The Inevitable Rant: Gaming the System

At these quarterly meetings, I spend 8 hours a day in a room surrounded by ad executives, and every time, I find myself brooding about something I've heard or witnessed that really gets under my skin. I should be used to it by now, but certain things still bother me. I can deal with people disagreeing with me. I can deal with people not understanding the cultural context of certain work, and thus not being able to judge it correctly. I can deal with people who are incapable of contributing anything of substance to the collective conversation. What I can't deal with are people who see a group that has gathered primarily to improve the work of our company, and to use this context as a means for advancing their own agenda. The committee I'm a part of exists primarily to support and educate our peers to the standards we expect for anything produced by Leo Burnett. It's a tool designed to teach and refine. Yet as with all judging systems, there are those who seek out ways to game the system. People inevitably find ways to lobby for their own work, and to seek out rewards for themselves. Every form of democracy has its special interests. Here, I find myself burning on the inside when I see committee members docking points for other people's work for no rational reason. I cannot stand watching people pull other people down simply to inflate their own egos. It's something that happens in advertising all the time, and its part of the competitive nature of the business, but it takes a certain mentality to engage in it. I don't believe there's any role for that in the GPC, and it's largely absent, but every now and then you can sense it in the room if you're paying attention to the score breakdown. Some people use their vote to be vindictive and petty: this is the scourge of representative democracy the world over. I should be used to it, but I can't make peace with it, especially in this context. I believe that mentality reflects a certain ignorance of the heritage of Leo Burnett. It's not just a company, it's also a man, with a definite ethos, and very strong beliefs about how to do business. And make no mistake, there is a right way to do things... I believe the GPC exists not to diminish or criticize, but to build up the network. We are brought together not to pat each other on the back, but to pull everyone up to the same level, so that we're all eying the same horizon. We are a global team, not a collection of individual agencies laboring under the same logo. Your contribution to this group is only as good as how much you can help your peers. This is what I believe, regarding the GPC, but this kind of constructive approach isn't always found amongst every panelist. Instead, there's a lot of horse-trading, a lot of furrowed brows, and a lot of jockeying for scores. It's never overt, but you can see it in the score breakdowns... People who enter into communities and strive only to advance their own interests need to be checked. Or, if no such rebuke is forthcoming from anyone, I simply wish they'd take a long look in the mirror to contemplate what they are looking for in the accolades they are seeking. This is a business where people want to be validated, affirmed, and praised for their work. There is a deep need for awards. The GPC, however, is not an award show. The work that scores lowest needs the most attention, and I wish more panelists recognized that this is where the problem lies. Great work already has smart, driven people behind it, who know how to produce great communication. I wish our focus was more on the work that clearly needs a compass, an idea, or direction. A collective brain trust is not assembled to polish already shiny pieces. It must also serve to fix the most pressing problems...

I Believe In Advertising

At the tail end of a long day, I find myself surrounded with good friends from across the world, tipsy from good ksarak and wine, thinking about the circles I run in. It's been over a decade that I've been in this job, and it's gone from feeling like an accidental quirk of circumstance, where I was in the right place at the right time, to feeling like this job is a part of my fate, something karmic that my destiny is wrapped up in. I brought a lot of liberal guilt and self-hatred to my job in advertising, and for many years considered myself to be a grunt who struggled with the contradictions of being a cog in the larger capitalist machine. I mean, is there anyone who hasn't despised bad advertising at some point in their lives? At its worst its pure manipulative drivel that caters to the lowest drives of human beings, and makes you want to punch whoever put this idiotic commercial or billboard in front of you. I came into this business thinking my job in advertising was just a temporary fix, a day gig to occupy my hours and tide me over till my career in the arts took off. 12 years later I see things completely differently, and the youthful idealism with which I regarded the world has morphed into something akin to maturity. I've changed. More importantly, the world around me has changed, the market has shifted, and advertising as an industry has been forced to evolve. Never before have people had as much power and information available to them at their fingertips. They can buy brands or destroy them. If you think advertising is a scourge of our culture, has no merits, and compels people to consume and buy things they don't need, you're entitled to your opinion. But you're also not seeing the larger picture.

