McDonald's cancels singer after American Jewish
Committee complains
Sing
a song of conflict
The McFalafel's short-lived advertising campaign
featuring Sha'bi singer Sha'ban Abdel Rahim takes some unusual turns
By
Dalia Dabbous
Cairo Times
Volume 5, Issue 20
19 - 25 JULY 2001
Shaban Abdel Rahim took Egypt by storm with his hit single
I hate Israel, echoing feelings prevalent across the country when
anti-Israel sentiments are running high, making him an instant star.
However, things took a turn for the weird when the same song was
the reason behind the cancellation of a McDonalds ad advertising
the new McFalafel sandwich. Abdel Rahim sang a version of his hit
tune as a McFalafel jingle, which unsettled some Jewish organizations.
Only three weeks after the ad was televised, it was removed due
to complaints received from the American Jewish Committee (AJC).
Or so the media claims.
But according to a McDonalds marketing executive who preferred
not to use his name, there is no link between the cancellation of
the commercial and the complaints from the AJC. According to him,
the commercial was only aired for three weeks because it had satisfied
their marketing purposes in that period.
The AJC, however, tells another story. "Thank you for moving
so quickly to cancel the new Egyptian ad campaign featuring a hateful
singer," said Shulamit Bahat, acting executive director of
the AJC in a letter to McDonalds senior vice president, Jack
Daly.
In a telephone interview with the Cairo Times, Kenneth Bandler,
a spokesperson for AJC said that the McDonalds headquarters
in the U.S. were "very concerned" about the McDonalds
ad and the complaints they were receiving from AJC. "Something
like this would never happen in the U.S." he said, describing
the commercial as "outrageous" and Abdel Rahim as "a
known sponsor of hate." He added the AJC would have spoken
up even if this was something offensive to other groups like Arabs,
or Muslims.
McDonalds Egypt affirms they received no pressure from anyone
to cancel the ad. In any case, Abdel Rahim is angry, and is planning
to sue. According to his lawyer, Ala Wahba, the contract between
McDonalds and Abdel Rahim stated that the ad would run for
one year and that in that year "he was not allowed to do commercials
for competitor fast food chains."
"He was harmed professionally since he cant participate
in other ads because the contract has not been officially cancelled
and McDonalds violated the contract by canceling it after
3 weeks," he explains, adding that the contract pointed out
that the violating party would pay a LE250,000 fine.
There were no violations, argues the marketing executive at McDonalds,
refusing to discuss details of the contract. "We did our part,
and he did his," he says, adding that Abdel Rahim has no say
in the ads duration. According to him, McDonalds Egypt
has no knowledge of the lawsuit and points out that the everything
is "legitimate."
At this point, Abdel Rahim is still coming to terms with what happened
and regrets he ever did the ad. "If I had ever known that McDonalds
was related to or would benefit anything Jewish or American, I would
never have done the ad," he told the Cairo Times. "How
could I do that if I sang I Hate Israel?"
McDonald's
drops 'I Hate Israel'
from advertisements
by Philip Smucker
McDonald's, which had been hurt by a pan-Arab boycott of American
firms because of US support for Israel, hired Abdel-Rahim to promote
its "McFalafel" sandwich in television advertisements.
AFTER weeks of Western and Israeli criticism, McDonald's in Egypt
said yesterday it had ended a contract with a singer best known
for his chart-topping song I Hate Israel.
McDonald's, which had been hurt by a pan-Arab boycott of American
firms because of US support for Israel, hired Abdel-Rahim to promote
its "McFalafel" sandwich in television advertisements.
Abdel-Rahim also made a special tape to be played in outlets across
Egypt.
Company officials said yesterday all copies of the tapes had been
whisked "back to the main offices" last week.
However, they confirmed the promotion had succeeded, spurring huge
sales of the McFalafel.
"Mr Abdel-Rahim is a man that you either hate or love but
most Egyptians love him," said Abd El Nasser Aziz, a McDonald's
executive in Egypt.
The American Jewish Committee thanked McDonald's for ending the
campaign by "a hateful singer".
McDonald's dumps "I
hate Israel" singer
By The Associated Press
July, 05 2001
McDonald's international headquarters says a performer who gained
fame singing "I hate Israel" will no longer also be singing
the praises of a new Mideast-flavored snack on the fast food giant's
menus in Egypt.
But Anna Rozenich, a McDonald's spokeswoman speaking by telephone
Tuesday from the firm's international headquarters near Chicago,
would not directly link the end of the run of TV commercials starring
Shaaban Abdel-Rehim with complaints she acknowledged receiving from
an American Jewish group.
"Basically it was a local marketing decision made by McDonalds
Egypt on a promotion for McFalafel. And certainly I would encourage
you to contact McDonald's Egypt because they make local marketing
decisions," Rozenich said.
Repeated attempts to contact McDonald's Egypt executives, however,
were unsuccessful. Rozenich said she believed the ad stopped running
last month.
In May, McDonald's franchises in Egypt began serving its version
of the traditional Arab snack known as a falafel - deep-fried patties
of ground beans flavored with spices.
The McFalafel jingle featured Abdel-Rahim, whose hit "I hate
Israel" earlier this year helped fuel an anti-Israeli and anti-American
campaign during Israeli-Palestinian clashes.
Kenneth Bandler, a spokesman for the American Jewish Committee,
told The Associated Press that Abdel-Rehim was a "sponsor of
hatred," and that the committee had issued a statement complaining
about the singer's McDonald's ad in Egypt.
Abdel-Rehim told the AP he was unhappy and surprised to hear his
ad was pulled.
"The company already knew when they chose me that I am the
one who sang the song" "I hate Israel," he said.
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