🌙📺 The Ramadan advertising season has long proven its power and impact on businesses — the presence of major players in this advertising space has become a matter of prestige, reflecting power, scale, and influence on the collective consciousness, transforming campaigns from marketing tools into high-stakes missions that must be effectively executed. The result? Many brands have fallen victim to a Sisyphean trap.

Family, friends, and a whole lot of love… again

As the first Ramadan 2026 ad began playing, we knew we were in for more of the same.

Network providers offered nothing new: In the Orange ad, Amr Diab reunites with his four children — Nour, Kenzi, Jana, and Abdullah — to emphasize the importance of family gatherings during the holy month. Meanwhile, Abla Kamel makes a surprise appearance in Vodafone’s ad, and while the ad succeeds in stirring our emotions, its concept is virtually identical to the network provider’s Awel Mara ad from nine years ago. Etisalat by e& features Tamer Hosny and Palestinian artist Saint Levant with a similar message: family and reunion. Telecom Egypt once again tapped Elissa for their ad, which also underscored how important family gatherings are.

… Neither did the banks: Banque Misr and the National Bank of Egypt offered nothing of note. The former returned to its favorite singer, Mahmoud El Esseily — whose name has become so synonymous with the bank that he’s become somewhat of a meme — singing alongside Bahaa Sultan. The latter employed Tamer Hosny in a song that doesn’t stray far from the recycled concept of family reunions.

The real problem with these ads is that they eventually lose their meaning, leaving viewers confused when trying to link the ad to the brand that produced it. Singing about friendship and family ties might make sense for real estate companies like Al Ahly Sabbour — as they ultimately promote both literal and metaphorical homes — but these messages lose their impact when played on repeat.

Less is more

While most fell victim to repetition, the advertising campaigns for three companies stood out. The reason is clear: they didn’t overthink it.

Wadi Degla hit a home run with Essam Omar — a rising star who represents the brand’s target audience — giving us one of the best ads of the season. The lyrics are simple, capturing the crisis of an entire generation as it transitions from its twenties into more serious life stages. The melody is catchy, and the message is crystal clear: we will be your choice when you grow up and want to buy a new home.

Meanwhile, the campaigns for Remas Land and Obour Land — both directed by Omar Areba — relied on over-the-top drama for satire. The first Remas ad targeted shop owners, with Haitham Shaker singing in grief as the supermarket’s cheese stock ran out, ending with the tagline: “Don't put the supermarket in that position.” The second ad targeted consumers, featuring Jannat, who is shocked when her husband forgot to buy her favorite cheese. She decides to leave the house in a comedic, dramatic escalation that is perfectly justified within its own world. Similarly, Amir Karara adopted an exaggerated persona to defend the idea that “earning a living isn’t bitter” as long as Obour Land is there.

Additionally, the Health Ministry’s healthy eating awareness campaign is a lesson in marketing: With a blend of wit and realism, the ads caught viewers’ attention and went viral despite tackling a difficult topic, disease and food culture in Egypt, particularly during Ramadan.

These ads focused on promoting a product or service with a clear message that consumers can understand and relate to. It is understood that campaigns vary in purpose — from direct promotion to creating a long-term brand persona — but too much of the same thing can feel like taking the easy way out.

While many tire of the familiar, others fall in love with it. This may explain why repetitive anthems eventually become earworms one can’t shake and why prank shows continue to garner high public attention every year. Case in point: to date, Ramez Level El Wash has achieved an 86% viewership rate, according to a survey (pdf) by Ejabat.

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