I believe in advertising. Why? Because advertising will exist whether I believe in it or not. Human beings will always be selling each other things, or trying to. Commerce needs catalysts. Every day, you greet the world and are confronted with a million choices of how to navigate it, with purchases that shape your lifestyle and become a part of who you are. Good marketing enhances and enriches your life, and helps fill in the details of what those choices mean. Bad marketing does the same. Your capacity to filter the communication coming at you is the difference between being an educated and conscious consumer or being a shmuck who simply accepts the programming that is fed to you. In today's world, there are programmers, and there are people who are programmed, and it's up to you to determine where you fit on that spectrum. Everyone has choices available to them. You can hate on advertising all you like, the same way atheists hate on religion, but neither one of these things is going to go away just because you hate it. I'm a realist. As with all human institutions, I believe the best we can do is to make them evolve, force them to be more honest, more transparent, and more efficient. This is part of my job, as a professional, and as a human being. If we're not demanding accountability from governments, corporations, and every system we engage with, we're not doing our job as human beings.

Himaya "Repetition"

Saw this hard-hitting spot from LB/Beirut today. A beautifully crafted film raising awareness of the problem of child sexual abuse. It's the kind of TV spot that doesn't sit well, nor should it, and that's the point of it. It's part of a larger integrated campaign that's pretty compelling, with ambient executions in park and assorted other publicity stunts, but I think this spot is the best piece.

"A Bet for A National Conscience" - Farid Chehab & LB/Lebanon

This campaign was initiated by LB/Beirut's honorary chairman, the inimitable Farid Chehab, who I will spend some time writing about later. He's largely retired now, after a long and illustrious career at the helm of LB/Beirut, but he's still a force to be reckoned with and an unforgettable encounter on many, many levels. In the short time since he's retired from advertising, he's written a compelling book, and used it as a springboard to launch a national conversation about how Lebanon can create the kind of economy where everyone benefits from the country's natural resources. Pretty amazing idea and initiative. It makes me proud to be a part of a company that has people and ideas of this caliber within its ranks. 

Um Sherif

After our walking tour concluded, we made our way to Um Sherif, for a fantastic Lebanese meal featuring a spread of mezza the likes of which I've never seen. Found myself sitting next to the lovely Carol Hanna of LB/Beirut, sampling delectable tastes from dozens of plates passed my way. I've only scraped the surface of this cuisine and am not equipped to offer much beyond an astonished appreciation of the diversity of offerings placed in front of me. Everything was meticulously crafted, fairly light, rooted in the Mediterranean aesthetic, and absolutely delicious. Here's a quote from the web about the nature of the Lebanese dining experience:

"It is with food that the Lebanese express their generosity and hospitality. The most casual caller is immediately offered a cup of coffee and even the unexpected visitor is pressed to stay on for an ample meal, which generally consists of a variety of dishes and can always be produced at extremely short notice.
The secret to mastering Lebanese cuisine lies in the preparation and organization of the menu and in the fact that Lebanese dishes store and reheat well.
The Lebanese cook always prepares several dishes in advance and stores the basic mixtures so that they can be combined with other food items to quickly make a full meal. Every household has a constant stock of pickles, olives, cheese, yoghurt, nuts, grain, herbs and spices.
Nearly every part of the raw product is utilized. In fact there is so little wastage that a small selection of raw food is sufficient to create a large variety of substantial dishes.
At the beginning of the main meal mezza (hors d'oeuvres) are served with drinks.
Mezza consists of a large variety of nuts, pickles, cheese, and other foods, displayed in small dishes from which it is picked up with the fingers.
Mezza is an important part of the Lebanese social life. It is a leisurely, relaxing period in which eating and drinking is accompanied by congenial conversation..."

Museum of Mosaics - Achrafieh

At the end of our walking tour, Bechara directed the bus towards the office in the Achrafieh neighborhood of the city. There, we made a quick stop into a low-key museum of mosaics right before the building closed for the night. Sort of a drive-by visit, without a lot of time to spend marveling at everything within, but worth a hurried look regardless. This art of building large images by compiling countless stones is quite beautiful, and there's an ageless quality to it. So much history here, everywhere you turn...

