AI Is Destroying Lebanon’s Creative Industry

Television, billboards, and social media campaigns across Lebanon have become oversaturated with AI slop, and it’s getting to a point where it’s become so normalized that we’re not batting an eye.

Though I could name plenty of local brands that are leaning heavily on AI for their marketing campaigns, one of the biggest culprits right now is Maccaw. Its latest ad is fully AI-generated, showing people, who don’t even look remotely Lebanese, biking, strolling, and running through a city that isn’t Beirut, or even Lebanon, while casually enjoying an oversized juice box.

There are plenty of reasons this bothers me, but the biggest one is what this kind of marketing says about the creative industry here. When brands can generate an entire campaign with AI instead of working with local artists, designers, photographers, filmmakers, and creative teams, we’re losing the kind of clever, memorable advertising that used to stick with us.

Like Hawa Chicken. Their current ad pays tribute to the OG Georges Khabbaz ad that many of us grew up watching and quoting, and somehow manages to feel clever without trying too hard. That’s the kind of advertising we want to see more of. It’s so simple, catchy, and even pays tribute to not only the legacy of Hawa Chicken but the creatives who worked on the original campaign.

In case you haven’t seen this masterpiece, you can watch it here:

AI is making it easier for companies to skip hiring the young creatives who are trying to get their foot in the door.

The creative industry has always been competitive, and for a young designer, illustrator, photographer, filmmaker, copywriter, or art director, that first job can mean everything. It’s how you build a portfolio, learn how the industry works, meet people, find your style, and eventually land bigger opportunities. When companies replace those entry-level jobs with AI-generated work, they’re taking away some of the very opportunities that help the next generation build a career.

“Fully generating an AI ad is actually hard because it requires prompting and and and”…I don’t care. I don’t want your AI slop. I’d take bad art over AI-generated art any day. Not that any AI-generated art is good anyway. We actually have a compilation of our favorite Lebanese commercials, which you can watch here:

We need to start holding local brands accountable for relying on AI-generated content to promote themselves. Unfortunately, the problem doesn’t stop there. It has also seeped into news platforms, with some now using AI to create videos, fabricate political scenarios, and even produce sexist ads for beauty pageants.

We’re losing the plot here, and we hope the rise of AI eventually swings the other way, with people starting to value genuine, organic content created by local creatives again. Let us know if you have any Lebanese ads you’ve been enjoying lately.

MORE LIKE THIS

Crispy Cloud: Beirut’s Newest, Crispiest Fried Chicken Spot

Babe, wake up. A new fried chicken spot just opened in Beirut 🍗