OK, so I like to toot my friends' horns, so here I go again:
You've probably caught at least some bits of news on fried coke in the last couple of months, but just in case you've been living under a rock (that rock being work, family or otherwise unforgivable excuses), try googling FRIED COKE and you should get over 700,000 hits on it. This calorie explosion fried food (emmm...drink) marvel is the creation of one of our MySpace community comrades and a very old friend of mine (ok so maybe I'm doing this to avoid him spilling my darkest secrets, ha ha) and I wanted to tell everyone about how well this marketing data analyst has "faired" this year. Since I am currently in the US, I saw it first hand at the Texas State Fair, the biggest fair in the US, where people lined up for hours to taste the concoction and say they know all about it - they HAD ONE! From the local news to national shows such as the Today Show all the way to news radio in Argentina, the news is hitting everywhere and people can't get enough of this new way to add even more calories to the popular drink that is now an edible favorite of fair goers apparently nationwide. Fairs in other states are coming up with their own versions of fried coke (so don't be fooled into thinking the copy is anything like the original recipe!) due to the high demand everywhere. Coke is now chewable! If I were you, Mister miracle food, I'd be saying: Coca-Cola where is my check?! After all, this is the South and we eat fried COKE around here, not fried Mountain Dew, Sprite, or Pepsi. :) For the latest news that appeared today on Reuters go to http://today.reuters.com/news/articlenews.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyID=2006-10-27T124827Z_01_N26343691_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-COKE1.xml&WTmodLoc=Home-C5-oddlyEnoughNews-2
Will kids be trick or treating for fried coke come Tuesday??
Saturday, October 28, 2006
Monday, October 16, 2006
The World Championship of Freediving: Check out what I've been working on...
...... and get to learn about a totally cool and dangerously exciting extreme sport: FREEDIVING.
The World Championship of Freediving is coming to Egypt this December, 2006 and yours truly is working on bringing the news to you!
You might wonder what on earth IS Freediving?? Well, when you were a kid, have you ever bet with your buddies who could hold their breath longest under water? Now, this kids game has turned into a full-fledged extreme sport for men, women, old and young. Add to that a little excitement by seeing how deep you can go in a sea on your own single breath and it makes for some awesome breathtaking adventure.
Sports & Fitness Magazine has written an article about the upcoming championship taking place in Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt and that is set to be the first one of its kind to be aired LIVE on TV right into your homes, so please take a moment and read the article at
http://www.sports-mag.com/index.php?page=details.php&id=70&issue_id=7&PHPSESSID=230d65b26febe500c32a63d554d000fa
Just to give you a little teaser:
The World Champion in static apnea can hold his breath for 9:00 minutes!!
The World Champion in constant weight can go as deep as 109 meters (thats about 327 feet)!!!
Wanna know more? Go to the championship website at www.apneaegypt.com and support the sport and the championsip!
The World Championship of Freediving is coming to Egypt this December, 2006 and yours truly is working on bringing the news to you!
You might wonder what on earth IS Freediving?? Well, when you were a kid, have you ever bet with your buddies who could hold their breath longest under water? Now, this kids game has turned into a full-fledged extreme sport for men, women, old and young. Add to that a little excitement by seeing how deep you can go in a sea on your own single breath and it makes for some awesome breathtaking adventure.
Sports & Fitness Magazine has written an article about the upcoming championship taking place in Hurghada, Red Sea, Egypt and that is set to be the first one of its kind to be aired LIVE on TV right into your homes, so please take a moment and read the article at
http://www.sports-mag.com/index.php?page=details.php&id=70&issue_id=7&PHPSESSID=230d65b26febe500c32a63d554d000fa
Just to give you a little teaser:
The World Champion in static apnea can hold his breath for 9:00 minutes!!
The World Champion in constant weight can go as deep as 109 meters (thats about 327 feet)!!!
Wanna know more? Go to the championship website at www.apneaegypt.com and support the sport and the championsip!
Sunday, April 09, 2006
The Many Faces Of Sorrow
I was frighteningly awakened this morning to the sound of a woman’s scream. From far away, it tunneled through the dark haze of my dreams to reach a conscious point inside of me, alerting me with a notion of horror at the possibility of the worst outcome. My eyes fluttered then opened widely, searching for that chilling sound. There it was again, over and over, chilling my bones. A woman screaming in shock, in agony, in horror!
