySo The Guardian just issued "the world's 50 most powerful blogs" list (here).Did I miss my chance for greatness? Well, I did that - long ago. How you may ask? By not… Read More
2022-09-06 06:05
I envy Jihad El Hokayem....There I said it.All right, a small disclosure, I know Jihad personally. On a certain Wednesday night, in the middle of the pandemic, I wrote him a message "you are… Read More
2022-08-31 09:26
Every other day I get a notify from AUB - my alma mater - pleading for donations. Understandable considering how the country has totally fallen apart and how university fees have gone comple… Read More
2022-08-31 07:16
Bic - the brand that gave its name to a full category (like Kleenex or Google or Frigidaire) is actually advertising for back to school. They went very.... matter of fact. If you can "rely"… Read More
2022-08-30 05:50
You know how it is, a generation goes back to its first tastes. Puck has entered the Lebanese market for a long time now but what's with the economic crisis hitting - basically all or most h… Read More
2022-08-29 18:16
Remember when I said that Almaza got its grove back? (here)I am starting to suspect I have spoken a bit too early. After yesterday's semi-forgivable blunder (here), today comes this.... Appa… Read More
2022-08-28 08:41
Remember that beautiful ad by the Maritime Academy? (here)You don't? Neither does Almaza....I am not saying it is, I am not saying it isn't. Compare and contrast yourself Read More
2022-08-27 09:43
Where does one begin?Over a canned laughter track "television w noss" has a new video for "sandwich w noss" which is an ad for its "starters" namely its hot chicken wings. The video is entit… Read More
2022-08-26 14:33
Banksy, the artist who is always walking the edge of consumerism and anti-consumerism, capitalism and anti-capitalism, authority and anti-authority all at once has made it to Lebanon.Where?… Read More
2022-08-25 05:33
Tinol paints has actually got a campaign going. Truth be told I only saw two visuals, so I am not sure how far and wide this goes. But as I said earlier when you can spot a campaign with jus… Read More
2022-08-24 05:25
If you don't know Lili or Hamlet (well, the other Hamlet that is) then you'd be forgiven for not being in Lebanon in their heyday in the 80s. The two perfumes - which for a long time we were… Read More
2022-08-23 04:47
Ah, the Lebanese Forces just got sneaky.I said it before, these ads (for the annual mass of their martyrs) work for the specific target audience they have in mind (here) and as a full disclo… Read More
2022-08-21 06:28
Italy's Ultima Generazione (the last generation) have done it again. After gluing their hands on the Botticelli apparently without ruining the artwork itself as they only glued their hands o… Read More
2022-08-18 09:13
OK, first things first: Who is Bechara Abi Younes?He is an "interior Designer & Chairman of the Environmental Rescue Party; Manager and General Director of a company named Byblos Decor f… Read More
2022-08-16 04:34
I saw this ad... and wondered."We wantJob opportunities and stopping arbitrary lay offsAndPeriodic salary increase and transport fees#for_a_wholistic_social_coverage"OK, according to the int… Read More
2022-08-15 03:55
OMT - well, trust me Lebanese people trust OMT at this stage more than any other bank or financial institution. For a long time, OMT was one of the rare players in the financial indust… Read More
2022-08-14 04:29
Hmmm, not sure what to make of this.MoneyGram has an ad for their money transfer services. On the one hand it is giving me deja-vu, on the other I think they tried. Let me explain, they focu… Read More
2022-08-13 11:22
Master potato chips managed to enliven their gifts - the one you can find in the chips bags.OK the "lottery" in question is itself quite banal. But what is interesting is the end tag line."H… Read More
2022-08-13 04:30
It is one of those cute ads that come right on time.Award-winning. Not really, but this does not hinder it from being exactly when it should be.OK, now why so? Remember the - as I called it… Read More
2022-08-12 05:33
3M Plast is suddenly launching a campaign.Perhaps on the strength of all things made in Lebanon because as a population we are relying more and more on things made locally to cut on import (… Read More
2022-08-11 13:53
Long time ago, ad agencies had something called "research departments" - which is basically employed people whose job was to archive was the competition (or anyone else for that matter!) wer… Read More
2022-08-09 10:02
Well, two theories: Either I am completely in the dark, or.... All the influencers in Lebanon have gone astray!Well, I admit - I have no Tiktok - so maybe anyone who is anyone has migrated t… Read More
2022-08-08 05:42
