The following ad comes from Jammal Trust Bank specifically for their small loans... This one is destined to taxi drivers, the subheadline goes "the small loan opens roads for you", but it is the major headline that got met struck: Bawmaret ma3ak? On the surface the expression is said to anyone who is "stuck"... Naturally, the first implication is for a "stuck" driver, literally or metaphorically. But, bawmaret is said for "stuck cars"... Its origin comes from the French "point mort" (or putting the car on "neutral" or "park")- which, when it travelled to Lebanon became to uneducated drivers "bamor" (phonetically, it is quite close!) and "bamor" became a verb onto itself "bawmar". So when Jammal Trust Bank signs "we speak your language", they never thought that the language we speak is not ours in the first place!
3 comments:
Still I thought from the whole series of ads they did for the campaign the taxi guy one is the most endearing and cute. I literally smile every time I see it. And seeing as JTB rarely has anything creative done I think they earn a lot of Kudos points for this campaign.
Oh God! Saying that they rarely have anything creating is butchering them indeed! :) It's like saying "for a big fat girl, you don't sweat that much" :) - now, come to think about it... I actually agree! (By the way, I also like their old selling line better: Yalla 3ayish ma3ak byefham 3aleik (which means: He who lives with you actually understands you))...
Tarek, I have to say that I really appreciate how you take the time to explain things to us non Arabic/French speakers. I really do learn so much by visiting your blog.
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