If you’ve walked by any apartment building in Cairo, you’ll know that it is normal to see the janitor sitting in front of the building, often accompanied by his wife and one or two of his kids, especially the youngest on the mother’s arm. Often, the child - aged no more than two or three years – is just learning to run and is constantly trying to run into the street to play, while the parents sit and call the child back from their place in front of the building, unmoved by the cars passing by and the danger at hand. When I first moved to Cairo, I was shocked at the calm indifference these parents showed towards the obvious and imminent danger their children face every minute in front of their eyes. But with time, even I have decreased my reaction to a mere shaking of my head at the parents’ attitude without suffering the constant urge to lecture them on safety or yank the kid out of the street myself.
Well, I was sure today was the day! My first thought was – once I was painfully aware that this wasn’t a nightmare – that the child of the neighboring building’s janitor, notorious for running into the street while a driver is backing out and unable to see it, had finally and tragically fallen under the tires of a car to meet its end! I ran to the window, but was unable to see anything from between the tree branches. Following the continued screams, I ran through the living room, into the dining room and out on the balcony facing the building in question. Nothing. No signs of an accident or a crowd of people. I looked over to see a group of five or six women, all dressed in black, holding up another woman dressed in black while she walked in tears, her screams now reduced to moans and whimpers, surrounded by a group of men telling her to be quiet.
My mother had been startled by the eerie sounds herself and had therefore arrived to the balcony before me. Asking her what had happened, she told me the woman’s father had died. She had walked up the street with the other women also dressed in black until she neared the building where her father had died. Upon arrival at the top of the street (Cairo’s neighborhoods are a jungle of zones; old remains of buildings where poor people with little financial means can barely afford to live are neighboring high rises where apartments cost millions of Egyptian pounds, attached to business offices and shopping plazas; you never know what’s around the corner) she proceeded with the screams that had awakened me in such horror, announcing her arrival and displaying her sorrow and agony over the loss of her father.
What surprised me was that she was quite calm and collected until she arrived to the crowd of mourners in front of the family home. Isn’t that a little pretentious?? One minute her demeanor is composed, the next minute she is falling apart, needing the help of others to continue her walk up to the building, causing others to lose their composure. I could not make sense of what I had seen….
In the social ranks of my upbringing, it is customary to try to maintain a composed appearance, often wearing a pair of sunglasses to hide the red and puffy eyes. Women are often more emotionally expressive than men (I have yet to come upon a culture where men are encouraged from boyhood to give their tears free reign, while it is normal, sometimes even encouraged for girls to show emotion) and are therefore more “excused” if you see a stream of tears running down their cheeks from under their sunglasses. However, if someone breaks down into sobs, they are swiftly ushered away to a private room. It’s all very private. However, the lower middle class to lower class circles express their sorrow in all vigor. It is almost looked down upon to mourn in silence, for tears to stream quietly without any sound, whimper or moan. Women tap their heads, slap their faces, scream out the love they had for the deceased, how untimely the death was (even if the person was suffering from a long-standing illness and was definitely no longer considered in their “prime” years) and are even prone to faint spells, dropping to the floor. Once awakened by smelling salts, they start all over again with the display of grief and sorrow. The louder they get, the more truthful it appears that the deceased was loved and honored. Men tear at their clothing, tapping their heads and yelling to the sky, praying for the deceased. It is quite a departure when a person from one social rank attends the funeral of someone from another.
In the old days, families used to “hire” mourners – in Egypt they are women called “Naddaba” – to cry and display such emotion in front of the crowd on the way to the burial. It was quite customary, because it was in honor of the deceased. It’s as if to say: “You do not go quietly into the night, for you leave behind those who keep you alive in memory and vouch for you with tears and cries while you are on your way to your Maker and hopefully to a blissful place.”
In many European and American countries, mourners wear black on the day of the funeral, at the burial and possibly at a wake. That is the extent of it. In the days of my grandmother, the widow was possibly expected to continue wearing black for a while. In certain countries, some widows were expected to wear black for the rest of their life and never to remarry, as if they have stepped into the grave with their husbands. They were expected to focus their lives on raising any children they have, or if they do not have any, they live with a sister or brother, clad in black until their death. Even now, many conservative countries' cultures expect an outward display of mourning through the color of clothing the close family members of the deceased choose. Makeup is diminished, hairstyles are less extravagant and clothing is limited to black for months, sometimes years, depending on the closeness and age of the mourner.
