Sex sells… washing machines?

byHabib Battah
Nov 29, 2009

Yet another example of how much the Lebanese advertising industry loves to push the envelope.

This Whirlpool campaign went up mainly around the Christian suburbs east of Beirut:

But did it go too far?

Following some racy ad campaigns in the mid 2000’s–and an uproar from some conservative groups who splashed paint on a number of billboards– the state censorship authorities imposed new regulations calling for all outdoor ads to be pre-screened before going up on the streets. It’s unclear if those rules are still in effect or if the censorship boys merely have a soft spot for transparent underwear and knee-high boots.

Tags:
media

Habib Battah

Habib Battah is an investigative journalist and founder of the news site beirutreport.com. Battah has covered Lebanon and the Middle East for over 15 years and teaches journalism and media studies at the American University of Beirut. He is a contributor to Monocle, The Guardian, BBC World, Al Jazeera and others, a former fellow at the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism at Oxford University and two-time recipient of the Samir Kassir Press Freedom Award. Battah's investigative work was recently recognized for outstanding local reporting by the Columbia University Oakes Award for Environmental Reporting. Battah earned a B.A. in Journalism from the University of Texas at Austin and an M.A. in Near East Studies and Journalism from New York University.

4 comments

tasteofbeirut says:

Dec 2, 2009 at 2:04 am

Very funny post! I can’t wait to check these out firsthand in a couple of weeks!

Reply
Habib Battah says:

Dec 2, 2009 at 7:29 am

Thanks! And can’t wait to hear if you find out more on the villas!

Reply
Lisa Gartner says:

Jan 21, 2010 at 9:09 pm

Hello!

Condé Nast Traveler recently launched this blog and my editor Eimear Lynch linked to you today. Wom.truth.travel

Love your blog!

Best,
Lisa Gartner

Reply
Ibrahim Nehme says:

Jan 4, 2011 at 10:04 am

Hello Habib,
I’m currently writing about the use of sex in advertising in Lebanon, and I was investigating whether or not their are any laws that govern the ads that are being splashed all over the city.

Do you have more info/sources on this?
Thanks.
Ibrahim

Reply