While many countries around the world celebrate Mother’s Day in May, Lebanon marks the occasion on the first day of spring to commemorate new life. In spite of commercial clichés, March 21 remains a golden opportunity for brands to embrace the motherhood momentum with newfangled or recycled ideas. We’ve taken the time to assemble a bouquet of the mom-themed ads and social media posts that caught our attention this time around.
Abed Tahan: Nostalgia Hits Home
From ideation to execution, home appliances and electronics retailer Abed Tahan’s nostalgic tribute to mothers hits all the right notes. The outdoor campaign complemented with an animated digital component reflects upon awkward motherly memories in a humorous tone bolstered by vintage aesthetics. Each visual is divided into two sides, one for the childhood picture and another for the referenced modern appliance, with “you know she always had the best intentions” as a unifying copy. That unflattering hairdo that still haunts you can be fixed with an all-new hair dryer styling brush. Scorch marks on your clothes are a thing of the past with the latest garment steamer. An unexciting childhood meal is swapped for the now-beloved air fryer. Joe Fish delivered the goods on this one
IPT: Mothers Take the Road
Motherly love and gas stations may be quite far from each other but IPT cleverly managed to bring them together in a simple yet effective Mother’s Day campaign by adding common expressions said by Lebanese mothers onto road signs. From ‘call me when you get there’ to ‘promise me you won’t speed honey’, all the signs pointed to a winning formula. The idea resonated well with social media users who left favorable comments under the post and shared it onto their Stories. “If mothers wrote the road signs, every path would lead to love, hugs and warmth,” the bilingual caption read, capitalizing on the special day’s sentimental value.
Exotica: One Call Away
Exotica celebrated differently with a sweet social experiment whereby youth had to call their moms at random to express their love. The outpouring of affection was met with funny reactions from mothers, who proceeded to ask their children if everything was okay with them. Hitting over a million views, the heartwarming video in question garnered countless likes and more than 16.7k shares on Instagram alone. Culturally relevant, highly relatable and genuinely executed, this Mother’s Day post struck a chord with local social media users who did not hide their emotions in the comments section.
Beirut Beer: An Honest Take
Brutal honestly was the name of the game in Beirut Beer’s take on Mother’s Day. Sticking to the brand’s signature style of sarcasm, the TVC creators captured a number of day-to-day interactions where fed-up moms did not hold back on giving their children their due reality check. From one mother’s fury at her son’s diet habits in the aftermath of cooking his favorite meal to another’s frustration with bringing more pets into the house following her children’s false promises, the situations gradually unfolded in humorous fashion. “Cheers to the one who tells you the truth,” the Lebanese dialect copy stated, bringing the strong mix of reactions to its rightful conclusion. We all know who runs the house by now.
Almaza: The ‘Stronger Than’ Paradox
Moving on to standalone social media posts, rival beer manufacturer Almaza clung to its usual brand of humor with an understated homage to strong mothers. Switching up the roles, the Arabic copy read “my mom is stronger than yours” as a nod to popular Lebanese expression “my dad is stronger than yours” that has become a standard tongue-in-cheek idiom over the years. The accompanying visual depicts an Almaza mini bottle resting on the regular-sized one, in a similar vein to the brand’s typical bottle-based special occasion branding. While it may not hit as hard as the famous emm el kel Mother’s Day post from two years ago (which translates into ‘mother of all’ in reference to then-President’s bayy el kel a.k.a. ‘father of all’ moniker), the post remains cheeky and relevant.
Ksara: Uncorked Minimalistic Twist
Lebanon’s oldest winery Château Ksara also stuck to minimalistic instincts with a cleverly thought-out copy that needed little more than a wine cork to convey the message. What’s better than two people meeting over a shared love for wine? Bringing this long-standing scenario into Mother’s Day with “How I met your mother” as a punchline. The idea seemed to blend well with wine lovers, who left a number of flattering comments and loved-up emojis under the plain-white post with dark red text notes.
Castania: Mixed Nuts, One Story
Castania Nuts brought its kernels into the mix with a well-scripted Reel blending motherly love and mixed nuts. From pretending to like roasted chickpeas just so you get to have all the cashew nuts to always pouring more into the bowl to keep you by her side longer, a mother never misses a chance to show her care. Shot entirely from above with the text layered at the top of the frame, the video does not need to show more than moving hands to get the message across. It also ends on a high note with betdallak fastouk as a copy, which figuratively translates into ‘you remain mom’s little one’ in reference to the Lebanese name for peanuts (festok). Nut bad (pun intended) at all indeed.
