By Natacha Yazbeck
BEIRUT, May 11, 2009 (AFP) - As Lebanon's election approaches, the country's roadsides and rooftops are awash with colour-coded billboards vying to attract voters with puns, catchphrases and even what some say are sexist ads.
The campaign poster that has sparked the most debate features the face of a brunette looking seductively at the camera next to the slogan: "Sois belle et vote," or "Be beautiful and vote."
The advertisement, a play on the French saying "Sois belle et tais-toi," or "Be beautiful and shut up," is part of a campaign supporting the election platform of retired general Michel Aoun, a Christian opposition leader allied with Hezbollah.
The billboard sparked outrage among women's rights groups in the Francophone country for its sexist premise.
But Sami Saab, who conceived and designed the ad, defended it as championing equality.
"It's a shout-out to all Lebanese women: where are you? Beauty is not enough," Saab told AFP. "Every ad that sparks a debate is a success. That was the goal."
The ad campaign also includes a television spot that follows a slim, seductive young woman as she slips out of her negligee into a trendy little dress and and then hits the voting booth in heels and designer sunglasses.
Lebanese women had mixed reactions to the ad, some judging it to carry a progressive, feminist message while others accused it of demeaning women.
"I like the creative thinking behind it," said Rana Nader, a 28-year-old Lebanese who works in finance. "They are playing on words in all their campaigns. And besides, they're telling you: don't be lazy, get up, fix yourself up, and go vote."
Other Lebanese women, however, were not as enthused.
"I'm disappointed but not surprised that electoral campaigning has degenerated to the level of capitalizing on the image of the 'glamorous, beautiful and mindless' Lebanese woman to win over votes," said Zahra Hankir, a 25-year-old Lebanese graduate student.
"'Ugly' Lebanese women have something to say as well. The fact that this has to be said indicates how behind we are when it comes to gender representation as well as the voting process," she added. "Does citizenship exclude the 'ugly' woman?"
Real political campaigns have long been absent in Lebanon, when portraits of candidates traditionally spotted the landscape in election season.
Melhem Shaul, a sociologist who specializes in media studies, says that unlike their counterparts in the West, politicians in Lebanon are still more concerned with mobilizing as many of their supporters as possible than luring undecided voters.
"Lebanese media campaigns are still at a very basic stage," he added.
Sarah Keyrouz, an advertising expert, says electoral ads lack either aesthetic value or content.
"For some of these parties, it's enough to print prose or provocations."
The Sunni Future Movement, headed by slain ex-premier Rafiq Hariri's son and political heir Saad, base their slogans on the party's name with posters that read: "The future is undoubtedly bright" and "We must build for the future."
Aoun's parliamentary bloc, named Change and Reform, immediately lashed back with an ad that read: "The only future is Change."
Aoun's Christian rivals, the Kataeb (Phalange) party, coined the slogan "Your stability is our project, the parliament our weapon" for their billboards.
The ads refer to the events of May 2008 in Beirut, when the Hezbollah-led opposition seized control of parts of west Beirut and forced the closure of the airport.
While Hezbollah's arsenal of weapons is the target of criticism by its opponents in the governing coalition, the Shiite movement has adopted a more conciliatory tone for its campaigns with slogans like: "Lebanon for all Lebanese" and "Resist with your vote," in reference to Hezbollah's ongoing campaign against Israel.
About the only unifying theme among the billboard campaigns is their cry for the Lebanese to cast ballots on June 7, when the Sunni-led, western-backed parliamentary majority faces off against the opposition bloc, backed by Syria and Iran.
But many Lebanese aren't falling for it.
"These billboards are not going to add more voters to any side," said Rima Rassi, a 23-year-old sociology graduate.
"I doubt that any neutral or undecided Lebanese citizen will make a sound decision concerning who to vote for just because of a billboard."
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Copyright AFP 2009.
