People wait for Ramadan ads as if their lives depend on them. And because it’s a big deal, we decided to tell you what we like most/least about the newest Ramadan ads so far.
Vodafone …All FIFA Everything!
Vodafone grabbed everyone’s attention with these ads. First off, they scored on using football as the main theme of the ad, because you know, Egypt is going to the FIFA World Cup and y’all love football. Secondly, the concept is just, how can we say it? Creative! We do know Ahmed Fathi & Hegazy can’t act, but Saad Samir has that enchantingly funny charisma in the ads where he makes an appearance, and well, he can act. Then, they made it even better in Ramadan's version when Amir Karara, Amr Youssef, Chico and Hesham joined in to make fun of the football players and their acting. In the end, actors support them as much as we do, and Vodafone believes that nothing else is more important this Ramadan, and we can agree that the FIFA World Cup is one of the most anticipated events of this year!
Banque Misr…Something just like everything?
There is some great history behind Banque Misr, and they managed to use it to sing a message of what the bank stands for, hope. Mohamed Adawya and Mahmoud El Essily were an amazing combination. The visuals and editing are great! The song is one that you can sing along and keep listening to it over and over again not just when you’re watching TV. It always gives off those great positive vibes! All in all, Banque Misr is visually appealing to the eyes, regardless of being a cheesy adaptation of an overused artistic direction. The ad’s lyrics offer nothing very creative to the scene, other than being an Arabic mashup of Coldplay’s Something Just Like This and all the happy-go-lucky songs out there.
Orange…Love Thy Neighbour
Speaking of songs that you can sing anytime, this is one of them but not by choice! Orange has made one more ad that depends on the song and nothing else. Of course the concept of loving your neighbours is shown with every actor and actress in the ad, but the song is what actually makes everyone think a bit more about the ad, on a daily basis, every second of the day.
iCity Mountain View…Pointless Fun
When you see Maged El Kedwany and Donia Samir Ghanem together, you automatically think oh, this one is going to be on top. We can’t deny that they are both funny, but our expectations were killed! We don’t understand what’s going on or what iCity has to do with the ad. But, we guess that’s the perception behind their fawazeer in the first place, all we have to do is find out what’s going to happen.
Etisalat…Cringeworthy
Maybe at first you won’t like this one, but when you pay more attention to the words, and how it fits each actor and actress, you’ll just love it! Each is making fun of what people say about them in a form of their song. Regardless, the opening scene of the ad is enough to make you cringe; Samira Saeed’s voice is extremely bothersome. Not that we can change it, but choose more heart-warming/calm vocals in the opening next time Etisalat? Maybe like Abu’s? Although it wouldn’t take away the cheesiness, it would save us the cringing. Aly El Hagar’s part in the song was the only part that made sense because he actually said “I don’t make sense.” The whole song doesn’t make sense to someone who doesn’t give a damn about the actors’ lives and roles; are you talking about Ramadan/traditions or yourselves?
Etisalat 2… Control freaks
Some days later, Etisalat released this digital ad. The ad’s song focuses on how we get belittled by everyone when we are teenagers. We often negate this feeling of constant belittlement by exuding control over anything we have in our lives. Since we succumb to the feeling of needing to be in control of something, our own internet subscription can be one of those things. The ad plays on a specific nostalgia and it does so perfectly. We have all been there, at a time when we wanted to feel in control but were amateur af.
Etisalat 3… Filling the gap
The concepts behind these two digital ads are horrible. There is not much of an emotional connection or relatability regarding being stuck with a malfunctioning cashier, for example. It is all just too forced!
Nescafe… Teb wala Handsa?
Nescafe said what we always wanted to say. This is for all the employees and students who choose an uncommon career path. The idea is just too perfect! Seriously, how many times have you told someone about your major, or your career prospects, and they’ve automatically thought it’s something else because people don’t have the slightest clue...? Probably every goddamn day of your damn life.
