BlogBaladi was featured in the latest issue of Crepaway’s magazine, Hangout. The magazine is available at their branches but here is a scan of the interview [Link]

Thank you Crepaway for featuring us in your magazine.

It seems an ad agency in Beirut created a commercial similar to the British T-Mobile advert (Lifes For Sharing) in which a group of people suddenly started dancing in a train station except in our case the dancing takes place at the airport. The commercial is for the company Plus Brokers (which you can clearly see their banner through out the video). I personally prefer the T-Mobile version, first because of the fact they came up with the idea first (although they were inspired by Improv Everywhere’s Frozen Grand Central Station) and secondly because the T-Mobile version looked more real. The dancing in the T-Mobile commercial took place at a crowded station and it looked as if people randomly started joining but with the Beirut Airport version the airport is empty and it then just looks like a group of dancers came in and started dancing. Even though it’s still fun to watch. [YouTube]

Below is the original T-Mobile ad for comparison.

[YouTube]

BlogBaladi featured in the Communicate Levant Edition Magazine in its February 2010 edition. This is the second time we are mentioned in the Blogosphere section of the magazine.

Via Beirut Drive-by shooting

I never saw this ad by Kunhadi until recently and I loved it!
I hope they keep doing such a great job and spread more awareness among Lebanese drivers.

Any clue what’s the message between their “history does not tolerate sales” slogan? Does that mean we have overpriced carpets and we don’t plan on taking out some 20 or 30% of the 500% profit we are making?

And Santa’s ready to go (BM*)

*BM = Bala ma3na.

Someone should tell those behind this ad that including an old Lebanese teta does not do the job. The ad must make some sense to say the least, like the Taanayel ad for example.

While checking some of these ads, i found Abou Fouad’s “YES” ads, an 1973 Ariel ad, this cheesy “Patisserie L’escale” ad and tons of old Lebanese ads you can check out here.

Via plus961

I didn’t get the remark though. Is he trying to push away customers or something?

Rami posted earlier this week a letter by a certain Mr. Nazih Sanjakdar to BankMed concerning their latests ads.

The ad is based on a social prejudicial assumption. The bank is directly and shamelessly adopting a social vice and a tremendous mistake in the way people are currently considering things. A car, by definition is a mean of transportation and not in any way a social or masculine instrument to attack success, or the other sex.

I am not sure in what world Mr. Nazih is living, but this is how a car is seen in Lebanon and this is how superficial the society is (not all of it of course), whether you like it or not. Accordingly, the ad depicts a reality in a funny way and the bank in question has nothing to be ashamed of. On the contrary, most Lebanese i know loved the ads!

In fact, if they gave more time to the ad, they should have depicted the guy inside the night club hitting on the girl and bragging about his university degrees, his awesome well paid job, his “chalet bi Faraya”, his “chalet bi Edde Sands”, his 100$ gym monthly subscription, his “ATV”, his “24/7 standby table bil BO18″ and other B.S stories before they step out of the night club and she finds out he has no car. The ad would have been hilarious!

Anyway, and without further elaboration, i suggest you chill Mr.Nazih because the ads are really not that terrible!

Do you have a car by the way? Just out of curiosity.

Lame.

I would have loved to go watch the Champions league there, only if the service wasn’t that bad and the food not worth it, if you ever get it.

Also, the SMS is misleading as Manchester are not playing Barcelona on the 14th but both Manchester and Barcelona have games on that day. Same for Chelsea and Real. Last but not least, considering the large number of German fans in Lebanon, broadcasting the Bayern Munich game vs. Roma would have attracted more viewers than Chelsea playing a team most people never heard of.

I like it and it has “Najib” in it, so i like it even more!

Funnily enough i googled Yeta! thinking this is what Hero Nakamura (in the series Heroes) yells, turns out he says Yata! and Yeta on the other hand has a quite interesting meaning.