Run on the Banks

Lebanon, in many respects, is a country steeped in libertarianism. It's always a dubious endeavor to overlay imported political ideologies onto a place you barely understand, but it's hard to look at Lebanon's government, and it's fairly limited roles and responsibilities, and not conclude that the country and its people adhere to a belief in small government. That said, calling a country "libertarian" is a great example of the way Americans (like myself) tend to see the world according to the political framework they know, without considering that other nations operate on fundamentally different premises... Anyhow, this comes to mind because as we were walking through the old city, Bechara noted a number of old banks we passed. Lebanon has long been a preferred banking destination for well-heeled individuals and companies throughout the Middle East. People throughout the region have brought their money here, and one reason why is because up until 1964, the Lebanese banking industry was almost entirely unregulated.  With minimal oversight, few regulations to adhere to, and no one policing the system, Lebanon was seemingly a very attractive destination for financial sharks, but in 1966, there was a massive run on the Lebanese-owned Intra bank. Intra bank collapsed due to dubious practices, which led to reform throughout the country's financial sector. While Lebanon today has far more financial regulations than in 1966, it's still less policed than other nations. I bring this up because given the global financial meltdown of 2008, it's worth examining how other countries run their financial systems. Take Iceland. Unlike the USA, those guys made damn sure no one was going to be screwing over the Icelandic people after it happened once, by prosecuting the guilty parties involved...  Food for thought...

An Englishman, An Irishman, & A Scotsman...

A Serb, a Slav, a Pole, an Aussie, a pair of Italians, some Americans, a Norwegian, and a few Arabs are walking down the street...

This sounds like the beginning of a great joke, but apparently I lack the comedic genius to write a punch line for this premise. But this is the group I'm walking down the street with in Beirut. A motley crew, to be sure...

Cathedrals, Chapels, & Synagogues...

Beirut's central district is filled with mosques, churches, and a lone synagogue, all laid next to each other, with overlapping spheres of influence. This is what I imagine Jerusalem is like; layers upon layers of civilization, with each branch of Abraham's lineage rubbing up against its siblings and cousins in a confined space. We walk through an amazing collection of buildings from different eras, each with unique architectural attributes and aesthetics, each paying tribute to slightly different conceptions of the divine. We stroll through the Greek Orthodox Cathedral of St. George, and observe a giant mural of St.George slaying a dragon looming over the altar. Ancient crypts are housed below this, but we just missed the visiting hours, and in any case our group quickly transits to another building, the Saydet El Nourieh "Lady of the Light" Church, a small Maronite shrine just adjacent to the cathedral. The distinctions between these faiths begin to blur as more and more buildings come into view. Within just a few square miles are many more buildings, Armenian, Arabic, Greek, and Maronite, some intact from distant eras, but far more rebuilt and preserved after Beirut's ruinous civil war. The shadows cast by history weigh heavy on this city, and everywhere you look are remnants of God and Allah and men who spent lifetimes conquering others on his behalf. It's hard to wrap your head around how densely occupied this place is with time and stories, wars and vendettas, languages and achingly poignant petitions for peace by a captive populace. I can't say that I understand this place, and wouldn't presume to. It's beyond me, in many ways, and as the complexities of this country come into focus its future looks increasingly blurred. How does one coexist with belligerent neighbors, and dogmatic strains within it pulling in all directions? Lebanon is a crucible, a series of interlocking riddles, and it grows more intriguing with each step through its streets...  

The St. George Maronite Cathedral

The St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral

Saydet El Nourieh Church - Our Lady of the Light Shrine, 

with the Mohammad Al-Amin Mosque in the background

Beirut: Fashion Capital of the Middle East

As we stroll through the city center and the upscale commercial center known as Beirut Souks, Bechara tells us about how way back in the 16th century, Beirut was a lucrative market for Italian and French fashions. Beirut has always stood apart from its neighbors, and even under the rule of the Ottomans, the city's rulers dictated that the Lebanese modernize their clothing. As a consequence, distinct looks emerged, a fusion of styles with Persian, Turkish, Italian, and French influences. This continues today, as Lebanese designers like Elie Saab, Zuhair Murad, Robert Abi Nader, and Basil Soda have gained international fame. Here's an interesting article on Lebanese fashion and haute couture today:

"Despite an uncertain tourist season, local fashion tsars remain convinced of the enduring potential of the Lebanese market as a bazaar for the finest international labels. Gucci, Dior, Prada, Miu Miu and Sergio Rossi are the eternal darlings of Lebanese women and now the boys are falling for the charms of Zegna, Brioni, Canali, Cerruti, Gucci and Armani et al. “All the top brands are doing well,” said Andre El-Rayes, manager of Aïshti downtown, arguably the mother ship for luxury retail fashion in Lebanon and the brand that has come to embody current Lebanese fashion culture."
Below are some videos of fashion shows in Beirut. The Lebanese take style seriously.