It is still customary for a bride, while shopping for her new wardrobe, to buy black clothing intended for use at funerals. Now that she is a wife, she is expected to appear appropriately at certain social events, one of which is undoubtedly a funeral (unmarried girls are often limited to wearing a white top and black bottom at such events). It is ironic that the symbolism of a bride’s white at a wedding is so contrasted by the stark black she is expected to wear so soon if a death happens in the extended family.
I often wonder at the meanings of the colors in their respective countries. In India for example, mourners wear white at a funeral whereas the bride wears a fiery red adorned with all the gold that is laid upon her for marriage. Why this choice of color? Is white at a funeral a symbol of the next life, a better and more purified state of being, being cleansed of this world and starting with a clean/white slate in the next one? What does the red for an Indian bride resemble, while most Arabic, American and European brides chose the demure white color of purity and innocence? Is the red symbolic of an ‘exciting’ new stage in life, where new horizons are explored and conquered? Does the innocent girl graduate from innocent naiveté to the fiery vixen enchanting her husband in the land of the Kama Sutra? What do all these displays in behavior, in colors mean? And are they true representations of the feelings inside? Wherever we are from, don’t we experience the same emotions of joy, love, ecstasy, shock, grief and sorrow? Why do we express them so differently and why do we misunderstand and judge the different displays of emotion so harshly sometimes? We are all the same on the inside.
Today is Palm (Passion) Sunday for many Christians around the world (for Orthodox Christians following the old calendar, it is next Sunday), marking the last day of joy, the triumphant reception of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, but also the beginning of the very intense and solemn Holy Week, the “Week of Sorrows” or the “Week of Pain” as it is referred to in Arabic countries where Arab Christians reside. You will find many older women, holding to old traditions, wearing the mourning black throughout this week. Others still resort to earthy, less flashy colors as they attend daily services throughout this week in remembrance of the torture and pain our Lord Jesus Christ went through to deliver His people. Many people go through their own “Week of Sorrows” this week and need our prayers. They are not marked by their clothing or their demeanor, and maybe they even hide it well in their eyes. Whoever they are and however they choose to share or conceal their hardships, let them always be in our prayers.
If you’ve walked by any apartment building in Cairo, you’ll know that it is normal to see the janitor sitting in front of the building, often accompanied by his wife and one or two of his kids, especially the youngest on the mother’s arm. Often, the child - aged no more than two or three years – is just learning to run and is constantly trying to run into the street to play, while the parents sit and call the child back from their place in front of the building, unmoved by the cars passing by and the danger at hand. When I first moved to Cairo, I was shocked at the calm indifference these parents showed towards the obvious and imminent danger their children face every minute in front of their eyes. But with time, even I have decreased my reaction to a mere shaking of my head at the parents’ attitude without suffering the constant urge to lecture them on safety or yank the kid out of the street myself.
Well, I was sure today was the day! My first thought was – once I was painfully aware that this wasn’t a nightmare – that the child of the neighboring building’s janitor, notorious for running into the street while a driver is backing out and unable to see it, had finally and tragically fallen under the tires of a car to meet its end! I ran to the window, but was unable to see anything from between the tree branches. Following the continued screams, I ran through the living room, into the dining room and out on the balcony facing the building in question. Nothing. No signs of an accident or a crowd of people. I looked over to see a group of five or six women, all dressed in black, holding up another woman dressed in black while she walked in tears, her screams now reduced to moans and whimpers, surrounded by a group of men telling her to be quiet.
My mother had been startled by the eerie sounds herself and had therefore arrived to the balcony before me. Asking her what had happened, she told me the woman’s father had died. She had walked up the street with the other women also dressed in black until she neared the building where her father had died. Upon arrival at the top of the street (Cairo’s neighborhoods are a jungle of zones; old remains of buildings where poor people with little financial means can barely afford to live are neighboring high rises where apartments cost millions of Egyptian pounds, attached to business offices and shopping plazas; you never know what’s around the corner) she proceeded with the screams that had awakened me in such horror, announcing her arrival and displaying her sorrow and agony over the loss of her father.
