The 3omdaz digest

Ramadan 2010 - Day 4 Commercials Critique

Welcome back friends..

I can see there's been quite a decent amount of hits on this page since its launch, glad you guys like it... But with "likes", comes heat as well, over the past couple of days I've been getting some feedback from people in the field who don't agree to the grading I've put, asking me to take out the grade or the review all together...

So I just want to point out something to make things very clear to everyone, this blog is a personal blog reflecting personal opinions.. So I'm not a part of any Int'l Ad Critique body nor am I with the board of the IAA... If you like my reviews, then great.. If you don't, let me know how can I make it better...

I believe we're all professional enough to accept professional constructive criticism... Nothing personal here! :)
Enough blabbering, lets jump into some commercials that have been aired over the past couple of days..

1. Etisalat Ahlan - Pay Per Second:

Getting Maged El Kedwani is a smart move.. popular guy, down to earth, talking sane talk to people who actually think this way.. Why the hell should I pay for something I'm not using?? Makes sense! Thumbs up...

But beware, the beauty of Ramadan ads is the fact that we LOVE to see the ads and actually wait for them to air so that we can call our siblings and friends from the kitchen/the other room to see it.. With the ABUNDANT frequency this TVC is being aired, I would give it till end of this week maximum before people are bored of even passing by the TV while its playing.. So the Etisalat peeps should either tone down the frequency or have a backup of alternative copies (which I think they do).. Or else this ad will be dead very soon (copy wear-out factor for the adv ppl).

Just one quick note about Etisalat in general.. Do they take Ramadan as a kick-off season for a change in their corporate slogan? Last year in Ramadan they changed it to "Dlwa2ti wa2taha", and exactly 1 year later its "El Donia lessa fiha aktar"...
Nothing to criticize here but just something I've pondered at since they've launched their Ramadan campaign.

Grade: A

2. Vodafone Ramadan Recharge Offer:

Maybe I dont like these ads because we're not the target audience here... Actually no, Mobinil's Adaweya ad is great and its still not targeting us!
But this ad doesn't make me feel like I'd want to see it again... nothing catchy there!

Grade: C

3. Kitkat Icecream:

The ads are cool.... Not super, but OK... The Sayed M3awwad one is great though, his "atama" facial expression is priceless!!
I like the fact that they've identified their upclass target to talk to them and only them by putting characters from their daily life. So throughout all the ads you see people whom you knew from the club, university or even agency staff...
Add to that the fact that you're advertising an ice cream of a chocolate brand that nearly never officially launched on the media in Egypt.. So obviously you're giving this ad to the people who understand and appreciate what a Kitkat is.

One flaw there (for me at least)... The gym ad, I feel its too much of a "Hiiiiiii Hamzawi copycat"... I don't like that!

Grade: B+

4. Egypt - Where It All Begins - بداية الحكايه:

Well well well.... this ad is the least depiction of my beloved Egypt..
I REALLY like this ad.. definitely makes you want to see it again, share it, scream it out to the world out there, that you're proud to be a citizen of a country with all these wonders!
Music is great, composer Amr Mostafa did an excellent job there, a tune that would keep running in the back of your mind over and over again (I bet you're already playing it in your head right now).. Choreography is great as well... Plus all the changes in scenery, cities and activities... and guess what, ITS ALL TRUE, Egypt has all that indeed!!

I also love the fact that the ad has been used as a video clip on Musical Channels... smart tactic there!!

Grade: Straight A

5. SCIB - Story of the wall (Sherif & Amina)

I like this ad too... Its just pleasant..
Loving the effect that each movement of the characters has on the wall.. which is indeed true, houses hold lots of memories from different people..
The happy ending draws a smile on one's face.

Grade: A-

6. Fayrouz Free

Thats a very James-Bond-ish TVC... the music, the bubbles, underwater somersaults and clear sexual innuendos.
I'm just not getting the levers, pressure levels that EXPLODE by the 3rd Fayrouz... So its uhmmmm.... an arouso-meter?

The Ramadan copy is a bit toned down, sexually at least.. But the ad remains one that you'd want to see again.. thanks to smokin' hot Eastern European models.

One more thing... "Edeeni Aktar"??... Adeeko eh bezzabt, w FEIN??????
I would've rather gone for the "Howa Da El Tatawor El Tabee3i"... Makes perfect sense, a sugar-free drink is definitely the natural evolution of a malt drink that has always been pleaded guilty of a beer belly.

Grade: B

A couple of end note before concluding:
- Pepsi (still an F... a BIG f'n F too)...

