Mid-Ramadan Commercials Critique
Afternoon fellas...
Its mid-Ramadan already, hope u made the best of it..
And if u didnt... yadob tel7a2 :)
I believe by now most of the brands have unveiled their copies already, except if Pepsi have something HUGE in store to make up for their failure this year (I got an anonymous comment a couple of days ago that this might be by choice, not a force majeur issue; which is a respectable POV)..
But I think if Pepsi did this by choice, then its even a bigger problem, letting go of advertising in a high-consumption month wouldnt serve their market share too well..
This one won'e be too much of a "critique", because I just realized that most of the ads I have on this post are ads that I like, coincidentally.. But you definitely have the right to disagree and debate
Yalla beena...
1. Coca Cola Happiness 2 - The Cafe:
I'm starting to like these, although I've been still getting comments that they're fake (eg: no one would order a Coke in a cafe kda... i dont know, the order looks fake).. But I LOVE the fact that I can walk away with a PS3 just for drinking a can of Coke..
Besides, it didnt just stop at a guy with a bullhorn-mic and some confetti falling from the ceiling like in the supermarket copy..
The stuff they did (Agmad wa7ed fel donia sign, PS3, the musical parade and of course going back home with a free LCD) made people GENUINELY smile and laugh their hearts out, you can tell from the looks on their faces...
I can't wait to see el far7a el gayya fein indeed! :))
Grade: A
2. Palm Hills - Choose Life Corporate Copy:
Its not really my field of expertise, but why do I get a feeling that the whole ad is a series of stock footage that just reflects the script (reflects it beautifully though)...
So there wasn't really a lot of effort/production done here.. Get some readily available stock videos, add music, dub our beloved Omar El Sherif's VO on it and you've got yourself an ad..
I like the ad though; the script flows nicely, the footage is expressive (even if its "borrowed") and Omar El Sherif's voice can sell u anything.
Grade: B
3. Schweppes Gold:
Although the ad is fine... average ya3ni.. But I have a personal problem with adapted global copies.. The ad does not feel Egyptian and definitely does not look Egyptian..
I believe this country is so cultured, full of history and rich with ideas. That is why I feel that brands that adapt global/regional copies take the "easy way out"..
I know that it is not always easy to pull out production budget for each and every single project but if you want to infiltrate the biggest market in the region with a proper copy that would deliver on your ROI, then you might as well pay the price for it.
Grade: B-
4. Scib - Mahmoud Saeed:
I completely love this one, colorful, insightful, cheerful... You'd want to watch it over and over again, and every time it would draw a smile on your face.
Memories are indeed crafted on walls and stay for tens and even hundreds of years sometimes.
Two Thumbs up to LB Cairo for the effort spent on this one.. A lot of "art" is behind this TVC, real art!!
Grade: A
5. Vodafone Celebration:
Although I hated the 2 other copies of this campaigns, but this one is definitely better than the previous 2..
The music remains the same, but this edit is much more "festive", the production quality is better.. thus making the ad look generally good.
Grade: B-
6. LG - Tamer & Shaw2eya:
The Korean white-goods giant returns with probably one of their strongest campaigns ever in the Egyptian market..
Although I'm not a fan of the Egyptian version of Dharma and Greg, and absolutely HATE the Shaw2eya character, but I have to admit the ads are humorous, insightful and educational..
The beauty here is that the T&S characters represent 2 extremes in the Egyptian social spectrum, and how they'd respond differently to LG's high-tech gadgets.
Tamer the A-class socialite , well educated and articulate gentlemen explains the benefits of each LG product to his wife Shaw2eya, the C-class, "Ol Englsh Ol za tayem" kind of character, but who aspires to be someone better and higher on the social scale..
So here they carried out a preemptive strike by depicting all the questions that a C-class person might ask about their products (Shaw2eya), and have another consumer answer them (Tamer) in a simple, humorous and informative manner..
Great job DDB..
Grade: A
7. Shay El Aroosa
Now this is exact opposite of what Schweppes did a couple of paragraphs above.. they took the details of the day-to-day life of the average Egyptians and looked for moments where tea came into play within that moment.
Although some people thought the ad is too cliché... I believe its very well researched, consumer and usage insights are spot on, the song is great.
True, that Al Aroosa tea is THE tea in Egypt, of all classes.. great way to uplift the image of a brand with such heritage in this country..
A beautiful ad, just beautiful...
Grade: A
8. Fantaloup Activation and TVC
I had given the Fantaloup TVC a B-, causing some heat with friends at Coke.. and I had promised to give my full opinion when the rest of the campaign unfolds.. Well, it just did and it KICKS ASS!!
To complement the TVC's idea and theme, Fantaloup went ahead with some ambient BTL placements in key areas.. Ala the Parliament elections signs (which are very popular in C-D classes), everyone in most neighborhoods now is supporting Mesil7i, the poor dude who'll lose his job if Fantaloup doesnt sell..
Great idea, low cost, high impact... Two thumbs up and a hat off!!
Grade: a very proud A
Hope u enjoyed this one...
Till we meet again, Adios!
3omda
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1 comments:
-I agree with u, LG grade is A+, It is fresh, nice and an excellent choice of celebrities, I like the contradiction between the two characters.
-Shay El Aroosa is a typical "jingle" ad, nothing special!
-Fantaloup, Although I liked the humor in this ad, but i think it is very wrong for the brand, it downgrades Fanta image..."7ases enhom be3mloo fanta de ta7t el sellem w dool shewayet 7aramyah", I think there is nothing wrong with the concept itself, it is a great concept but the execution is wrong...so to me it is grade c.
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