SEMSOM: Chou osstak!

SEMSOM: Chou osstak!

By admin I : Again with a not-very-humorous campaign and this time from the Lebanese restaurant SEMSOM, that is considered one of the most known “hip” Lebanese gourmets that were able to add a twist to the traditional menu, and customize our local cuisine. SEMSOM is a brand that is aware of the new age of advertising, and mainly online media.

The new campaign from SEMSOM entitled “Chou osstak” is targeting all age groups to send them food recipes in an online competition, and the winner will have the recipe featured on their menu (big deal!).

Do YOU have an original or fresh Lebanese Recipe? Share it with us and win valuable prizes, a place on our menu, and our customers’ hearts!
Participate till the end of March 2012 by sending us your recipe to any Semsom branch in Ashrafieh or City Mall, or at http://www.semsom.com , or on our Facebook page http://www.facebook.com/semsomlb . The challenge is ON!

Whether the idea is relevant or not, and whether you should easily spread your grandma’s recipes or not, the question here is all about the actual advertising process;

the first concept that comes to mind at any local agency: “stereotypes”, different ages, different extremes, the funny grandma (thank god it’s not teta Latifi!), the sensitive gay, the blondy and the business man. done! brainstorming is over and we have an ad. let us assume that the concept is original (as original as my old boss’s Toshiba with an Apple sticker), we are certainly in front of a very weak visual approach, a weaker script full of cliches and not even engaging to participate in that “thrilling” competition.

Being positive (yes I’m not feeling okay), a Lebanese culinary brand is finally aware of online media and the use of a viral video is a proof that the marketing process is a success, and that the actual approach ruined all the media planning efforts..

just a note on the side, SEMSOM (the arabic logo) is a great deal of original design and reflects the oriental appeal of the restaurant as well as the visual translation of the semsom seed, unlike the dry character-free latin version; something definitely worth re-investigating!