Hello friends,
Kol sana wento tayyebeen...

Another Ramadan comes along, with more than 60 TV series and 20+ programs, costing around 1.7 Billion EGP.. But that cost doesn't just go in vain, there should be some decent dollars spent behind that on advertising to cover up for all the production costs.. and of course, for our viewing pleasures :)

Disclaimer before I start: Uptil now, I haven't seen one ad that left me with my jaw dropped.. Nothing with major production budgets and celebrity endorsements (such as Etisalat 2010)..
The revolution's economic aftermath is definitely a major factor after advertising budgets have been slashed from last year to this one.
With that said, the grading will be a bit downscaled because from what I've seen so far, nothing deserves an A or A+.

Yalla beena, lets kick off Ramadan 2012...


Vodafone:



1. Olympic Football Squad Copy:

I first saw this on mute, on a mobile phone with a friend... and boy, I was furious...
Being a fan of original work, I really take copied work with a giant pinch of salt... Might be overreacting but I actually feel offended and rediculed that the brand didn't do the effort to come up with something new or copied some int'l copy and thought that no one else in the world saw the int'l ad except them..
I felt the same sentiments towards this, as I thought it was a carboncopy of Nike's Write The Future campaign, launched before World Cup 2010.

So I went back, searched for the ad on Youtube and awaiting to unleash hell in my critique.. then I saw the ad, and all these emotions diffused!

Turns out that the ad is pretty well thought actually.. A whole new concept all together, that puts aside all the fans, supporters and patriotic slogans aside.. This one actually talks to the haters, the sceptics and the ones who always drag someone down. The ad is skinned to the nitty-gritty details of the football industry.. an industry that is regarded as.... well, lets just say that is it not too ideal.

Copywriting here is excellent too, with each sentence having a solid & profound value that is relevant to being a football player.

The use of one of the most popular icons in Egypt's Football History; Mahmoud El Khateeb (Bibo) definitely gives the ad some decent weight.

In conclusion, I really like the ad.. Too bad I made an early judgement about it, but the copy was too strong to put me back on track..

Grade: A-



2. Vodafone - El E3lan Baz:

Its an extremely ordinary ad... Nothing super special there.. maybe just a hint of a smile in the last 2 seconds.
But the fact that Samir Ghanem is there makes me automatically biased to it

However, we can't only judge by 1 copy only, as it is obviously just the first of a series of TVCs adapting the same storyline... so lets see!

Grade so far: B-

CocaCola:



Another Happiness themed ad from CocaCola, I'm just not too sure how different my happiness levels have varied before and after seeing the ad... Its a very faint ad for the impact they aim to create..
Especially that people are already in their lowest morale levels because of current country events, the ad should have been much stronger than just a pale circus-like setting, that didnt even leave me with a little smile, let alone feeling happy.
It should have been much more festive, louder music, colors......etc

The good thing here though is that although the copy is weak, is that they're turning this into a real proper integrated campaign, with a website to vote for the next visit of the happiness parade..

Grade: C for this ad, lets wait for the rest of the campaign.

3. Pepsi:





I'm not too sure what to make of this one.
Lets just say that not everything with Donia Samir Ghanem in it would fly.

Grade: C-


4. Birelle



Birelle was the first client to jump ships from Leo Burnett to KTP; King Tut's Playground (The new venture of ex Leo Burnett award winning creative director Mohamed Hamdallah). This is Birelle's first and KTP's second campaign after Etisalat's Fawzy.com.
Birelle aims to continue in its manhood platform for years to come now, and they still manage to do that through a witty idea that makes you laugh yet delivers on the intended message..
Can't wait for the other copies in this campaign..

Grade: A-


These are key ones I've been seeing/hearing of lately...
More to come as the rest unveil..

Cheers
3omdaz