El Garhy Steel... Hadid Msh Hezar
The funniest ad has arrived! Their concept is that working with steel is no joke. But all the workers in the ad are doing the most hilarious things. And of course their slogan is what is making the ad even more fun. Good one guys, good one!
Carrier... Save the Drama for Your Mama
After being one of the best ads back in 2017, we don’t have anything bad to say about this one except, we just expected something more epic. Although our expectations were high, it doesn’t take much away from it. The ad succeeds in representing our day-to-day stories with our parents, siblings, bawab, technicians, etc... regarding turning the AC unit off/on. The ad is as visually and textually cringe worthy as much as everyone’s drama about ACs is real, well done Carrier!
Misr El Kheir…Let’s Happy Dance
This is by far one of the most cheerful ads, and of course this is their direction. Hamaki performing as the lead vocalist is a great choice, and some of Egypt’s superstars are seen in different shots playfully dancing and sharing their happiness with others. We wish all charity ads gave off the same vibes, as not everyone is motivated by fear.
La Mirada… Sticking it wherever
La Mirada tried to capture happy moments for all of our daily lives using the word “a’rbt” in all social contexts. The repetitiveness of “a’rbt” in these instances was meant to help us understand how close the compound is to everything and everyone. We think they succeeded at delivering that message, but does it make the ad entertaining, joyful or even enjoyable? It unfortunately doesn’t, no pregnant woman says “ana a’rbt”, it is more like what we see in classic Arabic movies (English ones too) where the pregnant woman almost bites her husband’s head off when she is in labour (GOD BLESS YOU WOMEN for taking that much pain though). The word “a’rbt” was awkwardly forced in unfitting social contexts several times throughout the ad, to send the aforementioned subliminal message.
El Morshedy… Ta7t Sawb3ak
If you know about the Skyline project, you will understand why they have used the theme of “changing everything in a flash”. If, however, you don’t know anything about it, you will be lost until the ads’ end. Apparently, this is the way they’re going to manipulate you into watching the full ad. They surely are going places with this grand Skyline project, not as much as the ad though. Regardless, Hany Salama is an attractive gentleman who goes perfectly with the new residential building they’re advertising.
ABK Bank… Feeding on the Hollowness
If you are a person who’s run out of confidence, use money to buy it. Yep, that’s what we interpreted from their loud and clear hints. We won’t get into philosophising over whether money is important or not, but we do know you don’t wanna to be paying interest and credit card bills for the rest of your life; all because you lack confidence. Get your shit together! The short ad didn’t actually get to usat all, ut okay, we’ll use it anyways…
Mega Ice Cream… OH, DAYUM
Woha, it is like we have had sex before Iftar... This is the kind of food ads that leaves us all wanting more. The sexy music and the visuals are making everyone want to grab a bite in the middle of the day and burn in hell later. Whether it’s pink, gold, red or whatever they did there, we just want to eat.
Magdy Yaqoub… Just shivers
Hearts have melted for this ad! The song is just too perfect and serves the ad perfectly. With the kids singing happily with no cheesiness or sadness, make us all want to donate and help them live with even stronger and bigger hearts than the ones they have.
Juhayna... You shall not fart!!!
If you are lactose intolerant, have a friend who is, or watched the Big Bang Theory and know about Leonard’s stories about farting and embarrassing himself, you will value this. If none of this applies, this is also good for you because farts are no more, or at least, less brutal. The ad brings nothing new to the table, but it purely discusses the philosophy of deciding to fart or not in a censored manner.
Pepsi... Teach me sensei
The poor production will only be loved by football lovers, and people who believe that this kind of direction as artistic. We can’t deny that the idea is great and simple, and everybody surely loves Saad Samir, but we expected much more creativity from Pepsi. We are going to hope they have something greater in store for us!
Pepsi 2… Back at it again!