- 7UP: I wonder what happened to the 7UP-Ramadan affiliation... I remember that year where Fido-Dido was back and he was EVERYWHERE... Pushing the hand-cart in Sequoia, holding the Fanoos in other tents all over town.. It was fantastic.... Why, Fido, why?

- Mobinil: Finally someone heard our prayers and is currently phasing out the Shaharazade copy, phasing in last year's kareoke musicals (Ya Wad Ya T2eel, Do22o el shamasi...etc).
An act of desperation? maybe.. but its still better than airing a copy that doesnt really say anything.. Besides, people LOVED this ad... give it back to them!

Thats about it for this one folks,
Till next time, take care
Cheers
3omda

Ramadan 2010 - Day 1 Commercials Critique

So, Ramadan's back already.. as hot as HELL ay na3am, bas kollo b sawabo.. Ramadan is the high-season for TV serials (92 series exactly this year) and programs... since TV viewership goes completely off the hook... consequently, with so many people watching TV, its the high season for TV advertising as well..

In this post, I'll take you through the biggest ads of this Ramadan (so far at least)... Although its only been only one day, but some brands have already kicked off with a bang...

1. Etisalat Brand Copy
Although am not a very big fan of the brand nor their commercials, but this one.. seriously... WOW!!
I love the mix of insights (it reducing minutes rate, reminding people of their credit, being the first to put roaming at 1 LE...etc), with the celebrities, colors and music.... its a very pleasant ad... I cant help smiling everytime I see it! :)
Getting Mohammed Mounir was the grandest surprise of all... love him or hate him, the guy's a walking legend with a massive fan base in this country.
Grade: A

2. Mobinil:
For years now, Leo Burnett has always set the standard for bringing the best ads in the country; especially for Ramadan (Remember the Mercedes ad 5 years ago and also last year's musicals...etc).. I believe the Mobinil team in LB has raised the bar so much, but unfortunately they haven't done a great job on this one..
I like Edward, he's funny.. ok ya3ni... But I wouldnt trust his appearance with a brand as big as Mobinil.
And the Alf Leila w Leila theme.... its like the Gazillionth time its being used... khalas b2a, enough!
I watched this for the 4th time just to notice that the proposition is ALL CALLS ARE FREE IN RAMADAN MORNINGS... This is HUGE stuff and could've been built up tremendously... this makes this ad even worse!
Grade: C+

3. Vodafone:
I think its enough with the Marionettes already, maybe its an attempt to copy-cat Vodafone India's Zuzu characters, which were so successful they spread to other VFs around the world.
The Leile Kebeera marionettes are an attempt to add a local flavor to the characters.. Although they may have scored pretty well in the "Shokran Services" campaign, but this is because the target that will use these services is C wenta nazel, but when talking about the corporate image of Voda-freakin-fone, it should be been much "heavier in impact" than that.
Grade: B

4. Coca-Cola:
Its smart to get real people in a "candid camera" sort of situation.. Nice idea, playing well on the smile and their global "Open Happiness" positioning..
Problem is, Although I know its true and that this really happened, I dont think everyone will believe this, it more or less feels like the Ariel commercials zaman (collect 5 empty packs and win... Arieeeeeel Arieeeeeel Oooh Oooh).
Grade: B

5. Fanta Cantaloup - Fantaloup:
A lot of mixed emotions on this one ranging from people who LOVE it, people who HATE it... and people who just don't get it...
Obviously, this will be a series of events/commercials where people need to buy more Fantaloups to save this Mesil7y character from getting fired... Could be brilliant if its tied up with an activation in a Kheima or so, where Mr. Mesil7y would propagate himself and his invention to avoid getting fired.
I personally think this was inspired by the "Save Dave" campaign of Australia last year... Remember the guy who was watching nude pictures on his work PC while his colleague was recording an interview for the news... and his PC monitor with the nude pictures went on live TV.
However, am not sure i can fully judge on this one until the rest of the sequels unfold.
Grade: B- (so far)

6. Pepsi:
Well, I would have loved to write something about the TVC of one of my favorite brands... but guess what.. I cant, because THERE ISN'T ANY!!!
I was really disappointed honestly, not to see a Pepsi ad in the first day of Ramadan, the big 5 (VF, Mobinil, Etisalat, Coke and Pepsi) are a must in Ramadan commercials...
I hope the hiatus doesnt last for long, nor did the Jazeera sponsorship of the World Cup consume all their budget..
Grade: F (just for being late)

Hope u found this useful,
Lets see what the rest of the Ramadan has for us..
Cheers
3omda

Egypt Ad industry.. The MENA region's best? or the natural product of its biggest country?

