HUMILIATION IN ADVERTISING

AD SHOWING FATHER HUMILIATING HIS OWN SON

SPARKS CRITICISM & SYMPATHY…
THE AD MAY SEEM HUMORS TO SOME YET FOR THOSE WHO MAY RELATE TO THE PAIN OF BEING LOOKED DOWN
AT BY THEIR ELDERS OR THOSE PASSING THROUGH THEIR TEENAGE IDENTITY CRISES, IT MAY LEAD CHILDREN AND
TEENAGERS TO FEEL MORE HUMILIATED AND OPPOSED AS IT REINFORCES THE FEELING OF BEING REJECTED BY THE
CLOSEST PEOPLE TO THEM, SAYS PSYCHIATRIST…

Under a Headline “... ‫”أﻧت ﻣﺎﺣدش ﺑﯾﻌﻣل ﻟك ﺣﺳﺎب‬, The Egyptian Gulf (EG) Bank released their campaign for the Ramadan,
which attracted hundreds of people on social media. The campaign consists of six different episodes showing a young
boy being humiliated by his own father in several ways, and in many different situations. In the ad, the father kicks
his sleeping son out of the home reception in order to host some friends, turns off the television while his son is
watching a football match, humiliates his son in front his girlfriend, and even underestimates him in a fight with a
man in the street, calling him “a small baby - ‫”ﻋﯾل ﺻﻐﯾر‬

At the end of each adepisode, the narrator states that the bank is the only institution to pay attention and respect
to those who are always disrespected by others. With different scenarios between the father and his son, the
common plot is always the father humiliating his son in what is intended to be a funny situation. For ten days, the
ad managed to catch people’s attention and brings a smile to those audiences who doesn’t fit with the situations of
the humiliated character. The ad also encouraged some significant engagement in the form of the comments, as
many deemed it to be representative of the fact that many families pay no respect to their children and labeled it as
a reflection of reality in many families.

Although the campaign managed to grab attention to the EG Bank brand and its new projects to support young
people, it sparked waves of sympathy and criticism, as some accused the advertisers of trying to through a jock
portraying an unhealthy relationship between fathers and sons in a pathetic way, and enforcing public acceptance
and coldblooded social bulling for the younger generations framing it as normal.

“I believe that different kinds of creative arts, especially ads, must not be considered an example to be followed by
people in their everyday life,” said Dr. Emad Soliman, a psychiatrist. “However, I believe that the media must shed
light on the problems and violations that take place in society,” he added. In his opinion, watching such
advertisement will not change the way which parents tend to deal with their children. However, he believes it may
have an unhealthy effect on the way children and teenagers may see themselves, and their relationships with their
parents not to mention how do they fit within the society.

“Such a campaign will recall the feelings of oppression and compulsion among teenagers, who will see themselves
in the ads, which will remind them – or encourage their anxiety - of the similar situations they have been, or fear to
be, through. This may lead them to feel humiliated and oppressed, as it will reinforce their feeling of being rejected
by the closest people to themselves, whom they should seek support” he added.

However, this was not the first, and probably not the last, time for an ad to portray a father humiliating his child.
Few years before, an Egyptian advertising campaign for one of the well-known potato chips brands was banned by
the Consumer Protection Agency because it featured a father slapping his child violently on his face.
The ad was accused of supporting domestic violence and reshaping it, through the use of hummer, so that it seemes
like an acceptable behavior. I don’t see, how amusing it is to use humor in advertising at any cost even the formation
of a negative public attitude towards your own brand using your own Budgets…