When we said we hoped they have something greater in store for us, they did! The whole low-quality production is the style they are going with this year. The reason behind this, apparently, is to make things a bit more realistic to the viewers. Also, the selfie recordings, the POV/close-up/medium shots are to build up a more intimate connection with the fans of the team. It is great to see someone using the national team’s efforts to create a more sympathetic community to their hard work and painful training. Also, Pepsi is offering few people the chance to appear on their final Ramadan ad, while singing the ad’s song. Kudos on engagement!
Dice… Reinventing the Wheel
Please reinvent the wheel more, and use some mahraganat to send a message. It’s getting old, do something new ffs. Regardless of the music, they did get what they wanted across, but if this is the only thing that matters, the field of advertising is officially screwed. To be honest however, that last part of the ad with the wife and husband, is hilarious af.
Cottonil… Match Fanela
Medhat Shalaby is always a good idea, and the way he says his lines when the girls are showing their t-shirts is what makes the ad more fun. We’re sorry to announce this to you but, we’re loving the fanela ad. We hope you appreciate the sarcasm.
Flo... Beautifully Unique!
This one is beautiful in all aspects! The ad is unique, just as much as the people in it. The concept is so beautiful and it’s truly as they’re saying ‘Unique By Nature’. You just need to watch it.
500 500… Reviving A Hero
This ad will strike the hearts of almost every Egyptian because of Zaki’s battles with cancer, and how it ended his life. Since Egyptians have this strong emotional connection to Zaki, it helps us understand how it feels to be vulnerable to another’s suffering. When we are that vulnerable, we become more empathetic of others’ turmoil, and feel a need to help. The ad, apparently, was constructed on this premise, and has succeeded in every way possible. So donate in his name, in the name of anyone you lost, and in the name of humanity. Then re-watch the video and cry with us.
Tornado
So our home appliances are all Tornado. Burglars are specialised in all that is Tornado. Burglars get offended when you ask them not to take the furniture too because it is not a Tornado. Are we supposed to just believe that everything in our houses should be Tornado, or that we should buy more of it? Nope. Do we know they have a wide range of home appliances after the ad? Kinda. Will this ad affect how much people buy Tornado? Probably not.
Midea… Pun your way through
There is, without doubt, much cleverness in writing this ad. The entire direction to bring forth Aswan as the coolest destination in Egypt during Ramadan feels weird and hilarious, a combination that helps in highlighting how powerful Midea ACs are. Plus, the ad’s story is relatable to almost every Egyptian this year after the heatwave we experienced for nearly a week.
Uber... Mo SALALALALALALA
This ad speaks to every Egyptian out there, amazingly so, but maybe because Mo Salah is starring in it? Perhaps not, even with Salah being the main focus of the ad, there are relatively small but loud messages by Uber: it is the drive you need to take you wherever you want, regardless of the path. We can’t say anything on the production because it is amazing!
NBK… Fishy
There was this TEDx talk once where the speaker said that using rhyme in sentences will give people (organisations in our case) more credibility. The rhyme is nice, makes it more appealing and very convincing in fact. However, how could we buy 2 cars with a monthly interest rate that is not equivalent to the yearly interest rate on our “extra” savings account? Should we call customer service about this and ask them? This is too fishy.
Elaraby Group… Meh
Brining in celebrities or famous people from different walks of life, doesn’t always prove the point you are trying to make. Neither is having them say the same sentence over the course of the whole ad, and feeling that they are puking all over you. Ultimately boring, but thumbs up for using people who are actually making a change in the community with their achievements.
Wafer Elite… Gratifying
This is the second ad on this list that is focusing purely on the senses. Specifically, it is focusing on the auditory sense. The sound of wafer bites, the freshness and crunchiness of it and the sound of packaging in the closing scene are all extremely gratifying. Also, the dialogue between the prisoner and his wife is hilarious.
This list will be updated frequently, so stay tuned!
______________________________________
By Sara Mosharef & Adel M. Fakhry