There is no doubt the Egyptian marketing industry has grown tremendously over the past 5-10 years, and we went through a long evolution cycle that eventually got us to be more or less at par with international standards.

Throughout that evolution process, we have passed by hideous 1980s roll-on-voice-over "announcements" (I'd like to call them announcements rather than commercials), through 1-minute-jingle ads of the 1990s (that comprise a decent portion of the childhood memories of a lot of us today), passing by some poor graphic ads in early 2000 (hey, at least we gave it a shot).. To finally arriving to where we are today.

From where we stand now, Egyptian ads have become very sophisticated, well thought and insight-based rather than just getting a hot model or composing a cool jingle that would "click" with people. Over the past 5 years, participations of Egyptian agencies in Regional/International competitions (be Creative or Media Festivals) is on the rise.. Winning or losing is not the point here, its the international exposure and the learning stream of working world-class projects is what we're looking for. This is what would put us on the global map, just to tell people “WE’RE HERE”!!

If we look at this year's 2010 Cannes Lions Festival, we'll see that most of the winning entries are from countries that are not as "developed" as we would've imagined (Argentina, Venezuela...etc).

http://www.canneslions.com/work/

So what does this tell us, that we don't need to be the country with the highest resources, or the biggest budgets to be able come up with interesting ideas for an ad/media execution.

But we are indeed starting to lead the region in some angles, ad spends for starters.. In a study conducted by Pan Arab Research Center (PARC) and published in a UAE newspaper sometime last month, Egypt has surpassed UAE in dollar value spent on ads in semester1 2010, with 708 Million USD VS 680 Million USD.. This definitely says something!

For years now, the UAE (Dubai specifically) has been considered the hub of the advertising industry in the region, which was fairly true to a very large extent. Big clients, Big budgets and a diversity of nationalities definitely brings in a fresh perspective of thought and in doing business. In my view, diversification is not always a good thing, having worked in Dubai and seen how the business goes, it is not always smart to look at things from a global perspective, sometimes its better to think INSIDE the box, rather than outside.. Because there’s no point in having 10 people sit in a room (only 2 of which are Arabs), thinking about a Ramadan campaign for a UAE citizen.. Where is your cultural understanding, where is that void in the society that you’ll fill with your idea??

This is what I believe Egyptians do best, we think like the target audience we want to talk to, add to that a twist of good old Egyptian humor, and you’re made! J

So it looks like the table is starting to turn, as Egypt is entering the scene with a bang.. Egypt always led on advertising in this part of the world (with pioneers of this business; such as Tarek Nour, Hazem Dera…etc), but then the Dubai-bubble started to inflate and attract the region and world’s top executives in the field in the late 1990s-early 2000s; at that time the Egyptian market was still fighting a battle of bureaucracy, MNCs licensing issues as most importantly; client education.

In the last 10 years, Egypt has been taking baby-steps to be at par with Int’l standards, slowly but surely. Now we’re nearly there.. So what do we need to do next?

RESEARCH, RESEARCH, RESEARCH…. The most brilliant ideas come from the most trivial insights, but because if this trivial insight is true, Bang on!
We need to understand that clients don’t hold our leash.. A huge misconception in this market is that client-agency relationship is more of a master-slave relationship… by achieving point one properly, agency staff would be standing on concrete grounds to walk up to a client and say “You know what, F*** off…This is what will work for your brand.. Even if you or your friends don’t think so.. because we know our shit better”
Client education; sometime clients don’t know what exactly they’re looking for/how to find it… It is always our role to educate our clients with what’s happening around us. This way we’ll be speaking our language, thus they’d be more receptive and open to our recommendation/suggestions.
Always be informed; always keep an eye on what’s out there… Being a third-world country is not that bad after all, because you see technology and executions from all over the world. Maybe you can use that, or combine some of these ideas, mix it with a local flavor/understanding.. and you got yourself an award winning idea. Its not always important to do things FIRST, maybe if you do it RIGHT, people would appreciate it more.

Anyways, these are just some thoughts worth sharing.

We’re ahead of an advertising fiasco in the next 30 days, so lets see what this hold in store for us.

Cheers

3omda

Welcome

Welcome to my blog..

After about 4 years of "daily microblogging" on Facebook and voicing out my opinion to just my friends on FB; i decided to take this to the next level...
I'm pretty big-mouthed, with an opinion on mostly everything... Hopefully this blog would be beneficial and would set grounds for interesting discussions/debates..

This is just a pilot-post, I'll be deciding on the topic of my first real post through a mini-survey via comments on this post and on FB..

Stay tuned,
Cheers
3omdaz