What surprised me was that she was quite calm and collected until she arrived to the crowd of mourners in front of the family home. Isn’t that a little pretentious?? One minute her demeanor is composed, the next minute she is falling apart, needing the help of others to continue her walk up to the building, causing others to lose their composure. I could not make sense of what I had seen….
In the social ranks of my upbringing, it is customary to try to maintain a composed appearance, often wearing a pair of sunglasses to hide the red and puffy eyes. Women are often more emotionally expressive than men (I have yet to come upon a culture where men are encouraged from boyhood to give their tears free reign, while it is normal, sometimes even encouraged for girls to show emotion) and are therefore more “excused” if you see a stream of tears running down their cheeks from under their sunglasses. However, if someone breaks down into sobs, they are swiftly ushered away to a private room. It’s all very private. However, the lower middle class to lower class circles express their sorrow in all vigor. It is almost looked down upon to mourn in silence, for tears to stream quietly without any sound, whimper or moan. Women tap their heads, slap their faces, scream out the love they had for the deceased, how untimely the death was (even if the person was suffering from a long-standing illness and was definitely no longer considered in their “prime” years) and are even prone to faint spells, dropping to the floor. Once awakened by smelling salts, they start all over again with the display of grief and sorrow. The louder they get, the more truthful it appears that the deceased was loved and honored. Men tear at their clothing, tapping their heads and yelling to the sky, praying for the deceased. It is quite a departure when a person from one social rank attends the funeral of someone from another.
In the old days, families used to “hire” mourners – in Egypt they are women called “Naddaba” – to cry and display such emotion in front of the crowd on the way to the burial. It was quite customary, because it was in honor of the deceased. It’s as if to say: “You do not go quietly into the night, for you leave behind those who keep you alive in memory and vouch for you with tears and cries while you are on your way to your Maker and hopefully to a blissful place.”
In many European and American countries, mourners wear black on the day of the funeral, at the burial and possibly at a wake. That is the extent of it. In the days of my grandmother, the widow was possibly expected to continue wearing black for a while. In certain countries, some widows were expected to wear black for the rest of their life and never to remarry, as if they have stepped into the grave with their husbands. They were expected to focus their lives on raising any children they have, or if they do not have any, they live with a sister or brother, clad in black until their death. Even now, many conservative countries' cultures expect an outward display of mourning through the color of clothing the close family members of the deceased choose. Makeup is diminished, hairstyles are less extravagant and clothing is limited to black for months, sometimes years, depending on the closeness and age of the mourner.
It is still customary for a bride, while shopping for her new wardrobe, to buy black clothing intended for use at funerals. Now that she is a wife, she is expected to appear appropriately at certain social events, one of which is undoubtedly a funeral (unmarried girls are often limited to wearing a white top and black bottom at such events). It is ironic that the symbolism of a bride’s white at a wedding is so contrasted by the stark black she is expected to wear so soon if a death happens in the extended family.
I often wonder at the meanings of the colors in their respective countries. In India for example, mourners wear white at a funeral whereas the bride wears a fiery red adorned with all the gold that is laid upon her for marriage. Why this choice of color? Is white at a funeral a symbol of the next life, a better and more purified state of being, being cleansed of this world and starting with a clean/white slate in the next one? What does the red for an Indian bride resemble, while most Arabic, American and European brides chose the demure white color of purity and innocence? Is the red symbolic of an ‘exciting’ new stage in life, where new horizons are explored and conquered? Does the innocent girl graduate from innocent naiveté to the fiery vixen enchanting her husband in the land of the Kama Sutra? What do all these displays in behavior, in colors mean? And are they true representations of the feelings inside? Wherever we are from, don’t we experience the same emotions of joy, love, ecstasy, shock, grief and sorrow? Why do we express them so differently and why do we misunderstand and judge the different displays of emotion so harshly sometimes? We are all the same on the inside.
Today is Palm (Passion) Sunday for many Christians around the world (for Orthodox Christians following the old calendar, it is next Sunday), marking the last day of joy, the triumphant reception of Jesus Christ into Jerusalem, but also the beginning of the very intense and solemn Holy Week, the “Week of Sorrows” or the “Week of Pain” as it is referred to in Arabic countries where Arab Christians reside. You will find many older women, holding to old traditions, wearing the mourning black throughout this week. Others still resort to earthy, less flashy colors as they attend daily services throughout this week in remembrance of the torture and pain our Lord Jesus Christ went through to deliver His people. Many people go through their own “Week of Sorrows” this week and need our prayers. They are not marked by their clothing or their demeanor, and maybe they even hide it well in their eyes. Whoever they are and however they choose to share or conceal their hardships, let them always be in our prayers.