The Rafik Hariri Mosque

Before we headed to dinner this evening we were treated to a brief walking tour of downtown Beirut. Bechara took it upon himself to lead us through some of the historic buildings in the city center, pointing out how multiple civilizations were layered into the fabric of the city, with mosques, churches, and synagogues all clustered together as neighboring houses of worship. It's a pretty amazing place. We started out our tour with a brief stop at Martyr's Square inside the Rafik Hariri Mosque, otherwise known as the Mohammad al-Amin Mosque, which was opened only 5 years ago in 2008. It's a gorgeous building, and we tiptoed through it eying all the intricate designs on the walls and the central dome. Regardless of your religious affiliations, this is a beautiful place of worship. 

For women to enter the mosque, they are asked to cover their heads and are provided with robes to do so. Here's my Serbian friend Anja looking quite devout.

Russell Peters on Clubbing in Lebanon

Russell Peters might not be for everyone. He does some pretty provocative standup comedy, and a lot of his material is racial... I think he's hilarious, and here he talks about going clubbing in Beirut, at the legendary BO18 spot that's become world famous since its launch in 1998. This latest incarnation of the club was designed by renowned Lebanese architect Bernard Khoury, and looks like an underground bomb shelter from above. Pretty amazing visual concept, and by all accounts, the music is pretty hot too.

Angela Corrias' Photo Essay "A Night Stroll Around Beirut"

Traveler Angela Corrias' published a photo essay on walking around Beirut at night. Here are a few of her pics, and you can find the rest at her site "Chasing the Unexpected."

"Fountain in the garden surrounding Al Omari mosque, a former Templar church, downtown Beirut."

"Emir Munzer Mosque, small mosque downtown Beirut."

Inured to Violence

Here's a phenomenal essay entitled "Living with the Violence of Beirut" on how the citizens of Beirut coped with the effects of war in the early 80's, in the midst of constant fighting and arbitrary death. This was written by Thomas L Friedman and published in 1983, long before he became famous as the author of "The World is Flat."  The entire article is worth checking out. I can't think of many people who've endured what the Lebanese have over the last few decades...

"...Since the 1975 Lebanese civil war, Beirut has become a synonym for violence. But if Beirut were only violence and ugliness, it would be an easy place to handle and understand. It isn't. As longtime residents know, what makes Beirut a truly wild, occasionally insane and often absurd place to live is not its raw violence. It is the fact that such violence is always framed against some of the most carefree and prosaic activities of daily existence. Life in this city is absurd not because people get killed, but because they get killed playing tennis or lying on the beach or shopping in the market or driving home from work. The city lives in that half light between security and insecurity, war and truce, in which there is usually enough security to go about one's day but never enough to feel confident that it won't be your last.

¶Beirut is the society hostess who turns to you at a dinner party and complains in a stage whisper that she ''almost died'' going to her bridge game. Beirut is the slick advertisement in between the hairdresser ads and the social notes of a popular English-language weekly offering shatter-resistant window coating ''to protect yourself and the people around you from the danger of flying glass.'' Its main pitch: ''Anytime, anyplace, an explosion can happen.'' Beirut is the unforgettable tableau of a Kaytusha rocket, its engines spewing reddish-yellow flames, arcing over the skyline as the sun in the background slips into the Mediterranean with a brilliant orange glow.

¶The stress of living in such an environment, which has prevailed for the last eight years and continues to the present moment, has transformed traditional patterns of daily life for rich and poor alike. Coping with Beirut, staying sane here, is not simply hiding in a shelter. Rather, it demands a thousand little changes in one's daily habits and a thousand little mental games to avoid being overwhelmed by it all. The cumulative effect of all these changes has been to alter everything from language to work and entertainment to the way buildings are built. It has driven some people mad or into crime, while enabling others to discover positive qualities in themselves that they never knew existed.

¶''What I think we are experiencing in Lebanon is something that is unlike any stress problems psychiatrists or psychologists have had to deal with anywhere in the past,'' said Edwin Terry Prothro, director of the Center for Behavioral Research at the American University of Beirut. ''An earthquake, a Hiroshima, those are one-shot affairs. Even Northern Ireland can't really be compared to Beirut because the central government there and all its services always continued to operate and the level of Belfast's violence was far lower and more transient than here. The resilience of human beings is so great that they can always recover from sporadic violence. But Beirut is different. Beirut is eight straight years. I got some books out the other day on disaster relief, but they had nothing to offer. There are no prescriptions about what to do about a Beirut.''