Source: Lebanon_dekkeneAh isn't that refreshing! (Har har!)We all know ABC or what is known today as a mall with several branches which features several (international and local) brands but… Read More
2022-08-05 09:56
I am starting to detect a pattern here (har, har) - I mean with the way AlNahar newspaper is advertising itself.First the campaign itself - in their own words:"Emanating from the mesh that c… Read More
2022-08-05 07:49
So apparently Beirut smells like hope according to Feer McQeen.No, really. Hope.Ok let's recap. Yesterday was the second commemoration of the infamous August 4 explosion which destroyed majo… Read More
2022-08-04 11:14
I am still reeling at the Army Day ads. But perhaps I should not be, it was all too predictable.I previously wrote about 27 atrocious ads for Army Day (here) well, make that 36 (there's stil… Read More
2022-08-01 13:13
"Now is the winter of our discontent" said Shakespeare, well, may that the Army Day of my discontent said Tarek Chemaly.OK, I could have reviewed all the above ads alone - there is more than… Read More
2022-07-30 12:47
SourceThere you go - in one of those who-thought-about-this? and who-approved-of-this? And is-this-even-real? kind of line of questioning, Lebanese Cedars cigarettes (which is experiencing a… Read More
2022-07-30 09:30
Ah, so Oreo has jumped on the celebration of Pakistan's 75th anniversary with a special edition wrapping. The Oreo has been dipped - har har - in a special mould, and - the touch I really li… Read More
2022-07-30 05:31
There is an Arabic proverb that goes "char al baliya ma youd7ek" (the worst of the calamities is the one that makes you laugh). The scene happens at a Chamsine bakery branch. Where everyone… Read More
2022-07-26 08:31
Artwork by Tarek ChemalyTrust me you do not want to grow up in a war. Surrounded by people trying to make it through themselves while also trying to raise you. And a school system lost betwe… Read More
2022-07-24 09:15
Botticelli - PrimarveraBefore I start this post let me tell you that I was one to speak about environment and the heating of the planet long before it was fashionable to do so. My whole life… Read More
2022-07-23 19:12
Ah - for a while basketball in Lebanon was huge, humongous. Then politics ruined it.But hey here are - a nation failing on all possible levels, with players having no electricity to train, s… Read More
2022-07-22 05:32
It seems I am always the dissident one. But last year the ad Staying on Yas - which you guessed it was a reprise of the Bee Gees Staying Alive (with different lyrics) - was, to put it mildly… Read More
2022-07-20 17:20
Epica Awards got itself a new campaign via VMLY&R Paris and it's that time of year again. Oh you know the early bird etc... Basically if you enter between July 1 till August 31 you won't… Read More
2022-07-20 07:17
SourceLately, news transpired that (honorary Oscar winner) Jackie Chan is shooting a film in war-torn Syria.Now everyone is up in arms about it.To begin with the film is called "The Home Ope… Read More
2022-07-19 07:04
The Hidden Room... When asked about what is their preferred room in the house, domestic workers/house helps/nannies/caretakers/housekeepers always point out to specific places in their emplo… Read More
2022-07-16 05:42
Yesterday was one of those bizarre days in the advertising scene in Lebanon.Suddenly three brands (that I know of, maybe there was more) decided to capitalize on the James Webb telescope ima… Read More
2022-07-15 08:10
1750 Water, a brand bottled in Tarshish (Lebanon) is claiming that it is "captured from an untouched source".... Well, granted perhaps their well is pristine but seriously people, usin… Read More
2022-07-12 10:50
I know I am late in the game for this, as the news broke about a week ago. But seems Lebanon's Sarah's Bag (which has been helmed for 20 years by Sarah Beydoun) will collaborate with French… Read More
2022-07-11 15:17
The new Audi A8 - to begin with see the ad here.As you can see, nothing happens in the ad.As in - no tie in with influencers, no mention of this or that celebrity, no correlation to the loca… Read More
2022-07-10 07:54
Artwork is a composite by Tarek ChemalyI read the below paragraph in The Guardian today:"It was Zahawi (Nadhim, who accepted the job of chancellor 24 hours prior to the conversation) that tr… Read More
2022-07-08 19:13
Artwork by Patrick ChemaliI am not sure you heard but it seems that teenagers are being banned in droves worldwide from movie theatres when they wanted to see the new Minions film (The rise… Read More
2022-07-06 14:44
All right, everyone can go home. Ksara just launched its new ad. The visual is lovely etc... But it is the copywriting that completely left me taken aback. It. Is. Brilliant.First it is Fren… Read More
2022-07-04 13:01