Saturday, March 11, 2006
Interview on MySpace.com
Recently, a member of MySpace.com - whom I predict could become a very good reporter - decided to do an interview on yours truly. Yes, I am blushing to tell you this, but it's just too cool NOT to tell you!!
I'm sure you've heard of MySpace.com on the news lately or from one or two friends in the last year at least. MySpace.com has been a great point of exposure for my personal site, my singing, my poetry, my any talent...you name it! It's cool for regular guys and gals to meet, keep up with friends and the like, but it's AWESOME for artists of all kind to get FREE exposure to a huge worldwide community. AND... if you meet some cool people in the process, that's just icing on the cake!
So, if you're interested in checking out the article...and MySpace.com altogether, here's the link to the site:
http://www.MySpace.com
To check out the article, click on 'Groups,' type in 'Arab Actors' and it should pull it up.
To see my profile on the site, go to http://www.myspace.com/sherienzaki
To become a member of this new buzzin' online community, got to the above mentioned URL and hit 'Sign Up' to join over 55 million members on there!
I'm sure you've heard of MySpace.com on the news lately or from one or two friends in the last year at least. MySpace.com has been a great point of exposure for my personal site, my singing, my poetry, my any talent...you name it! It's cool for regular guys and gals to meet, keep up with friends and the like, but it's AWESOME for artists of all kind to get FREE exposure to a huge worldwide community. AND... if you meet some cool people in the process, that's just icing on the cake!
So, if you're interested in checking out the article...and MySpace.com altogether, here's the link to the site:
http://www.MySpace.com
To check out the article, click on 'Groups,' type in 'Arab Actors' and it should pull it up.
To see my profile on the site, go to http://www.myspace.com/sherienzaki
To become a member of this new buzzin' online community, got to the above mentioned URL and hit 'Sign Up' to join over 55 million members on there!
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Once We’re In, Who’s In Charge?
If any of you are avid soccer fans, you’ll know that the Africa Cup Of Nations is now taking place in Egypt. Soccer fans in Egypt get crazy, so I did not attempt to attend a game at the stadium, but one of my old friends and college professors came all the way from the United States to cheer on his native country and so I’ve been a little more in the loop of things happening at the “place of action.” Undoubtedly, Egypt winning the chance of hosting such an event is bringing lots of positive affects on the economy of this country. Just looking around, the streets are filled with tourists from different countries; and this time they are here not to see the great ancient monuments of this land – although if they can fit that in, they do try to make a stop at the pyramids – but they are here as sporting event tourists. Egypt has been known to attract tourists seeking cultural history, then religious history and in the last 15 years or so also many tourists seeking geographical and underwater marvels or even just relaxation at the beaches of the Red Sea in Sinai. But sporting events – that’s fairly new. Or should I say: it’s the first time it’s been so noticeable. Hotels are offering special rates for fans from different countries. Transportation (the respectable ones) companies are offering improved service and rates. Mobile phone service companies have good short term plans for visitors. Even the prepaid calling cards are shaped like a soccer ball instead of the traditional square card! Fast food chains are promoting a variety of gifts with purchase to take with you to the game: a water bottle or a fanny pack, a hat or even a portable headphone radio shaped like a soccer ball! Everyone on the streets is aware of what the big event is and how to welcome the tourists/fans; they know the score of their teams and encourage them, therefore maybe getting them to come back again and again to explore more of this country.