Holy Bread

This is the view from the car as we depart Beiteddine.

On our way back to the city from Mount Lebanon we stop at the picturesque town of Deir el-Qamar, and Bechara gets out to see if the museum is open so we can make a quick visit. Unfortunately, everything is closed, as it's past five, so Bechara returns to the car, but not before having purchased a few pieces of bread for us to snack on. This bread, he tells us, has been made in the same way since the time of Jesus. I've forgotten what it's called, but it's made by the Maronite Christians who inhabit the town, who've been in the valley for well over a thousand years... The Maronites, like the Druze, have their own unique heritage, and are one of the integral parts of the Lebanese cultural mosaic.... As we leave the town I contemplate the many articulations of Christianity to be found worldwide, while savoring some sweet and delicious fresh bread, made the same way for almost 2 millennium...   

That's one old recipe... Here's a recipe for the bread I found online (I imagine the orange blossom water and rose water give it the sweet overtones):

INGREDIENTS:

• 6  cups of flour
• 1 1/2  cups of sugar
• 4  tablespoons of butter, soft (optional)
• 1  1/2 tablespoons  of dry  yeast, 1 teaspoon of salt
• 2 teaspoons baking powder
• 6 pebbles of mastic, ground with a teaspoon of sugar in a marble mortar (optional)
• 1 teaspoon mahlab (can substitute ground anise, or cinnamon)
• 1 cup of milk
• 1/8 cup orange blossom water
• 1/8 cup of rose water
• 1/2 teaspoon ground nutmeg

METHOD:

1. Proof the yeast in 1/4 cup of water warmed at 110F and a dash of sugar.
2. Mix the flour with the sugar, mahlab, ground mastic, nutmeg, dash of salt and baking powder.
3. Add the rose and blossom water in a small container.  Measure the milk and let it sit at room temperature or make sure it is not too cold. Ideally, you want it at 110F.
4. Place the flour mixture in a mixing bowl and add the yeast, milk and rose water mixture and mix the  dough until  smooth. Let it rest one hour.
5. Divide the risen dough into small balls. Let them rise 2 hours.
6. Shape the balls into flattened disks and  let rise one hour.
7. Sift a thin layer of flour on the disks and press the mold firmly on each disk.
8. With a toothpick, poke each disk 5 times all around to help prevent it swelling up while baking. (5 times to symbolize Christ who was nailed 5 times to the cross)
9. Let the disks rest and  preheat the oven to  400F  or you can also use your gas grill, making sure the disks are placed on a heavy-bottomed sheet.
10. Bake the bread for 10 minutes or so until golden.

Mosaics - A Symbol of Lebanon's Culture

Beiteddine has a few rooms filled with old mosaics, well-preserved from various periods of history. These were gorgeous to behold, with each mosaic being constituted of small, carefully inlaid stones that make up the larger image. The mosaic is a symbol of Lebanese culture. Lebanon's Ministry of Tourism explains:


An interesting archaeological relic found throughout Lebanon is the hundreds of well-preserved mosaics from the Roman and Byzantine eras. Countless colorful, tiny stones form intricate images of mythological figures, religious deities, and geometric designs. The mosaic is symbolic of modern-day Lebanon, which is a country characterized by a diversity of cultures, traditions, and religions interwoven through time. It is this unique diversity which fascinates travelers.

Thanks to its location at the crossroads of Asia, Europe, and Africa, Lebanon has been shaped by many civilizations throughout history. Its position as a meeting point for diverse peoples is evident in the extraordinary richness of its archaeological sites and historical monuments. From Stone Age settlements to Phoenician city-states, from Roman temples to rock-cut Christian hermitages, from Crusader Castles to Mamluke mosques and Ottoman hammams, the country's historical sites are a true encyclopedia of ancient and modern world history.

Modern Lebanese society is characterized by this same cultural diversity. Most Lebanese people speak Arabic, English, and French. As you walk the streets of downtown Beirut, you will pass domed mosques and steepled churches, reflecting the country's religious and architectural legacies – Sunni, Shiia, and Druze Muslims; Maronite, Eastern Orthodox, and other Christians; and many others. Regionally, each part of the countryside has its own local flavor, with different villages preserving a different culinary, artistic, religious, or cultural traditions.

A visit to any of Lebanon's ancient archaeological ruins, traditional villages, or religious sites will truly give you a taste of the cultural mosaic of this captivating country.