Artwork by Tarek ChemalyThere. It's official.Lebanon suffered 69% loss in ad spent between 2020 and 2021 as estimated by IPSOS.For the full breakdown of the figures in the Arab region and th… Read More
2022-07-03 08:52
Look someone once told me that puns were the lowest echelon of fun. I guess my tastes are low brow. Because I tend to enjoy them. Which brings us to the new ad (a teaser really) from Burger… Read More
2022-07-02 05:58
Why is it always that I see the flip side of good news. Heck, I was a feminist before it was cool to be so! But here we go. Fifty Fifty which tirelessly fights for the representation of wome… Read More
2022-07-01 15:12
How do you compress 47 year of Lebanese anguish in 47 seconds?Let LOGI via Tahaab Rais tell you. Watch the full film here.Tahaab is one of those master one-shot storytellers who rely on the… Read More
2022-07-01 14:40
So it seems OMT has teamed up with the FIFA... The ad goes "play it right" and you can eventually win... And the win is nothing short of attending the FIFA world cup! I copy-pasted the detai… Read More
2022-06-30 16:33
All right, call me baffled. Apparently there is a new campaign to encourage tourism in Lebanon - but it is plastered on Lebanese highways. What does that mean? It means - as the bumper stick… Read More
2022-06-29 05:35
Ah, Almaza is back. This time with a constant tone of voice, and dare I say, it found it groove back.All right, it seems as I explained earlier that back in March 2022, Force Majeure snatche… Read More
2022-06-27 07:00
Art by Tarek ChemalyFor a while I was cool. I mean that, I collaborated with the hippest up and coming bands, I was all over the news (locally and internationally), I was featured in film fe… Read More
2022-06-26 11:57
Hmmmm, is this legal? I am not sure. But Poppins just used the Tex Avery famous wolf from the Betty Boop series to illustrate how everyone is going bananas for their "biscuit outside" and "y… Read More
2022-06-25 07:05
Art by Tarek ChemalySo Cannes 2022 came - and went. Linkedin was exploding with congratulations. I myself, was invited to the annual Epica lunch but declined (considering I need a visa to go… Read More
2022-06-23 05:28
If you haven't heard it, Lebanese dance crew "Mayyas" earnes the America's Got Talent Golden Buzzer (given by judge Sofia Vergara). If you haven't seen their captivating audition here it is… Read More
2022-06-22 18:18
So the Lebanese Army played cut-and-past collage from elections advertising campaigns. Interesting.They picked words from several different campaigns, used them as collage to subvert their m… Read More
2022-06-22 07:35
Interesting, Gustav Martner who - according to his Linkedin profile - works as head of creative (Nordics) at Greenpeace just returned his Cannes Lions awards which he won in 2007 for an ad f… Read More
2022-06-21 11:20
Everyone and their father are doing Father's Day (see what I have done?) so much it is actually nauseating. But well, on comes Ksara with a lovely one - "you'll always remain head of the gra… Read More
2022-06-21 08:07
The PHNX Awards announced four Grand Prix winners at its online ceremony at 6pm CET on June 16. GRAND PRIX FILM “Open Spaces” for Burberry by Riff Raff Films (UK)… Read More
2022-06-20 11:08
In the 80s, Byblos Institute inserted the only girl studying car mechanics in their TV ad. I later learned that enrollment swelled exponentially because boys were dying to meet the girl in q… Read More
2022-06-19 14:24
The United Nations in Lebanon just proved a point via a fake casting.They convinced people they are shooting a film and that in the casting process there is a very hateful speech which they… Read More
2022-06-18 05:19
Almaza, our national beer, and summer - a typical hand in glove situation. Sure, prices make beer a luxury item at this point but still Almaza is going in full force with its summerish mood… Read More
2022-06-16 14:47
How about a naming branding/masterstroke?Leave it to Mink to come up with incredible names for two varieties of gin and vodka which are locally produced in Lebanon by Double Shake. Their thi… Read More
2022-06-16 05:49
All right I admit, that was funny - not for the bugs - but well, the line in the ad is funny. Now is mosquito et al season, so it is normal to see such ads on the streets, but this one (bug… Read More
2022-06-15 05:23
Ah right in time for summer - Cafe Najjar has a cold brew.Apparently it is very easy to prepare thankfully. It is a four step recipe: Soak it - Brew it - Mix it - Drink it.Seems such an easy… Read More
2022-06-13 16:53
In French they say "il fallait y penser" - one should have simply thought of it.It took forever but someone has finally thought about it. Publicis Groupe Middle East just used OIIIIIIIO as a… Read More
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