As a bystander, I watched how Pepsi-Cola put up huge banners around the capital announcing the Africa Cup of Nations and its sponsorship for such a loved sport. Hisham Abbas – a famous Egyptian singer and AUC graduate – either seized the opportunity or was asked to and came up with a very catchy song for the event that announced to everyone that it’s time to pay attention to the games and show some spirit!! Other artists soon followed suit but his song was the catchiest and the most sports-oriented. The music video featured Egyptian soccer fans – the traditional guys AND girls this time too – with faces painted with the flag, red, white and black Dr. Zeuss hats, rubber fingers – all having a grand ole’ time! Face paint and paraphernalia other than the traditional flag holding is not customary here, but soon it seemed the fans liked the idea, and you could find these items, with the Egyptian flag on it, sold by the street vendors. Seeing a soccer fan walking down the street with his face painted is no longer strange. And most of all, loud female fans competing with their male counterparts became more apparent on the streets of Cairo! Fans of a different type came out from in front of their TV’s at home to cheer on their favorite team LIVE at the stadiums around the nation. One song and the joy of hosting such a high-profile sporting event brought about a lot of positive changes in the youth of Egypt. Everyone seemed “into” the sport, cheered in a more colorful manner and was more respecting of others, especially the other gender, coming to join in the fun. Through my friend, I heard about the vibe at the stadium here in Cairo as well as in Port Said. People cheering on good teams other than their own just for the good game they played. It felt like finally the country is making the best out of an opportunity given to it.
After a few days, while shopping for souvenirs from Egypt in Khan El Khalili area, my friend mentioned to me that he couldn’t find any t-shirts with the Africa Cup Of Nations logo printed on it. As any true fan who has made his way in the middle of the school semester all the way from the US to attend the games, he wanted to have something as a remembrance of this event, an “I was there!” sign with the logo on it to show off to people. Nothing! Not available! Try at a different event! Maybe even try to make your own! With all the hoopla made that WE were SELECTED to host the games, whoever is in charge failed to make the best of this opportunity at the simplest retail level. Now, with different eyes, remembering my advertising roots and leaving behind the simple bystander mentality, I looked around and noticed the lack of a true promotional campaign for this highly anticipated event. The first time I even saw the logo for the Africa Cup Of Nations was on a banner at the entrance of the hotel I was picking my friend up from after the games had already started! Other than the song Hisham Abbas got us going with and some TV shows discussing the upcoming soccer cup, where was all the publicity? Looking at the paper, you saw all the inserts for fast food stores offering a gift with purchase. If you went to some of the hotels, you felt the soccer fans’ vibe. But was there an official promotional campaign for the Africa Cup Of Nations??
If there was, I completely missed it. If this was not a soccer-loving nation, I might have missed the occurrence of the event altogether. Who was in charge? I’m sure; following tradition, there was a competition to come up with the logo for the soccer cup. But once that was established and once the hosting country was selected, did the government or the Soccer Union of Africa or whoever the powers of B are assign the promotional campaign to a professional agency? Maybe the Africa Cup Of Nations has its own PR department?? I did not see any commercials on TV nor radio nor in print announcing the event. I did not see where one can buy tickets (other than right at the stadium) – did they think of offering special deals on tickets if you buy the whole series or the series of a specific team? So maybe there are more complicated issues associated with that, but what about paraphernalia with the logo on them? T-shirts, hats, soccer balls, key chains, face paint, teddy bears, whistles, goggles, flags, pens, cups, water bottles….need I go on? Why didn’t anyone think of making money off of that? Isn’t that like “the ABC” of outdoor event sales? The simple street vendors caught on to the ideas thrown out in Hisham Abbas’ music video and all of a sudden you could see them selling that stuff to you from your car window, but the official PR department or agency and everyone else assigned to make this a successful and profitable event couldn’t think of that? Do you think a tourist would rather be harassed by a street vendor that he has to haggle with than buy a souvenir from a respectable outlet at the stadium or on the street? Why does any country want to host sporting events? Is it just for the prestige? Of course not – it means a boost to the economy. Countries spend millions of dollars to build stadiums, etc. to host the Olympics for example because they know that they will not only get their money back but millions more – as well as gain prestige and the chance to host more events. Campaigning starts months in advance. Every detail is planned for. It’s good to know what we need to try for. It’s good to know that we got it! It’s good to know that it brings in money for the country. But it’s important to see beyond the broad lines of income such as hotel rooms, transportation and food. Once you’ve got them here (and who knows how many more would have come had there been enough publicity), think of all that you can do!
