The week leading up to Ramadan, the sporadic billboards around town started to reflect the approaching season:
And then we have this one:
“Serez-vous assez fort?” (Will you be strong enough?)
I asked someone what this ad was all about, because I had my own conspiracy theories (which I will get to in a moment). A trusted Senegalese co-worker told me that it was for a kind of soap that comes from Marseilles.
Hmmm. Soap. So, “Will you be strong enough to use this soap?”
I don’t get it, but maybe this is some cleverly-worded ad that reaches into depths of Senegalese culture that I have not plumbed. Maybe. It’s just that I have never seen this kind of soap before, but I have seen this exact yellow bird many times….
It’s for beer. Swear to God. Unless you were part of the elite (read: spoiled) group of study abroad students who attended the Lycée du Grésivaudan back in 1993, you don’t know that I instantly recognize the Pelforth Pelican from miles around. Why? Well, I’m not exactly proud to say that this was my favorite beer as a 16 year old, but it was. To give you a comparison, here’s an ad for Pelforth Brune:
The birds do look a lot alike, don’t they?
So I ask you, is the billboard above for beer or soap? If it’s for soap, what does being strong have to do with being clean? And worse- if it’s for beer, is this an ad from a French-based company taunting the Muslim faithful during their most pious time of the year? Neither really make sense, especially considering most billboards around here typically display slices of baguette smeared with Nutella knock-offs. Mmm….Nutella…
I’m no conspiracy theorist, but these are the things that occupy my mind as I sit in the back of my taxi.