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For months, you could see variations everywhere: on billboards, on TV and on the Internet, all with the same red background and white font: “I [heart] fish,” “I [heart] diamonds,” “I [heart] carpets,” “I [heart] Mom.”
 
A group of Lebanese industrialists and entrepreneurs allied to the ruling government coalition launched the original “I [heart] life” billboard campaign last November, when Beirut was on edge. Run in English, French and Arabic at a time of peak political tension in Lebanon, when riots and strikes were just a few weeks away, the ads managed to spark a marketing phenomenon.
 
It’s the slogan a million tourist boards have done to death, following “I [heart] NY,” a tag line originally conceived in the 1970s. But the Lebanese obsession with it didn’t come about overnight. Momentum started building in January when the political opposition launched a counter-campaign, mockingly turning the slogan to its own purposes with “I [heart] life … without debt,” “I [heart] life … in color,” and other digs at the perceived failings of the country’s leadership.
 
“The ‘I [heart] life’ campaign, financed by parties close to the government, was monopolizing an essential value, life, as if everybody who doesn’t agree with them loves death,” says Sami Saab, a creative director at a local network agency (he asked that it not be named in connection with this article), who designed the opposition campaign on his own time.
 
“Besides, it was everywhere, even on the airport duty-free bags, almost like a brainwash,” he continues. “So our message was to tell people, ‘Express yourselves. Say you love life too.’ And it worked.”
 
Soon ads popped up all over the country appropriating and adapting the same design for every conceivable product. Rotana used it for music, Grey Worldwide for advertising. Cheap duplicates appeared, often hand-made: “I [heart] roses” for a flower shop, “I [heart] nuts” for a roastery. One lovesick man even bought 72 hours of “I [heart] Joelle” on a billboard.
 
“A taboo had been shattered. The political debate and, more importantly, the terrible tension that prevailed at the time moved from the streets to media, which is much more safe and fun,” says Saab.
 
Saab says he is happy with the political impact of the ads. But from a marketing point of view, the “I [heart]…” variations are useless by this point, according to Farah Chaaban, a marketing consultant and researcher. “This is commercial parasitism,” she says. “The impact is non-existent. For viewers, what was fun at first soon became boring. Anyway, the human brain won’t read a message to the end if it can already identify it from its visual. It won’t remember the details such as the company name.”
    
“It’s a complete waste of money,” says Marie-Hélène Moawad, another researcher. “This might even turn out to have a negative impact on the brand image if the product is luxurious, like jewels.”
 
The interesting point is that by including small details – like two apple-like green leaves over the heart, used only in the pro-government ads – the brand owner shows his political affinity, she adds. “But this has nothing to do with marketing.”
 
Saab has spotted more than 100 variations that he’s about to compile and publish. The working title? I [heart] This Book.
 

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