As a bystander, I watched how Pepsi-Cola put up huge banners around the capital announcing the Africa Cup of Nations and its sponsorship for such a loved sport. Hisham Abbas – a famous Egyptian singer and AUC graduate – either seized the opportunity or was asked to and came up with a very catchy song for the event that announced to everyone that it’s time to pay attention to the games and show some spirit!! Other artists soon followed suit but his song was the catchiest and the most sports-oriented. The music video featured Egyptian soccer fans – the traditional guys AND girls this time too – with faces painted with the flag, red, white and black Dr. Zeuss hats, rubber fingers – all having a grand ole’ time! Face paint and paraphernalia other than the traditional flag holding is not customary here, but soon it seemed the fans liked the idea, and you could find these items, with the Egyptian flag on it, sold by the street vendors. Seeing a soccer fan walking down the street with his face painted is no longer strange. And most of all, loud female fans competing with their male counterparts became more apparent on the streets of Cairo! Fans of a different type came out from in front of their TV’s at home to cheer on their favorite team LIVE at the stadiums around the nation. One song and the joy of hosting such a high-profile sporting event brought about a lot of positive changes in the youth of Egypt. Everyone seemed “into” the sport, cheered in a more colorful manner and was more respecting of others, especially the other gender, coming to join in the fun. Through my friend, I heard about the vibe at the stadium here in Cairo as well as in Port Said. People cheering on good teams other than their own just for the good game they played. It felt like finally the country is making the best out of an opportunity given to it.
After a few days, while shopping for souvenirs from Egypt in Khan El Khalili area, my friend mentioned to me that he couldn’t find any t-shirts with the Africa Cup Of Nations logo printed on it. As any true fan who has made his way in the middle of the school semester all the way from the US to attend the games, he wanted to have something as a remembrance of this event, an “I was there!” sign with the logo on it to show off to people. Nothing! Not available! Try at a different event! Maybe even try to make your own! With all the hoopla made that WE were SELECTED to host the games, whoever is in charge failed to make the best of this opportunity at the simplest retail level. Now, with different eyes, remembering my advertising roots and leaving behind the simple bystander mentality, I looked around and noticed the lack of a true promotional campaign for this highly anticipated event. The first time I even saw the logo for the Africa Cup Of Nations was on a banner at the entrance of the hotel I was picking my friend up from after the games had already started! Other than the song Hisham Abbas got us going with and some TV shows discussing the upcoming soccer cup, where was all the publicity? Looking at the paper, you saw all the inserts for fast food stores offering a gift with purchase. If you went to some of the hotels, you felt the soccer fans’ vibe. But was there an official promotional campaign for the Africa Cup Of Nations??
If there was, I completely missed it. If this was not a soccer-loving nation, I might have missed the occurrence of the event altogether. Who was in charge? I’m sure; following tradition, there was a competition to come up with the logo for the soccer cup. But once that was established and once the hosting country was selected, did the government or the Soccer Union of Africa or whoever the powers of B are assign the promotional campaign to a professional agency? Maybe the Africa Cup Of Nations has its own PR department?? I did not see any commercials on TV nor radio nor in print announcing the event. I did not see where one can buy tickets (other than right at the stadium) – did they think of offering special deals on tickets if you buy the whole series or the series of a specific team? So maybe there are more complicated issues associated with that, but what about paraphernalia with the logo on them? T-shirts, hats, soccer balls, key chains, face paint, teddy bears, whistles, goggles, flags, pens, cups, water bottles….need I go on? Why didn’t anyone think of making money off of that? Isn’t that like “the ABC” of outdoor event sales? The simple street vendors caught on to the ideas thrown out in Hisham Abbas’ music video and all of a sudden you could see them selling that stuff to you from your car window, but the official PR department or agency and everyone else assigned to make this a successful and profitable event couldn’t think of that? Do you think a tourist would rather be harassed by a street vendor that he has to haggle with than buy a souvenir from a respectable outlet at the stadium or on the street? Why does any country want to host sporting events? Is it just for the prestige? Of course not – it means a boost to the economy. Countries spend millions of dollars to build stadiums, etc. to host the Olympics for example because they know that they will not only get their money back but millions more – as well as gain prestige and the chance to host more events. Campaigning starts months in advance. Every detail is planned for. It’s good to know what we need to try for. It’s good to know that we got it! It’s good to know that it brings in money for the country. But it’s important to see beyond the broad lines of income such as hotel rooms, transportation and food. Once you’ve got them here (and who knows how many more would have come had there been enough publicity), think of all that you can do!
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